New York home sales fall more than 12 percent in December

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Housing inventory hits lowest mark ever ALBANY — As 2023 ended, the inventory of homes for sale across the Empire State fell to the lowest recorded level in history, according to the housing report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) released on Jan. 19. “Inventory of homes for sale across New York […]

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Housing inventory hits lowest mark ever

ALBANY — As 2023 ended, the inventory of homes for sale across the Empire State fell to the lowest recorded level in history, according to the housing report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) released on Jan. 19.

“Inventory of homes for sale across New York dropped to an all-time recorded low” of 24,469 units in December 2023, down 17.8 percent from the 29,768 homes available in December 2022, the association said. The number of homes available for sale has declined in year-over-year comparisons now for 50 straight months.

New York realtors sold 8,611 previously owned homes in December, a 12.6 percent decrease from the 9,855 existing homes sold in December 2022. Closed sales fell for the 28th consecutive month in year-over-year comparisons.

Interest rates have started to come down in month-over-month comparisons. NYSAR cites Freddie Mac as indicating the average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 7.44 percent in November to 6.82 percent in December. For comparison, a year ago, the interest rate stood at 6.36 percent.

New York sales data

Pending sales totaled 6,528 in December, up 0.7 percent from the 6,483 pending sales in the same month in 2022, according to the NYSAR data. That foreshadows a possible slight rebound in closed sales in the next couple of months.

New listings in the state edged up 0.4 percent to 5,791 in December from 5,769 in the year-ago month.

Amid the tight supply of homes, house prices rose on a year-over-year basis. The December 2023 statewide median sales price was $380,000, up 10.1 percent from the December 2022 median sales price of $345,000.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of December stood at 2.7 months, down 7 percent from 2.9 months’ supply a year prior, according to NYSAR’s report. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, the association said.

All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York, and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

Ask Rusty: Are SS Spousal Benefits Always a Factor?

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

Dear Rusty: Both my wife and I have worked our entire lives. When we retire, will we both be entitled to a full benefit amount each, or will there always be a spousal factor in there? Also, how are those benefits calculated — based on your highest salaries throughout your career, or your ending salaries

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Dear Rusty: Both my wife and I have worked our entire lives. When we retire, will we both be entitled to a full benefit amount each, or will there always be a spousal factor in there? Also, how are those benefits calculated — based on your highest salaries throughout your career, or your ending salaries when you retire?

Signed: Looking Ahead

Dear Looking Ahead: Prior to retiring from work is a smart time to investigate how Social Security (SS) will fit into your golden years. To answer your second question first, each person’s personal SS retirement benefit is based on the highest earning 35 years over his/her entire lifetime, with earlier years adjusted for inflation. The person’s average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) — essentially the person’s lifetime average inflation-adjusted monthly earnings amount — is first determined. Using AIME, the person’s primary insurance amount (PIA) is calculated using a special benefit formula, which will yield a PIA of about 40 percent or less of the person’s AIME. The PIA is the amount received if benefits start in the month that full retirement age (FRA) is attained.

Since you and your wife were both born after 1959, FRA for both of you is 67. The age when you claim benefits, relative to your FRA, determines how much you will receive. Claim before FRA and your benefit is reduced; claim after your FRA and your SS retirement benefit will be more (up to age 70 when maximum is reached); claim at your FRA and your benefit will equal your PIA — the full (100 percent) amount you’ve earned from a lifetime of working.

Spouse benefits only come into play if the PIA for one of you is less than 50 percent of the other’s PIA. In that case, the spouse with the lower PIA gets a “spousal boost” to his/her own SS retirement benefit when claimed. The amount of the “spousal boost” will be the difference between the lower PIA and half of the higher PIA, but the amount of the “spousal boost” (as well as the person’s own SS retirement amount) will be reduced if benefits are claimed before full retirement age. Any time that SS benefits are claimed before FRA, those benefits are permanently reduced.

