Westchester View

With the myriad towns and villages in Westchester NY  its small  wonder that people in search or Westchester NY real estate  find our “system” of towns, villages, and PO’s a Byzantine mess  of confusion.   When looking for  Westchester county homes for sale,  buyers find that the address does not always match the municipality.

One of the more confusing aspects is towns vs. villages.  The town of Greenburgh NY is actually a rather large town that comprises various  villages and POs.

Greenburgh covers several river towns and also cuts a swath eastward to the central portion of the county.
Read the rest of this entry »

My recent web page about the Metro-North commute to lower Westchester. created a good deal of interest.   Another post about the New Haven Line and the Hudson Line were also well -received.  So now I am adding the Harlem Line to this collection of posts.  For those interested in commuting by car might also like to check out my web page about commuting by car in lower Westchester.

The Harlem Line:

The Harlem Line – depicted in the map on the right,  passes through the central towns and cities of Westchester County.  During off-peak hours there are three trains northbound to Westchester and three trains southbound to Grand Central Station.   The major express stop is White Plains which – with very few exceptions enjoys the distinction of being a stop for virtually every train on the line.  Apart from the White Plains express stop, there are peak hour express trains from Crestwood, Scarsdale, and Chappaqua.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes I just have to grab a picture from my iPhone…. This one was in front of Trader Joes in Hartsdale.  Ok, I KNOW I’m taking a pic of a parking lot, but the fire of the tree against the pink sunset was just to surreal for me to miss out on – so I just had to take it and share it.  This was about 2 weeks ago – but I only uploaded it to my hard drive tonight. Have a great Monday!

© 2010 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All Rights Reserved -

Westchester county homes for sale have generally been on a downward trend.  There are a handful of exceptions that are in a mild bull market – but such is not the case in Hartsdale NY.  Hartsdale  housing prices are running parallel to those of White Plains.  While some parts of the county have been experiencing a mini-boom in single family home prices in White Plains and Hartsdale are still trending downward.  Volume is up from the previous year, but that is that has not been reflected  in the prices.  Condos and coops are also following a downward trend in price that is being seen county-wide.

Hartsdale NY Single Family Homes

The median price of a single family home is down 17% from Q2 of the previous year to $433,000.  This follows the pricing trend seen in White Plains homes for sale, but not in areas like Scarsdale.  As some of the higher end areas have come down in price, they have started to compete with areas like White Plains and Hartsdale – causing further stress on these home prices.  Volume was up significantly from the previous year – (up over 30%) but the inventory overhang of about 9-12 months is keeping prices in check.

Read the rest of this entry »

Want to know the latest Westchester Events? There is plenty to do and see  so planning your calendar for Westchester County events is challenging because there is such a wealth of things to choose from – Here is a list to get you started.

Friday July 9

Build a Boat/Construya un Bote
2:30pm
Warner Library, 121 N Broadway, Tarrytown

“Living with Art Collecting Contemporary in Metro New York” 12- 5 PM
Contemporary works of art -from six metro-New York private collections.  Including work from emerging as well as established artists/
$5 for adults, $3 for students/seniors
Neuberger Museum of Art – Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase NY
914-251-6100
Read the rest of this entry »

The housing recession continued to exert its impact on local markets.  Hartsdale was no exception.  Areas such as White Plains and Hartsdale were late to the recession party.  For a while it looked as though they might emerge somewhat unscathed.  But the market crash of 2008 caused the correction to reach the lowr Westchester market.   The question remains as to where the bottom of this market truly is.  I have given up making too many predictions.  What  conclusions one can come to  are generally based on current inventories and the absorption rate.  Since housing is supply and demand – low inventories stabilize prices.   In any case, the decline is not over, but it is fair to say that the free-fall of last year seems to be winding down.

