Debbie Gartner is “The Flooring Girl” and she has some excellent tips for home owners who are thinking of selling in the next 1-3 years. Flooring is huge these days as Westchester NY buyers increasingly turn their noses up at wall-to-wall carpeting. Adding hardwood to carpeted areas or refinishing floors that you have covered with carpet can add real dollar value to your home.
Enjoy the reblogged article and check out Debbie’s blog The Flooring Girl
Ruthmarie Hicks
What types of flooring provide the best ROI?
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One of the biggest bones of contention for Westchester NY home buyers is old dirty carpeting – particularly the wall-to-wall variety. It makes a home look dated, dirty and makes the buyer wonder what is underneath that eyesore. As an agent I actively encourage my sellers to take the time and expense to pull up those carpets and refinish the hardwood – if that’s what lies beneath. In the long haul the initial expense brings great rewards and actually saves money But don’t listen to me – Listen as well to Marie Graham - an expert in staged homes.
From Marie Graham:
In most any room, walls- all vertical surfaces, including windows-make up the largest surface area, followed by floors. Depending on the quality of the product and wear it’s received, 8 to 10 years is an expected life span for most broadloom.
WHYOHWHYOHWHY do sellers wring their hands, whine and gnash their teeth when the Realtor and Stager suggest replacing carpet from the last millenium?
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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.
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When buyers first come to me they have a lot of criteria on their wish list. Very often the hype in the market about homes being available for pennies on the dollar sets them up for disappointment. It is not unusual for me to hear the following…
We love this house! It has all the amenities we want – but that neighborhood! Why can’t we find this in the school district (or insert other criteria) that we want?
This is a question asked by many buyers who are frustrated that they are not able to find exactly what they are looking for at their price point. Lenn Harley wrote a tremendous post on this topic and kind of beat me to the punch on this topic. “I’ll send you my criteria….” In that blog – Lenn aptly describes a situation very familiar to Westchester NY agents. A buyer who is perfectly capable of buying has created criteria that is so tight it prices them out of the market. It happens all the time and the way I answer that question depends on the circumstances.
Often the buyer has has selected an area exclusively based on the school district (as in Lenn’s blog) I recognize and understand everyone’s desire to give their children every advantage, but unfortunately everyone likes that town (zip code) for the same reason. Since pricing is determined by supply and demand, how much you can buy often depends more on where you are looking. Some areas are highly competitive while others have plenty of inventory.
Or at least miss out on that property you had your eye on….
Westchester NY homes for sale is a mixed market. But some indicators are starting to point upward. Last weekend I was out with more than one buyer who was surprised when they found a couple of homes they had their eye on already had offers and were heading for contract. I had warned them about the great bird in the hand on several occasions – but they didn’t listen. Buyers feel that there is no hurry right now and that is where they are wrong. The urgency is only felt after they lose out because they were overconfident of the strength of the buyers market.
The Irony of a Buyer’s Market:
When its a seller’s market – buyers wish that it were a buyer’s market – but they then proceed to snap up overpriced homes like they were hot pancakes. When its a buyer’s market – the buyer’s disappear or sit on their hands waiting for the deals to get “even better.”
Most buyers end up waiting until its too late and then we are back to a seller’s market….Where buyers once again complain that they wish they hadn’t missed the buyer’s market and snap up overpriced homes like they were hot pancakes. The perpetual cycle continues!
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White Plains New York homes have been following patterns seen throughout county with Westchester county homes for sale continuing to drop in value. Sales volume was up during the period that the tax credit was in place. But like much of the county, sales volume has has dropped across the board to 2009 levels since after the expiration of that stimulus.
For Q2 2010 prices for White Plains NY homes for sale were down from the previous year. Single family homes – which took the brunt of the housing decline last year – had less of a correction this year. The good news here is that as far as single family homes in White Plains goes – we may be still trending down, but the steep declines apparent between 2008-2009 are not present. The story is different and more discouraging for condos and coops.
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The Westchester NY real estate market has been in turmoil over the past 18 months since the stock market crash of 2008. Many parts of the county are still in decline, but some areas are perking up with lower inventories and lower prices. A few areas in the county are starting to see minor price increases. Real estate in Scarsdale NY is one such area. In general, this should be no surprise since there has always been a demand for Scarsdale NY homes. Such homes also include Scarsdale coops which are also quite desirable.
Scarsdale NY Single Family Homes – Scarsdale Schools
The average price for Scarsdale homes for sale – saw an average price increase of about 14% to $1,437,000. Although prices had not truly increased in such a dramatic way. It points to health in the market because is shows that higher end homes are actually closing. The banking crisis kept the larger homes out of the market place in Q1 of 2009. So this increase reflects a broadening of the viable market and not a true price increase. The price range of solds was far broader in 2010 than in Q1 of 2009. Prices ranged from $558,000 to $3,625,000.