If one spouse is entitled to a “spousal boost” from the other, the spousal amount will reach maximum at the recipient’s FRA. Thus, if the lower earning partner’s highest benefit will be as a spouse, then that spouse should not wait beyond his/her FRA to claim. If, instead, the lower earning partner’s own SS benefit at age 70 is more than his/her spousal amount, waiting longer than FRA to claim could be prudent, depending on life expectancy.

So, as you can see, deciding when to claim Social Security benefits should consider many things, including financial need, work status if claiming before FRA, marital status, and life expectancy. But it is your lifetime earnings that determine your SS retirement benefit amount, and it is how your FRA entitlements compare to each other that determines whether spousal benefits will be paid.

Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.

Destiny USA says plate- reading cameras are working

Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

They are preventing, solving crime SYRACUSE — Destiny USA in August 2023 installed license-plate reading (LPR) cameras to identify the make, model, color, and license plate of each vehicle entering and exiting every vehicle entrance at the complex. Six months later, Destiny USA contends the cameras have “proven to be a powerful tool in preventing

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They are preventing, solving crime

SYRACUSE — Destiny USA in August 2023 installed license-plate reading (LPR) cameras to identify the make, model, color, and license plate of each vehicle entering and exiting every vehicle entrance at the complex.

Six months later, Destiny USA contends the cameras have “proven to be a powerful tool in preventing and solving crime in the Syracuse community,” per a Feb. 1 announcement.

The LPR cameras are part of a partnership with the Syracuse Police Department and Atlanta, Georgia–based Flock Safety. They’ve scanned nearly 400,000 vehicles per month since the program began in August 2023, Destiny USA said.

“Thanks to the Flock cameras and our partnership with the Syracuse Police Department, we’re literally meeting a small group of trespassed individuals and repeat shoplifters at the door — before they enter the property, and that’s an absolute game-changer in our efforts to provide a safe environment to everyone that visits Destiny USA,” Stephen Congel, CEO of Pyramid Management Group, said in a news release. “What’s more, our cameras are also enhancing the ways law enforcement agencies like the Syracuse Police Department are able to prevent and solve crime, and that’s good news for our entire community.”

Destiny USA provided a few examples of how the cameras have worked as a crime deterrent, including the prevention of shoplifting. The Flock Safety cameras have worked in “identifying and stopping shoplifters in their tracks.”

The real-time alerts sent to law enforcement have enabled quick responses to the arrival of these individuals on property, leading to apprehensions and reduced theft.

Destiny USA cited one example where after months of a “highly coordinated shoplifting campaign” by a group of individuals, license-plate data from one of the associated vehicles used was entered into the Flock Safety database.

The next time the individuals involved arrived on-site at Destiny USA, both mall security and the Syracuse Police Department were immediately notified, and the suspects “immediately apprehended.”

The program’s success has attracted attention from other state law-enforcement agencies, crime labs, and police departments, which are now tapping into the Syracuse Police Department’s Flock Safety data to assist in their own investigations., per the Destiny USA announcement.

In January, 385 Flock searches on Destiny USA cameras have been conducted by the 11 New York State Crime Labs and county law enforcement. The collaborative approach and data sharing have created a “ripple effect of improved safety and security throughout the region.”

VIEWPOINT: Social listening and essential response

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

How to use social media to your brand’s advantage Using social media as a tool for customer service is a cornerstone of digital marketing in the 21st century. However, it isn’t as simple as firing off a series of posts on X in response to angry customers. In fact, responding to customers when they are

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How to use social media to your brand’s advantage

Using social media as a tool for customer service is a cornerstone of digital marketing in the 21st century. However, it isn’t as simple as firing off a series of posts on X in response to angry customers. In fact, responding to customers when they are angry is merely one component of a broader social strategy — one that’s only necessary if the other components are struggling to amplify your brand’s message.