Hartsdale NY Cooperatives:

Entry-level markets fared better than other sectors so far during this correction.  Cooperatives in Hartsdale show a similar pattern to that of White Plains.  Prices are down 3.3% over last year.  However, I would warn that this might reflect the increased sale of 2 BR units over 1 BR units.  As prices fell, buyers found they could afford a bigger unit – creating statistics are artificially favorable.  If you are a seller, be careful not to overprice your coop.  Inventories are low  and volume is only slightly lower than the previous year.  So, for the moment, this is more stable market than most.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Hartsdale NY housing market is in buyer’s market mode.  Prices for coops, condos and single family homes all experienced price reductions when compared with the third quarter of the previous year.   This was the second year of price reductions for the area.  Volume was variable with single-family home sales being down 70% over the previous year while there was a slight increase in the number of coop sales.

Hartsdale Cooperatives:

Coop prices dropped 11.1% over the previous year with the average price being $192k for Q3 2009. That was enough to make them a desirable purchase.  This was particularly true of East Hartsdale Ave.  Demand remained high and volume was up 1% from 2008.   There is a 5.8 month inventory on the market – making it a borderline buyer’s market in terms of inventory.   Prices have dropped nearly 15% from Q3 2007 – which is roughly when sales prices peaked. This is still a buyer’s market, but the reduction in inventory and stable sales volume indicates that we may be near the bottom.

Hartsdale Condominiums:

Condos didn’t fare as well as cooperatives.  Sales prices were down nearly 13% from the previous year.  The average sales price for the third quarter was $370k down from $425k in 2008.  Sales volume was down 33.3% and there is currently an 8 month inventory on the market creating a definite buyer’s market.  This market didn’t really start declining until after the stock market crash – so it may have some more adjustments ahead.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hartsdale housing market is in buyer’s market territory at this time.  Like White Plains, the area resisted the housing correction particularly in the condo and coop markets until the stock market crashed in late 2008.  Single Family homes had taken a hit prior to the market crash and although declines continued – they were not as severe.

Cooperatives:

The coop market saw a 3.1% price decline from Q2 2008.  Hartsdale currently has an inventory of 11 months.  There are quite a few contracts and pendings at this time.  This reflects the longer escrow periods that the banks are responsible for.   Sales volume is down 12.5% over the previous year.   Much of that decline in slaes volume can be attributed to the slowness of the banks.  The number of contracts and pendings indicates that thinAlthough this is absolutely a buyer’s market, the volume has picked up and the free-fall in prices has stopped.

Condominiums:

The most dramatic price adjustment was in the condo market.  Prices were down almost 35% over the previous year.  Sales volume was down over 14%.  The current inventory suggests an absorption rate of 15.5 months.    Although Hartsdale did not go on a high-rise “building spree” like White Plains and New Rochelle, the excesses of  those markets are filtering their way through the entire lower Westchester  condo market.
Read the rest of this entry »

The buyers market that we are seeing in most parts of Westchester is also in force in Hartsdale NY. Inventories are high while sales remain slow. However, interest in buying has picked up and there are those who say that prices are near their bottoms.

Markets are by no means even. Areas near the train station seem to do particularly well when compared to outlying areas where a walking to Metro-North is not an option.

Cooperatives:

Prices stabilized this quarter to some extent. But this was on the heels of a significant price drop during 2008 particularly following the stock market crash. Prices will continue to remain weak due to high inventories and low volume. The change in volume of sales from Q1 of the previous year is a striking 65.4%. Only 9 cops sold during the first quarter compared to 26 the previous year.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those looking for an easy commute and extra elbow room at a great price, this coop should be on top of your list of “must-sees.”

Hartsdale Towers is a beautiful pre-war complex located on the corner of the highly desirable East Hartsdale Ave. and Columbia Ave. This complex features a unique stucco and brick facade with wonderful old-growth trees and landscaping that create a residential feel in spite of its location on E. Hartsdale Ave. The lobby is Art Nouveau with stunning moldings and details.

The unit itself is a large 2 BR unit with 1080 s.f. It has high cove ceilings and newly refinished hard-wood floors. The kitchen and bath are updated and the kitchen contains new stainless steel appliances. Bright and airy with excellent view of E. Hartsdale Ave. the unit offers tremendous value for the price.

Read the rest of this entry »