I am from Ossining. I grew up here and no place is closer to my heart. The village lies on the banks of the Hudson River and is an amalgam of densely populated somewhat urban sections as well as more bucolic subdivisions as you go inland. Ossining is a hilly place, with streams, brooks and a nice mix of pre war homes and newer baby boom era housing.
This data is for the village of Ossining only and is taken from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. It compares the sales of single family homes from the first quarter of 2006 through to the first quarter of 2009. I cut the data off at March 27 of each year so the numbers would be consistent.
| Year | # Sales | Average Price | Median Price |
| 2006 | 29 | $ 486,939.00 | $ 431,500.00 |
| 2007 | 26 | $ 465,923.00 | $ 413,500.00 |
| 2008 | 19 | $ 464,559.00 | $ 420,000.00 |
| 2009 | 8 | $ 405,688.00 | $ 385,500.00 |
There was a downward trend from the high point of 2006 until the wheels came off in 2009. Nothing new here; the pool of borrowers is tiny, prices are down, and the number of sales is down more than 50%. The thing that comes to mind for me is not just the market. There are 9 real estate firms in the 10562 (Ossining) zip code with 80 licensees ostensibly serving the area. There are also more agents from numerous firms in nearby Briarcliff that also service the village which probably doubles the number of agents. That is an awful lot of agents to split up 8 sales. I work all of Westchester and neighboring areas, so my wagon isn't hooked up to one marketplace.
Ossining will certainly bounce back, but money needs to circulate again for more people to take advantage of the lower prices. There are 62 active listings for single family homes alone in the village, making now an exceptional opportunity to buy.
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You can search the MLS like an agent at http://jphilip.listingbook.com.
J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York's premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil's short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
Yorktown is a town in northern Westchester County that is very suburban in character. The housing is dominated by post baby boom ranches, splits and raised ranches in quiet subdivisions as well as larger colonials in the newer developments. It is served primarily by the Yorktown and Lakeland school districts, and it has abundant shopping and parks. The area has always been a popular place to land for southern Westchester and Bronx ex-patriots seeking more elbow room and a quieter lifestyle. Downtown Yorktown Heights is located at the intersections of routes 202 and 118 and is home to the Triangle shopping Center, the iconic Friendly's, and plenty of other commerce.
This data is for the Yorktown school district only and is taken from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. It compares the sales of single family homes from the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. I cut the data off at March 27 so the numbers would be consistent.
| Year | # Sales | Average Price | Median Price |
| 2008 | 25 | $ 642,156.00 | $ 535,000.00 |
| 2009 | 15 | $ 388,933.00 | $ 400,000.00 |
The numbers are down enormously. The number of sales is down 40%. The average sales price is also down 39%. Yorktown remains the place to go for mid-priced housing for sure, but it appears to be the poster child for the economic downturn. In 2008, the most expensive single family home sold was $2,000,000. In 2009, the high price maxed out at $529,000. When the maximum price one year is exceeded by the average price of the prior year, you know things have changed. Given the commensurate price drops in points of southern Westchester, it may not have been as compelling an option in 2009.
Given it's close proximity to my office, I have sold homes in Yorktown, and the biggest beef homeowners have is with the ever-rising property taxes. Commercial development is limited in Yorktown, and since commercial and business properties often defray residential taxes the powers that be may be looking into ways to attract more development in that sector.
You can't keep a good place down, however, and when the correction is over and the market adjusts new home buyers will return. It is just too nice a place to live for people to stay away.
Croton on Hudson is a small village just north of Ossining located in the neighboring town of Cortlandt. I spent a great deal of my youth there. As a scout I camped at Croton Point Park many times, and my high school youth group was based at Holy Name of Mary on Grand Street. It has a charming downtown, multiple riverfront parks, and lots of classic pre-war architecture. My brother and his family have lived there since the early 80's. Here's the weirdest thing about Croton. There are (count 'em) THREE attorneys there that I actually like and refer. If you knew me, you'd agree that is quite the anomaly.
Comparing the first quarter of 2009 to the same time period in 2008 tells a great deal about how the market has changed for single family home sales in the past year. All data is from the Westchester-Putnam MLS; I cut the time off at March 23 because today is March 23. I limited the search to the Croton-Harmon school district, so there are some data with a Croton mailing address that is not included.
| Year | # Sales | Avg Price | Med Price |
| 2008 | 12 | $ 734,583.00 | $ 505,000.00 |
| 2009 | 4 | $ 624,125.00 | $ 620,750.00 |
The transaction number is way down from the prior year. And things were pretty consistent until 2009 in Croton. Consider 2006 and 2007:
| 2006 | 13 | $ 781,731.00 | $ 525,000.00 |
| 2007 | 15 | $ 525,460.00 | $ 490,000.00 |
What can we learn from this? Transaction totals have always been in the double figures, for one. And the median price has been roughly half a million dollar rather consistently. But thus far in 2009, it is out of whack. A few more expensive homes have sold in the district, and the lower priced part of the spectrum is en absentia.