Any response strategy begins with building relationships. Communicating with clients — past, present, and future — is a business strategy as old as time. A social-media strategy is no different; only the forum for building those relationships is new.

Although what you say when responding to customers is an in-the-moment choice, responding should be considered part of a longer-term strategy of community engagement on every social platform where your brand appears.

Responding also begins with listening. “Social listening” is the practice of analyzing online conversations about your brand, competitor brands, and related keywords to learn more about your audience. What are people saying about your products, your customer service, your new logo — anything?

Most likely, the majority of what is said online will not demand a response from an official branded account. However, responding isn’t the primary purpose of listening. You can always listen to learn.

For example, say your company releases a new product. If users are encountering a common, solvable problem while using the product, social listening can help. Keep tabs on the relevant social channels for the product name and/or your brand to understand what people are saying about the problem. Instead of responding to questions, complaints, or concerns individually, your customers’ comments might inform an article that you post to your company’s website. Then, where appropriate, direct those customers on social media to your site, where they can learn how to solve the problem.

Not every social-media complaint comes with the luxury of time. Experienced social-media teams have the benefit of understanding which complaints are worthy of an immediate response, which can wait, and which can be ignored altogether.

Where an immediate response is appropriate, a response template can come in handy. Remember to acknowledge the issue, apologize, and then address it. While copying and pasting the same verbiage for every message can seem insincere, some variation on “Sorry (name), how can we contact you?” gets to the point quickly. You want to make the situation better, and you want to help the customer outside a public forum via email or telephone. Leaving a genuine question or complaint unanswered is not a recommended approach.

That’s essentially basic customer service, if only in a new forum. In every instance where social listening turns into a response, the idea is to embrace feedback and turn challenges into opportunities. If people are leaving negative comments about your brand, it might reflect a valid concern where change is needed. Experience is the best teacher for when this is the case.

Ideally, the effect of long-term social media relationship-building is the goodwill between your brand and its customers. For companies with a reputation of fast, friendly responses, any customer who encounters an issue down the road is more likely to be patient, knowing a friendly response to that issue will arrive before long. In effect, your response strategy should be to put out any social-media fires before they start.

Among small social-media teams, or where marketing personnel must monitor social-media channels as one of many duties, quick responses aren’t always possible. Taking time to understand any issues your customers might have with your brand is more important than being quick to respond to their social-media complaints — particularly when the issue is complex. Although social media is built on instant communication, do not lose sight of your company’s long-term customer-service strategy at the expense of speed.

Over time, social listening and a response strategy can be vital tools to building and maintaining your brand’s reputation.

Meagan Saxton writes for client and agency needs at the marketing agency, ddm marketing + communications. She has several years of experience creating content and managing social media accounts for health care, higher education, and financial-services organizations.

U.S. Air Force awards Lockheed’s Syracuse plant $65M contract modification for radar work

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SALINA — The Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems plant in the town of Salina recently won a $65,1 million contract modification to a previously awarded contract. The contract adjustment is for the exercise of options for three 3-dimensional expeditionary long-range radar systems, and associated production management, travel and other direct costs, and data under

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New bridal shop aims to bring the “wow” experience to Utica

Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

UTICA — Watching a family member’s experience shopping for a wedding dress was the spark that inspired two friends to open their own bridal shop in Utica. “Last January, I traveled with my cousin to do her wedding-dress experience,” Franca LaBarbera says. She describes the experience in one word, “Wow!” It made her realize that

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UTICA — Watching a family member’s experience shopping for a wedding dress was the spark that inspired two friends to open their own bridal shop in Utica.

“Last January, I traveled with my cousin to do her wedding-dress experience,” Franca LaBarbera says. She describes the experience in one word, “Wow!”

It made her realize that a similar “wow” experience was lacking back home, and that’s where the idea began.

She reached out to her longtime friend Kristine Champion and suggested they open a shop together. “I mentioned it in April, and here we are,” LaBarbera adds.

