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Housing and Market Statistics for the Westchester NY River Towns – Second Quarter 2009

By Ruthmarie Hicks

Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams NY Realty - 120 Bloomingdale Road #101, White Plains NY 10605

August 18, 2009 04:24 AM

This is the first time I’m including several “River Towns” of lower Westchseter in one report. The reason for this is that because of low sales volume in each individual village, it is difficult to nail down market trends. The small numbers produce wild gyrations that are often the result of one or two sales at the high or low end of the spectrum. Including villages that have similar price ranges, commutes and tax structures in one report creates a more accurate picture of the area.

The River Towns included in these stats are in the lower portion of “Area 3″, including Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Irvington and Tarrytown (which are all part of the town of Greenburgh.) Also included is Sleepy Hollow – which shares a school system with Tarrytown. Sleepy Hollow is located in the town of Mt. Pleasant.

Cooperatives:

In the second quarter of 2009 13 cooperative units sold – down 50% from the previous year. Prices remained firm and were even up nearly 5% over the previous year. Difficulty in securing a loan may be the primary reason for the drop in volume as consumer desire for entry level housing is returning. It is still a buyer’s market with a little over 11 months of inventory on the market.

Condominiums:

14 condos sold in Q2 2009. Volume was down 39% over the previous year and prices dropped 6.5%. Some complexes were hit particularly hard while others remained more stable price-wise. With 15.5 months of inventory on the market, it is a good time to consider buying. Sellers will have to be realistic in order to get their units sold.

Single-Family Homes:

There are two distinct markets in single family homes. Moderately priced homes under $800,000 and homes over $800,000. I draw the line there because for most buyers of homes in that upper price range, a jumbo loan is required. Rates on jumbo loans have been high and so financing on the higher-end homes has become very difficult.

Sales volume is down nearly 23% from 2008. Overall, prices have dropped 20% – but this is partly a reflection of the type of home that is actually selling. The statistics get skewed downward because fewer luxury homes are selling. The market for homes over $800k is definitely in buyer’s market territory with over 40 months of inventory on the market. Although moderately priced homes are still in buyer’s market territory, that market is healthier with about 14 months of inventory. There are a substantial number of contracts and pendings -which once closed would improve the inventory numbers.