Archive for the 'Sleepy Hollow' Category
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.
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Going into NYC for July 4th is great – but it can be a hassle. Fact is you don’t need to go to Manhattan to see terrific displays. Here is a short list of lower Westchester events and fireworks displays. This will help get you started….
You can start celebrating as early as tonight:
Events for Wednesday July 1, 2009
Playland’s Weekly Fireworks Display:
Starts at 9:15. Offered by the Westchester County Parks Dept. Admission for parking is $4.00
Location & Info:
Playland Park
Playland Parkway
Rye, NY 10580
(914) 813-7010
White Plains Fireworks Display:
An evening out at the White Plains High School. Includes fun for all With inflatable rides and food along with a children’s stage. Free to the public. 6-10 PM. (Rain date July 2)
Location & Info:
White Plains High School
550 North St.
914-422-1200
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Yes, this report is very late…I’m including it in order for readers to have a complete picture of this market as we move through the year.
Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow housing stats are giving us many mixed signals. Pricing appears to have stabilized, but inventories remain high given the low rate of sales – which will continue to put pricing under pressure.
Cooperatives:
Coops showed a pricing increase over the previous year by roughly 6%. The number of units sold in both years was quite small, so these statistics need to be taken with a grain of salt. The current inventory reveals a 9 month supply of coops currently on the market – which is actually a good deal less than other parts of the county. The average sales price for a coop in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow was $146,000 for the first quarter.
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Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow have been in the midst of a buyer’s market for some time. This has been particularly true of the single-family home market in the area. The higher tax rates that some of the river towns deal with put this particular market into bearish mode rather early in the correction when compared to other areas of Westchester.
One of the symptoms of a buyer’s market is low volume. Volume was way down on the cooperative market. So much so that there weren’t enough sales to run pricing statistics with any accuracy – which is why they are omitted. Condo prices and volume were down significantly when compared to the previous year. But single family homes that have been really beaten down in the last few quarters – had a volume consistent with 2007 levels – significantly down from the boom era, but not the grim dip seen in other sectors. It might be an early indication that that particular sector is starting to stabilize. Of course it is way too soon to say anything definitive. Market bottoms are always judged with 20/20 hindsight!
Cooperatives:
There were only two sales for the 4th quarter – far too few to draw any meaningful conclusions on – except that this is a bear market for coops. Having said that, sales are low throughout the county and coops are a very small part of this particular market. Yes, its a buyers market, but with only 7 units for sale in a down market, how many sales could one expect?
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Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are among my favorite places to hang out in Westchester. You can’t beat the historic landmarks and the places like the Rockefeller Preserve for scenic beauty and a great walk. As much as I love the area, I must admit that housing market is in retreat and will probably remain that way until the Wall Street crash moves past the crisis stage and some stability returns to the job market.
The housing market has been slowing in the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. This general weakness is seen across all housing sectors with single family homes taking the largest hit with respect to pricing. It is important to note that these closings were either completed or under contract prior to the stock market crash. So further reductions in pricing my occur.
Cooperatives:
Cooperative prices are down roughly 5% over the previous year. Sales volume is down 45% over the previous year with about six months of inventory on the market. Although this has all the earmarks of a buyer’s market, the actual numbers are small – so one shouldn’t read too much into the dramatic decrease in sales volume. Sales are down significantly and this is a buyer’s market – there is no doubt about that – but the 45% decrease would be 27% had there been just two more sales in 2008.
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OK, I am digressing to my former life. I was a biology major in college and for many years pursued a career as a research scientist. I still teach at the undergraduate level as an adjunct professor. One of my favorite labs teaches students why leaves change color in the fall. When student’s crush green leaves into a solvent – and separate the pigments using a process called “paper chromatography” the different colored pigments separate out from the green chlorophyll – showing the wide array of color pigments that leaves possess. The pigments are there (carotenoids and anthrocyanins) even when the leaf is green, but you can’t see them because the amount of green chlorophyll simply overwhelms them.
As summer turns to fall, the days grow shorter and the chlorophyll starts to break down. This allows the other pigments in all their splendor to be revealed. Some years, the “show” is more vivid.
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Westchester County is the ultimate Halloween community. After all, we have Sleepy Hollow! When people think of Sleepy Hollow, their thoughts usually turn to Washington Irving’s famous tale – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The story of Ichabod Crane being pursued relentlessly by a headless horseman has been a Halloween favorite since its publication nearly 200 years ago.
In that spirit, Historic Hudson Valley hosts Legend Weekend with both day and evening events at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. The Manor is a remarkable restoration that takes you back in time to about 1750, when the Manor was a farming, milling and trading center. Visitors are shown what life was like as they explore the grounds. The grounds border the location of the “Headless Horseman Bridge” where Ichabod Crane supposedly disappeared forever.
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Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow river towns which are inextricably linked to each other through history and lore. Although Tarrytown is located in the town of Greenburgh while Sleepy Hollow is part of Mt. Pleasant, the two villages share a school system. Both Tarrytown an Sleepy Hollow have their own stops on the Hudson Line and are about 35-40 minutes from midtown Manhattan. Tarrytown used to be a very sleepy village, but it is developing a night life of its own and boasts the oldest Music Hall in the county which has seen some very top drawer performers in the recent past along with fine dining. Sleepy Hollow is home to the Headless Horseman Bridge, the Old Dutch Church and Cemetery and the famous Rockefeller Preserve. Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown have discussed the benefits of merging the two villages although this would require secession from Mt. Pleasant on the part of Sleepy Hollow. In any case, these two villages are crammed with history, character and views providing a unique place to live that is a train ride and a world away from downtown Manhattan.
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