RobReportBlog | Bedford NY Real Estate

Given Google’s tight clutch on prototypes of its futuristic eyewear, known as Google Glass, Greg Geilman may be the first real estate agent to test the device.

His finding? The smart glasses, which allow users to perform many smartphone functions, offer a unique “awesome” user experience. And thankfully, he “did not feel like an idiot” sporting them in public.

“People were like, ‘Oh my god, is that really Google Glass?’ Some people look at you a little weird, but I didn’t get any bad reactions,” he said. “I’m really excited about it. It was very comfortable to use. I got used to it right away.”

But as with many devices still in beta testing, Glass could still use some tweaks, he said.

Google has said that it aims to release the product by the end of 2013. Recently, thousands of “explorers” who won Google’s #ifihadglass contest received prototypes of the next-generation smart wear, transforming a legion of techies into walking spectacles and heightening awareness of the product

.The stunning flavors of culinary herbs make them star players in a healthy diet, and the best way to make the most of big-flavor herbs is to grow them yourself. This article includes plans for four herb gardens, each designed to fit into a 12-square-foot area, to help you make the best use of space near your kitchen door. See Top 12 Kitchen Herbs for more on the featured herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme.

You could grow kitchen herbs in a geometrical design dating from the days of medieval monasteries if you like, but there are easier ways to include culinary herbs in your landscape design. By following a few basic guidelines and choosing to grow the herbs you’re most likely to use, you can grow a generous supply of kitchen herbs in a surprisingly small space. Add some container herbs that are marginally hardy or prone to crowding out other plants, and you’re well on your way to a gourmet herb garden.

 Watch Out For Coyotes In Westchester This Spring

Polo-Playing Prince Harry Takes Greenwich By Storm | Chappaqua Real Estate

The Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the U.S. counterpart has kept borrowing costs in the city at near-record lows, underpinning a 109 percent gain in home prices since the beginning of 2009, even as the government imposed several property curbs to cool demand. The city’s housing market got an additional boost in January 2012 when the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low through at least late-2014.

WHITE HOUSE: In this week’s address, President Obama said seven years after the real estate bubble burst, our housing market is healing. The administration’s policies have helped responsible homeowners save money on their mortgages and stay in their homes, and the President’s consumer watchdog agency is working to protect consumers from being taken advantage of on their mortgages, but there is still more work to do. The President urges Congress to quickly confirm Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and take action to give every responsible homeowner the chance to refinance and save money on their mortgage, so that we can keep growing the housing market, support working families, and strengthen the economy.

Twin Cities housing prices rise again | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Podcasting is a great content play | Pound Ridge Realtor

 Is Paying Down Your Mortgage a Bad Idea? | Chappaqua Real Estate

How hot is hot when it comes to housing markets across the country right now? Crazy hot: Some houses sell within days, sometimes within hours, of listing.

Then there are the growing numbers that sell even before they formally hit the market — sold through a controversial technique known as “pocket listings.”

Essentially it’s a private, “off-market” listing, often of short duration.

Instead of putting the house on the local multiple listing service — which exposes it to a vast number of shoppers and agents via real-estate websites — agents restrict access to information about the house to their own buyer clients or colleagues in the same brokerage, hoping for a quick, full-price sale.

Why is the man who bet against U.S. housing so worried about Canada?