"Its taking longer to sell anything" said Bill Shepherd, a 15 year broker with Brown Harris Stevens, in the article Taking the Pulse of the Boroughs in The New York Times this weekend. The sales environment has changed a bit over the past 12 months. Some challenges range from difficulties in finding a qualified buyer to waiting 3 weeks for the bank to set the closing on a short sale. 
I find it amazing how neighborhood specific the market is and also how the product demand varies by neighborhood. Take for example multi family(2-4 family) homes under $500,000 in Yonkers vs. Mount Vernon. In Yonkers 80% of the homes sold in the past 6 months were on the market for longer than 120 days, Mount Venon 85% were on the market for longer than 120 days. Now lets look at condos under $500,000 in both neighborhoods. In Mount Vernon 0% of the condos sold in less than 90 days, while 16% of the condos in Yonkers sold in less than 90 days. Those numbers are a bit skewed because there were only 5 condos sold in Mount Vernon vs 38 in Yonkers but I think it paints a bit of a picture in these 2 neighborhoods in Lower Westchester County. I remember the market of '06 when multi family homes where moving in less than 90 days in Yonkers, those were the days.
Has the mortgage crunch shifted the demand for these neighborhoods where mutli famiy homes make up a huge bulk of the volume?
Another neighborhood that has seen a major shift in sales volume is The Bronx which the article also sheds some light on. The Bronxis comprised of many multi family homes and is also feeling the mortgage crunch. I am finding that coops and condos are selling at a faster pace and are highly sought after in many sections of The Bronx particularly the Grand Concourse, Pelham Parkway and Riverdale areas. Along the Grand Concourse you will find some amazing sponsor unit coops in beautiful, art deco, pre-war buildings at a great value.
The right pricing strategy and a little patience will go along way in today's real estate environment...
As always comments and suggestions are always welcome...
MICHAEL A. BROWN - REALTOR® WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND THE BRONX
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