The picture of that hawk was taken by yours truly one morning. I had just let out the dogs into my back yard (yes its fenced) while I started making my essential morning brew when I noticed that Buddy barking at something and looking UP....I peered out the kitchen window into the back and looked in his direction and saw a very large hawk sitting in my neighbor's tree peering imperiously at the three dogs below. I've seen hawks in those trees before, either on my property with m neighbors, but was never able to capture the image. I grabbed my camera and went outside in my flip flops and sweats hoping no one would see me other than the hawk and the dogs and snapped a few pictures. I don't really have a zoom lens, so this was the best could do since he was way up in the trees.
Because I live in an area where there is a lot of parkland at the southern tip of White Plains the presence of hawks, coyotes, deer and various sundry other wildlife including eagles is not too surprising. It's an area of single family homes with larger lots. There are a lot of older homes with plenty of old-growth pines and maples leaving room for wildlife to share the area with its human occupants. Nevertheless, just about 2.5 miles away the scene is radically different. This is the heart of downtown White Plains, including Renaissance Square and City Center with its four skyscrapers. It's a place where pigeons are the primary avian species. I've never seen a hawk downtown and seriously doubt whether they frequent the area beyond passing over.
So why am I using a hawk to symbolize why real estate is a very local business?
The neighborhoods and character of the neighborhoods turn on a dime in Westchester and understanding such a market obviously requires LOCAL KNOWLEDGE with boots on the ground. One thing that I have noticed about websites like Zillow is that they have no regard for neighborhood boundaries. I've seen comps used from my end of town to justify Zestimates in close-in neighborhoods surrounding the City Center and Ritz Carlton. These are completely different areas with totally differing price ranges. In some cases I've even seen listings from different municipalities being used as comps for a listing. This is just ridiculous and shows us yet again that these large search engines that claim to do everything but dance and try to tell you that selling a home is a piece of cake are just full of themselves.
To Search for Homes and for further information go to my website/blog with free home search at The Westchester View.
I am always happy to answer your questions and you can speak to me directly on my moble phone: 914-374-5529.
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