Hartsdale, NY

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.

Condominiums:

Because the volume was so low, it is difficult to draw significant conclusions about condos in Hartsdale specifically because with so few sales any statistics I offer are shaky because low total numbers produce shaky results According to the raw data there was a 30.6% drop in sales price, over the previous year. But this figure is very misleading. Although the condo market is in bear territory in Hartsdale, prices have not dropped anywhere near that much. This figure has more to do with outlying numbers skewing the data. A major price drop did occur, there was also a significant drop in volume and inventories remain high with about 25 months of overhang given the current slow rate of sales. I wish I could be more specific - but there needs to be greater volume to draw conclusions.

Single Family Homes:

Single family homes took a hit as well. The numbers here are likely more accurate because there was enough volume to draw some conclusions. The price trop was significant - about 18.9% down from the Q1 of the previous year. Volume was down a little over 27% from 2008. The inventory remains high with about 18 months of overhang on the market.

Hartsdale is following the pattern that we are seeing in White Plains. The single family home market got hit first and some of those issues are easing a little in that the drop off and decline are slowing a bit. In both White Plains and Hartsdale, the inventories on condos and coops is more severe than with single family homes.

Sellers need to be aware of how difficult this market is and work with their agent to sell their homes effectively. Buyers need to understand that prices have dropped but they have not fallen through the floor. People can certainly sell successfully, I currently have a listing under contract in Hartsdale that found a buyer in fairly short order. I give my seller a great deal of the credit here for being realistic and understanding the market for what it is. When realistically priced and kept in show-ready condition - a well positioned home will sell. Volume may be low, but the buyers who are out are serious and not just booking time and kicking tires.

Further Reading:

Hartsdale NY - Housing and Market Statistics for Fourth Quarter 2008.

White Plains NY - Housing and Market Statistics for First Quarter 2009.

© 2009 Ruthmarie Garcia Hicks. All rights reserved. http://thewestchesterview.com

Hartsdale NY - Housing and Market Statistics for First Quarter 2009

Hartsdale, New York is a Hamlet in the Town of Greenburgh located mid-Westchester County. Hartsdale is a 35 minute train ride on Metro-North to New York City or you can take an Express Bus. Because of its' central location it is 5 minutes to White Plains with world class shopping and restaurants, 5 minutes to the Village of Scarsdale with boutiques and sidewalks. During the month of October, 2008 here is what is going on with the real estate market.

Active Listings- the lowest price is $349,000 for a 2 bedroom, 1 and a half bath 913 sq ft house and the highest price is $,1372,000 for a 5 bedroom 5 bath, 5000 sq ft house on 1.6 acres.

Averages for Active Listings :
Single Family $661,934 2106 sq ft 128 days on market
Condominiums $390,205 1282 103
Co-Ops $226,153 971 97

46 Active Single Family Homes
20 Condominiums
49 Co-Ops

Sold Listings -averages
Single Family 3# $889,667 2516 sq ft 239 days on market
Condominiums 6 $424,564 1504 183
Co-Ops 7 $213,471 988 192

Cab Calloway lived in Greenburgh, New York on Knollwood Road. His daughter and family are trying to repurchase the familyhome and turn it into a museum. In case you don't know who Cab Calloway is here is a segment from Wikipedia and a You Tube clip of him performing. From the Journal News today:

"The family sold the Greenburgh home after Calloway died in 1994 and has since begun a fundraising campaign to reacquire and renovate it. Calloway's daughter, Ceceila Lael Calloway, will hold a small gathering for friends and family with live music there Sunday to raise money for the Cab Calloway Music, Arts, and Cultural Preservation Foundation"

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

The following are for zip code 10530 which is for Hartsdale, New York. There are currently 59 active single family houses on the market. The lowest price is $405,000. 3 Houses are pending. 9 co-op's sold.

Active

Average price is $755,923
Median price is $625,000
Average days on the market is 107

Sold

10 Sold in August
Lowest price was $425,000
Highest price was $1,680,000
Average price was $743,500
Median price was $595,000
153 average days on the market