Bella Bride opened on Jan. 17 at 200 Genessee St. at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Utica.

The pair, who met as teenagers while working at Justice at Sangertown Square, bring diverse backgrounds to their partnership. LaBarbera has a background in finance, while Champion brings a retail background — including 12 years of running specialty retail stores and managing big-box stores.

Right away, the women had a space in mind. LaBarbera’s father runs Frank Vita Men’s Clothier, Inc. at the Marriott Utica. There was a vacant space right next door, perfect for what they needed.

“Downtown is being revitalized,” Champion notes. Lots of wedding receptions take place at the hotel. “It all sort of started falling into place.”

LaBarbera and Champion spent time doing some demolition and construction work in the 750-square-foot space, including creating a greeting area, showroom, and dressing room.

They also spent a lot of time researching exactly what they wanted to carry in the shop, traveling to meet with suppliers and attending industry events.

“We handpicked our inventory,” LaBarbera says. Being mindful that people want different things, the pair strive to carry a variety of high-quality items in different styles and at different price points. Inventory includes bridal gowns, dresses for bridesmaids and mother of the bride, accessories, and even fun items like jean jackets and sweatshirts.

And they made sure to bring the “wow” to their experience.

“Our aim is to make it as special for the bride as possible,” Champion says. “We want them to feel as special as they can.”

They meet with brides by appointment, and the experience starts with a personalized sign welcoming the bride, she notes. After getting the brides settled, they take them on a tour of the showroom, get to know them, and start to get a feel for what they want. There’s a comfy robe for brides to wear in between gowns they are trying on.

“We’re very much a part of the whole process,” LaBarbera adds. They can suggest options and offer advice to help a bride make her gown selection. Of course, the process ends with a “yes to the dress” photo moment.

Since celebrating the grand opening of Bella Bride on Jan. 17, which included a ribbon cutting with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce, the response has been great, Champion says.

People enjoy having a local option instead of having to drive to Syracuse, Albany, or further, she contends. “It’s nice that we are now giving an option a little more local.”

The pair are active on social media promoting Bella Bride. It also helps having a storefront right at the Marriott Utica, which makes the business highly visible to brides touring the venue. The business owners also hope to participate in wedding expos as time allows.

Bella Bride’s appointment hours are Tuesday from 4-8 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m., Thursday from 1-7 p.m., Friday from 1-4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Mountainside Medical plans growth around new products

Health Care, Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

MARCY — Mountainside Medical Equipment, Inc. got its start in 2002 selling medical equipment, working with other local businesses like nursing homes to make sure they had the equipment their residents need. Martin Zarnock, Sr., a service-disabled veteran, started the business with his children Martin Zarnock, Jr. and Christina Nelson. Zarnock, Jr. found a niche

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Photo Credit: Mountainside Medical Equipment, Inc.
Martin Zarnock, Jr., of Mountainside Medical Equipment, with the Mountain Ice product.

Martin Zarnock, Sr., a service-disabled veteran, started the business with his children Martin Zarnock, Jr. and Christina Nelson.

Zarnock, Jr. found a niche at discovering products that people need, and that led to the development of Mountain Ice, a topical pain-relief gel, says Melissa Hollenbeck, national sales director of Mountain Ice.

“There’s a need to help people who are in pain,” she says.

Zarnock Jr. began researching formulas and ingredients, looking to create a product that could help with the state initiative to reduce opioid use in nursing homes. The result was Mountain Ice’s original pain-relieving gel that includes ingredients like turmeric root, arnica Montana flower extract, tea tree oil, and camphor.

“Every single one of those ingredients took hours and hours of research,” Hollenbeck says.

The gel, designed to relieve bone and joint pain, debuted in 2019, followed by a sports-recovery gel by early 2020, and sales have really taken off. Mountain Ice ships out between 350 and 400 orders daily, she says.