There are 7 homes either under contract or pending sale, which doesn't bode well for a strong spring either, especially when you consider that a whopping 54 homes are actively for sale. If another 15 or 20 go on the market in the spring (a distinct possibility in the traditional cycle) and only 7 sell in the next 90 days, inventory will be even more out of balance. It will be out of balance if 20 sell, and that won't happen.
It will take some time for this to even out. And that isn't good news for anyone except someone planning on buying. Buyers, what few of them are, have their pick this Spring in Croton.
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You can search the MLS like an agent at http://jphilip.listingbook.com.
J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York's premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil's short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
Clarktown is a sought-after town in Rockland that comprises New City, Congers and some other small hamlets. I have 2 listings in Congers, which could be considered unusual for a Westchester-based agent. However, my clients understand that I am where the most likely buyer is going to come from. Rockland has always been an attractive alternative for Westchester residents seeking lower prices.
These statistics are taken from the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service. Since we still have 9 more days in the first quarter of 2009 I cut off the data at March 22 of each year.
| Year | # Sales | Med Price | Avg Price |
| 2008 | 28 | $532,500 | $580,338 |
| 2009 | 29 | $435,000 | $475,276 |
The number of transactions is higher, but the sales prices are down by about $100,000 no matter what metric you use.
The most dramatic price decline is among 4 bedroom homes:
| Year | # Sales | Med Price | Avg Price |
| 2008 | 22 | $595,000 | $621,213 |
| 2009 | 21 | $515,000 | $495,932 |
The average sales price for a home a year later is a whopping $125,000 lower. Are there still buyers? Absolutely. But what they are buying, and how much they are willing to pay, are both shrinking. If you are in Congers, New City or anywhere else in Rockland and you want to sell this Spring, this is valuable information.
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You can search the MLS like an agent at http://jphilip.listingbook.com.
J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York's premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil's short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
I have a position open for a buyer agent to work with a growing number of buyers in Queens. If you have a license in good standing, high professional standards and a knack for working with buyers this might be perfect for you. You HAVE to be good at following up, staying with people and getting their questions answered.
Unfortunately this is not for inexperienced licensees, those without a reliable car or anyone who doesn't show homes on weekends. I need an agent who can hit the ground running.
The benefits of associating with my company are numerous-mentorship from me, a constant supply of quality buyer leads, coaching, support, a good split and a positive environment.
Right now I have 12 Queens buyers who are ready to go- pre approved, motivated and eager to find something. More are coming. I won't hire just anyone- all my agents are very good. I believe quality trumps quantity. If you are interested, call or email me for a confidential interview.
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You can search the MLS like an agent at http://jphilip.listingbook.com.
J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York's premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil's short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.
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One of Westchester County's top-selling independent REALTORS. Serving Briarcliff, Ossining, Croton, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow & beyond. Visit our Briarcliff Manor office or log on- www.jphilip.com
J. Philip Real Estate is a boutique-style, independent brokerage serving all of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Rockland Counties. It is owned and operated by J. Philip Faranda, who has averaged a closing a week for the past 2 years. That's over 100 homes sold in 2007-2008, making him one of the top 5 agents by transaction total in his marketplace! The firm has offices in Briarcliff Manor, Scarsdale and Manhattan. A new branch office is scheduled to open in Nyack, NY very soon.
View all my listings on Realtor.com by clicking here.
View my listed inventory of available homes on my web page here.
Our main office is in Briarcliff Manor, NY - right between Sleepy Hollow, Pleasantville, Chappaqua and Ossining, with Croton, Peekskill, Mount Kisco, White Plains, Yorktown, Tarrytown and many other Hudson River villages in shouting distance. I serve my neighboring towns but also the "bedroom counties" of Rockland, Putnam and even Dutchess in surprisingly high volume, mainly because the largest source of buyers in those place come from Westchester.
The New York Journal News, The Real Deal, ABC News and CNBC are just some of the news outlets that have used Phil as a source for commentary or content. On May 27, 2009, ABC World News lead with a story on the real estate market that featured Phil prominently.
We specialize in residential real estate, serving the buyers and sellers of the Hudson Valley and northern suburbs of New York City. We are one of the few brokers to offer a performance guarantee. Call (866) 343-2889 for details.
Among our areas of expertise is helping clients avoid foreclosure by brokering a short sale. What makes us different from all the other firms that claim to specialize in short sales? Log onto www.NYShortSaleTeam.com to find out.
Do you have someone in or moving to the New York metropolitan area? We pay a 25% referral fee for any client you refer. We service Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess and Fairfield (CT) counties. All referrals are personally attended to by the broker-owner. Go to www.JPhilipRealEstate.net for details.
Some Frequently Asked Questions, answered in the First Person:
Q: What does the "J." stand for?
A: Joseph. My father was named Joseph Faranda and wanted to name me Joseph, but my mother did not want a "Junior." They compromised by making Joseph my first name but calling me by my middle name, which was different from my father's middle name.
Q: So what do people call you? "J?" "Jay?" "Philip?"
