How Is the Housing Market Really Doing Right Now in Yorktown?

Before the end of the third week of August, as this report is posted, the discussion among home sellers and real estate agents is that the real estate market in Yorktown seems to have slowed to a crawl and is below last year's number of sales and selling prices.  But is that really the case?

There are many factors to be considered before determining whether the market is truly getting worse or improving. Among those factors are the seasonal slowing of the market at the end of the summer, along with the fact that mortgages are more difficult to attain than they used to be, requiring significantly more information and time. Also to be considered is the increasing inventory of available housing, and how sales figures compare this year with last year.

Balancing the scale away from doom, there are exceptional values in the market right now for buyers with good credit and a stable job outlook. A sampling of just a few of those opportunities surveyed here would show that, compared with prices at the top of the market, there are some genuine bargains offered by those sellers who must move on with their lives. And never in our history have there been lower interest rates for mortgages.

In gathering and analyzing the statistics from the Westchester/Putnam Multiple Listing Service, there is both bad news and good news about this year's performance compared with last year, depending on how those figures are analyzed.

If we take the numbers of homes that sold between January 1, 2009 and August 20, 2009, and compare it with the homes that sold between those same dates in 2010, we actually find a significant improvement. In 2009, 90 properties had sold in that period, but in 2010, 115 properties sold during that same time frame, no doubt reflecting the stimulus provided by the federal tax credit, which ended April 30.

Taking the median and average prices of houses sold inYorktown in both periods, we find that the average price actually accelerated during this period, rising from $416,243 in 2009 to $439,233 in 2010. The highest priced home sold in 2009 in Yorktown was $1,155,000 and in 2010, the highest priced home sold was $1,025,000; and, the lowest priced homes sold were $164,000 in 2009 and $153,000 in 2010.  Interestingly the median priced homes sold in both years show a higher price in 2009 at $398,500 and $406,750 in 2010, indicating that more homes sold in the higher registers in 2010 than in 2009.

Tightening the schedule of sales to the period that runs from April 30—the final date for qualifying for the federal tax credit—to the present reveals that  72 properties sold in 2010, compared with 59 properties in the same period in 2009.

It will be interesting to see what happens after the end of September when all the closings that qualify for the federal tax credit will have taken place. Will sales figures plummet? Or is there enough activity in the pipeline, generated by bargain sales prices and the record low mortgage rates?  Or, still again, will the unemployment picture continue to keep people away from taking all the positive opportunities to acquire a home now?

Certainly, just looking around at current listings from my own real estate office at Coldwell Banker, there are some really unprecedented values. 

At 2903 Birch Street, for instance, is a two bedroom starter home, completely renovated from top to bottom. It's a small, cozy house with less than 980 sq. ft, but where can you find a home in the Yorktown School District priced at only $285,000?  Contact for this home  is Rene Biemer, 917-846-6731.

Another opportunity, off Route 202 on Springhurst is a larger ranch  with four bedrooms, two baths, 1650 sq ft of space and almost a half acre of property. Also nice renovated, this house lists for just $379,500. Contact is Hallie Sherck at 914-299-3252.

For a complete change of style and setting, there is an antique house believed to have been built in 1700 on almost four acres at 2045 Hunterbrook Road, Yorktown's own little Park Avenue.  It needs some tender, loving care, but features 2700 sq. ft of space, four bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, three working fireplaces, a three-story barn, pool and tennis court, and is priced at $600,000. It's amazing to think what this house in this location would have cost three years ago. Contact is Arlene Oxman at 914-245-3400.

With just this sampling of exceptional opportunities, qualified buyers sitting on the shelf may want to think  about jumping into the fray sometime soon.

Bill Primavera is a Realtor associated with Coldwell Banker in Yorktown. He can be reached for comments or questions by email at Bill@PrimaveraHomes.com or directly at 914-522-2076.