“We’ve just been growing by leaps and bounds,” Hollenbeck says. To market Mountain Ice, they initially reached out to Mountainside Medical customers and have steadily been working to reach new markets since then.

Currently, Mountain Ice is available at Rite Aid and Kinney Drugs stores. “Locally, we’re in a lot of independent pharmacies,” she adds.

Mountain Ice has even broken into the professional sports world with teams including the New York Yankees and the New England Patriots using it. Locally, the physical therapists at Accelerate Sports in Whitesboro use the product as well. Skana Spa at Turning Stone Resort Casino offers Mountain Ice as a massage add-on.

Both gels are FDA approved, a process that took many months of inspection by the FDA. That approval was important to not only show that the products do what they claim, but also to verify the quality of the ingredients used, Hollenbeck says. “People are becoming more and more aware of what they are using,” she says. “People are becoming label readers.”

With January being the time of year most retailers do their annual reset of what products they will carry, Hollenbeck was busy reaching out to potential new customers. “I reach out every year to some of the bigger box stores,” she notes. Hollenbeck is actively working to expand Mountain Ice’s reach into the south.

Locally, Mountain Ice is a sponsor of the Boilermaker Road Race, providing samples and coupons in the goody bags handed out to registered runners.

“We find the people who are getting it and using it are really happy with it,” Hollenbeck says. Word of mouth for current customers has been great advertising.

Mountain Ice is a subsidiary of Mountainside Medical Equipment, which is also growing. While the business still services its customers like nursing homes and correctional facilities and still operates a retail store front, it is really growing on the aesthetic and pharmaceutical side. Hollenbeck says. The company is working toward obtaining its pharmaceutical license for the continental United States so that it can better serve aesthetic clinics and doctors offices, especially for infusion therapies, she says.

Between Mountainside Medical and Mountain Ice, the business employs 11 people. The company operates from 9262 Old River Road in Marcy, where it has its main offices, storefront, warehouses, and shipping facility.

Pathfinder Bank names AVP, senior branch manager

Banks & Credit Unions, Subscriber Only

OSWEGO — Pathfinder Bank recently announced it has appointed Colleen McCraith as assistant VP, senior branch manager of its Oswego offices. In this role, McCraith is responsible for managing and maintaining the day-to-day operations of Pathfinder Bank’s three Oswego branches, while developing retail and commercial business and building relationships with the local community. “With her

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Winners of SUNY Oswego Launch It contest to use funding to develop mental-wellness app

Health Care, Subscriber Only, Technology

OSWEGO — Two SUNY Oswego business-administration majors won the top prize of $2,500 in the school’s Launch It entrepreneurship competition. Noah Bull and Tyler Flack won for their idea for a mental-wellness app. Both Bull and Flack are members of the SUNY Oswego Lakers men’s ice-hockey team. “Our business idea was Anonymous Athlete,” Bull said

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OSWEGO — Two SUNY Oswego business-administration majors won the top prize of $2,500 in the school’s Launch It entrepreneurship competition.

Noah Bull and Tyler Flack won for their idea for a mental-wellness app. Both Bull and Flack are members of the SUNY Oswego Lakers men’s ice-hockey team.

“Our business idea was Anonymous Athlete,” Bull said in a SUNY Oswego news release. “We want to create a safe haven for college and pro athletes across the country. We just wanna be an outlet, an honest outlet. I know there’s always in-person communities and events for that, but we just wanna be something that students, student athletes and pro athletes can reach out to 24/7.”

Bull went on to say that it’s going to be a website where a lot of athletes can reach it through their own collegiate programs.

The $2,500 in prize money will help get the concept in motion, and Bull and Flack continue to research “other avenues” to move Anonymous Athlete forward, SUNY Oswego said.

“Since we were probably [age] four or five, we were playing hockey and other sports like that, so we know it can get pretty hectic and just being in person all the time kind of is a weight on your shoulders,” Flack said in the release. “So having this avenue where you can be online and kind of be in the comfort of your own home while you’re having these conversations is very important as well.”