A:You can call me Phil. I won't be insulted if you call me J., but I'm not very accustomed to it. Some people call me J. and I don't correct them because it confuses matters.
Q: Why did you get into real estate?
A: Like many people, real estate is my second career. I never had any intention of going into it in college. I started in publishing sales for an educational concern in New Jersey, and I advanced to management rather quickly. However, they relocated me six times in seven years and I was dissatisfied with that and the compensation. My college roommate convinced me to move to Rochester and work with him in real estate.
Q: Where do you see the real estate market going in the next 2-3 years?
A: The last big correction (or crash, depending on your preferred nomenclature) was 1987. The lost value was not recouped until the mid 90's. Anyone who sees the market turning the corner in the next year doesn't understand that we have years worth of inventory on the books now and a great deal of it is foreclosed property, which suppresses prices further. And there will be many more foreclosures in the next 18 months, which means a recovery is not close at hand.
We could stabilize the market very quickly if sellers were able to simply lower their prices enough to bring the buyers back, but most cannot because they owe too much. This is why short sales are so necessary to a sustainable recovery.
Q: Who is to blame for the current real estate crash?
A: Everyone shares some culpability- government, bankers, Wall Street, lenders, speculators, and borrowers/homeowners themselves. We can argue about percentage of blame until we are old. I believe that everyone lost sight of the fundamentals because they were too self interested. Responsible self regulation by the lending industry as well as prudent governmental oversight should keep history from repeating itself.
Q: You left out real estate agents. Don't they share in the blame?
A: Real estate licensees and mortgage loan officers were the foot soldiers in the economic Waterloo we are experiencing. They are certainly paying the price for it- an attorney I know tells me that he is frequently helping real estate agents file for bankruptcy. As I said before, we are all responsible.
Q: Why are you blogging?
A: I love real estate and I love to write. My degree is in English, so I have a copy of the Elements of Style right next to my real estate books. I also feel that my commentary is credible due to the fact that I am in the field daily and not an armchair quarterback. I am one of the few real estate brokers I know with substantial mortgage experience and I am an active investor. The perspective from my marketplace is also rather unique- I straddle a very cosmopolitan New York market, suburbs, and a rather rural Hudson Valley. All that is a wide lens.
"Phil is everything you'd want in an agent ...we wish we had him here where we moved!" - Chuck and Otto, Ellenville, NY
"J Phillip's sophisticated use of technology and the Internet delivers better results than other real estate brokerages. We listed our house with J Phillip during the slow winter months at the bottom of the market. In less than a month we had two offers, and had closed the deal in less than three months. The final sale price was actually above the initial listing price recommended by the other brokers! " -Matt and Jodi, Armonk, NY
"For the record: Phil listed my house on August 1st and it was sold and closed 36 days later. The prior agency wasn't able to sell it for over a year. " -Angelo, Pleasantville, NY
"Phil, you went above and beyond. We are grateful." -Tom and Janine, Mahopac, NY
"I am very pleased with the job you did. What other previous companies couldn't do, you did all by yourself in the middle of winter. Stay in touch." Margaret, Wappinger Falls, NY
"God bless you and thanks for getting the job done." -Anabel, Peekskill, NY
"Thank you for selling my mother's home. It was a very difficult situation but you hung in there and got us out of a jam. We will use you again." Carlos, Yonkers, NY
"We are very happy and please with the job Phil did in selling our house for above full price." -Rudolph, New City, NY
" Fantastic job. You are by far the best agent we've ever dealt with and we will recommend you. We are very pleased." -Jeff and Helene, Poughkeepsie, NY
"Thank you for all your help!" -Richard, New City, NY
"I've never seen an agent hustle the way Phil does." -Vasal, New Windsor, NY
"I am amazed at what you do to get the job done. Thanks for all you did to sell my home." -Barbara, New Windsor, NY
"We are extremely grateful for the fine job you did in getting our house sold. We highly recommend you!" -Daniel and Louise, Newburgh, NY
"We are finally closed and finished! Thanks for all you've done!" -Farisha, Cortlandt Manor, NY
"Phil, that makes it two times you've helped me out. Thanks for getting me out of the spot I was in and getting my house sold. I appreciate your efforts and will recommend you in the future." -Walter, White Plains, NY
"We can't believe how fast you sold our house-and for full price! best of luck to you in the future." -Cally and Justin, Hawthorne, NY
"Phil, you did it. Thanks for getting the job done. We are relieved and grateful." -Jim and Danielle, Mt Kisco, NY
"Phil you did and outstanding job." -Joe and Madelyn, Rye, NY
"Thanks and great job. We got more than we paid for. " -William and Pat, Bronxville, NY
"Just a great job. Thank you for getting the job done when previous agents couldn't." -Jim and Theresa, Poughkeepsie, NY
"Thank you so much. I would use you again!" -Kathy, Wappingers Falls, NY
"You're the man. Thanks for getting our house sold so quickly, for over the asking price." -Sterling and Rosalind, Poughkeepsie, NY
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