Looking at sold listings, the inventory on the market is considerable over 15 months. However, if you look at contracts and pendings – the picture is brighter with a little more than five months of inventory. But that assumes that everything under contract will sell. The truth lies somewhere in between. This is still a buyer’s market – but it is definitely not a fire sale.
Edgemont Single Family Homes – Edgemont Schools – Scarsdale P.O.:
Average housing prices increased in Edgemont as did sales volume which was up 200%. The average sales price at the end of the first quarter was $1,608,000 – up from $840,000 at the end of Q1 in 2009. Interestingly, the price of lower end homes was static, but the price increase reflects the fact that higher end homes are now selling again. For example the highest priced home that sold in Q1 of 2009 was $1.1 million. But in Q1 in 2010 the highest priced closing was $4.2 million. So prices haven’t risen dramatically – but the price range closed sales has increased dramatically. There is still considerable inventory on the market – so this is still very much a buyer’s market. With respect to closed sales in Q1 there is a 15 month inventory. But there are many contracts and pendings in the pipeline. If you use that as your benchmark – the inventory is a little over six months.
Scarsdale NY Cooperatives:
Cooperatives in Scarsdale – including Garth Road with a Scarsdale P.O. – showed moderate gains in prices – up 3.8% over Q1 in 2009. The average sales price in Q1 of 201 was $246,000. Sales volume was static from the previous year and inventory vs. closings indicates that there is a 9.7 month supply of active listings if you look at closed sales from Q1 2010. Looking at contracts and pendings that goes down to 6.5 months.
An Important Note About the Criteria for the Statistics:
I handle each type of housing in Scarsdale differently. I also include a special section for single family homes in “Edgemont” which is really in the town of Greenburgh with a Scarsdale post-office and zip code.
For condominiums and cooperatives, I use the Scarsdale post office and zip code as my criteria. Many of these complexes are actually located in Greenburgh and Eastchester.
This reflects the way most buyer’s shop for housing. Coop and condo buyers work by address whereas those looking for single-family homes are often shopping municipality and school districts.
Further Reading:
Scarsdale NY Housing Market Statistics – Fourth Quarter 2009:
Scarsdale NY – Housing and Market Statistics for Third Quarter 2009:
Housing and Market Statistics for Scarsdale NY – Second Quarter 2009:
Scarsdale Coops – Pet-Friendly Scarsdale Country Estates
Scarsdale Manor Cooperative – Garth Road -Scarsdale NY
The Chauteaux Cooperative – Scarsdale NY
© Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview.com – All rights reserved.
The Westchester real estate market is now truly a buyer’s market. In most communities, the number of westchester ny homes for sale is in excess of six months inventory. This is not universal throughout the county. But for the most part, the county is in a buyer’s market. A few days ago, I wrote a blog about seller’s stuck on unrealistic prices (Dear Seller, About that number in your head…) But this is one of those markets where unrealistic expectations are not limited to one side of the transaction. Fueled in part by media reports filled with sturm und drang (storm and stress) many buyers have confused a buyer’s market with a fire sale.
Unfortunately, unrealistic expectations can set buyers up for unnecessary disappointment and frustration. There are several flavors of unrealistic buyers out there.
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Yesterday I showed a foreclosure. Until fairly recently, Westchester hasn’t witnessed much in the way of “underwater” home ownership. We’ve always had our share of foreclosures, but they were far from commonplace. The house was a mess. The walls contained broken dreams of home ownership and you have to wonder about the people who lived there.
There have been a lot of blogs written lately about who is to “blame” for the housing bubble and its disastrous aftermath. Some bloggers blame lenders, some blame agents, brokers, NAR, the Fed, home owners…the list goes on and on.
But one common thread I find very discouraging are blogs which lay blame on the homeowner who was underwater. They should have KNOWN better. They were GREEDY. They were IRRESPONSIBLE, they were this, they were that…
In truth, the housing debacle is as much a result of the decimation of the middle class as it is about a housing bubble itself. Families have found the ground shifting under them faster than they could ever have imagined. Many homeowners have found themselves into the horns of a dilemma. This is the story of my generation. As a forty-something I’ve felt the sands shifting under my feet ever faster. I have found myself scrambling to earn those ever elusive extra dollars that will allow me to keep my own home – even as I help my clients sell theirs.
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You know that your real estate market is expereincing a shake-up when an article about it in Inman News. The post was actually a reposting of an original article written by “The Real Deal” by Amy Tennery called Westchester real estate shake-up: Brokerage world sees shuffling of agents as firms shutter and consolidate during downturn.
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