He added, “Noah’s done some great research regarding the mental health practitioners, and he also found some grants that we would look into in order to build some revenue for this and get it really going.”

With the Launch It program, teams receive help from alumni mentors, and this year’s winner benefited from the guidance of 1992 graduate Bridget Curran, SUNY Oswego said.

“We had a quick Zoom call with her and she was just such a calming presence,” Flack said. “We both didn’t really know what to expect going into that final, and she just kind of sat us back, told us we had a good idea, we had good charisma, we had a good opportunity to present our product and I mean, she just made us feel so relaxed and we couldn’t thank her enough for what she’d done for us.”

About Launch It

SUNY Oswego’s School of Business coordinates Launch It, an annual student startup competition. This year’s Launch It contest included more than 100 business pitches and a semifinal round, after which judges selected six finalists.

Frintz, a photo print and direct-mail advertising firm based in Rochester, sponsored the $2,500 first-place prize, SUNY Oswego said.

Besides Anonymous Athlete winning the top prize, Price Flores earned second prize and a $1,500 award for Aqua Avenger, which is a drone to extinguish fires. Wegmans donated the $1,500 award.

Natasha Robinson won the third-place prize of $1,000 for Battery EMT, which is a battery repair/replacement service. Fulton Savings Bank provided the $1,000 third-place prize, per the SUNY Oswego news release.

Jessica Metzner and Sriam Ventakassamy won the Fan Favorite prize of $500 for Spotlight (preventing online scams app for small business). The Fan Favorite was determined by audience voting.

Report: 37 percent of small firms couldn’t pay January rent

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

A recent survey report finds that 37 percent of small-business owners nationally were unable to pay their January rent in full and on time, indicating ongoing economic difficulties across many industries and states. The data comes from Alignable’s monthly rent report. Compared to this time last year, when the rent-delinquency rate was seven percentage points

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The data comes from Alignable’s monthly rent report. Compared to this time last year, when the rent-delinquency rate was seven percentage points lower at 30 percent, this year is “off to a rocky start for the U.S. small business economy,” according to Alignable, an online referral network for small businesses with about 8 million members across North America.

This January’s rent-delinquency rate of 37 percent was an improvement from 41 percent in December, per the report.

Alignable’s data showed that 38 percent of small-business owners in New York state were unable to pay their January rent in full and on time, up from 37 percent in December and 35 percent in January 2023.

Despite recent government reports of a “sunny,” stronger economy and lower inflation rates, most small-business owners (58 percent) nationally said they have yet to feel the positive effects of cooling inflation, Alignable contends. Noting that the damage caused by inflation is cumulative for them, three out of four small U.S. firms also say that the cost of supplies is higher now than it was a year ago.

This Alignable report is based on responses from 6,101 randomly selected small-business owners surveyed from Jan. 1-30, as well as input from 100,000-plus other respondents over the past two years. Other highlights from the report include the following.

• New wave of rent spikes: 52 percent of U.S. small-business owners say the cost of rent has escalated significantly compared to what they had to pay six months ago, with 14 percent facing rent expenses that are more than 20 percent higher.

• Revenue decline: 63 percent of small-business owners reported lower fourth-quarter earnings compared to a year prior. Among this group, 44 percent reported an earnings shortfall of 50 percent or more compared to a year earlier.

• Still-high interest rates enhance suffering: 53 percent of owners of small firms say current interest rates are harming them, eroding margins, reducing consumer spending in their Main Street stores, and hindering loan payments or their ability to obtain new loans.

• Labor costs rise: 54 percent of small businesses said the cost of new hires has jumped over the past year, with 11 percent noting that they’re forced to pay new hires at least 25 percent more than a year ago.

Further details about the poll findings are available at: https://www.alignable.com/forum/37-of-small-businesses-cant-pay-january-rent-but-some-industries

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