Brewster, NY

File this under "you can't make this up."

Whilst confirming the home inspection with a seller client, he filled me in on garage access and then casually said " oh- don't mind any free roaming sheep if you see them on the property. The adjoining 98 acre farm is corralling them in."

Now, after 15 years in the business I seldom look at my phone and laugh, but this is one of those surreal moments. This is New York. I could be in Manhattan in half an hour with the wind at my back. Sheep?

Yes, sheep. The home is located in Brewster, NY, bordering the top of Westchester County, NY in neighboring Putnam County. My uncle's family lived in Brewster for many years and visiting his home was like going to a farm; it had a pond, 2 acres of land, and they rode their lawnmower instead of pushing it. I always related to that city mouse/country mouse story from childhood because of this.

Just about all of Putnam is pastoral, bucolic, often wooded, and an awesome quality of life with Westchester a stones throw away and New York a manageable commute. My clients, a couple of super awesome special education teachers, still work in southern Westchester, where they grew up.

And apparently, they have gotten accustomed to some runaway sheep every so often. For me that is still going to take some getting used to!

This is what is so great about Westchester and the surrounding areas like Putnam: A little south of us is Broadway and Times Square. A little north is horse farm country. There is no place like this in the world.

Want to find your own home (with or without sheep) in Brewster? Get yourself a free Listingbook account.

$350,000 goes pretty far in Brewster these days. Today we closed on a listing at that very price which was quite uncommon: a Victorian manor house on 2 acres with a carriage house/garage and a view of the reservoir. It had been purchased in 2005 for $562,000 and restored before the economy tanked. An 1870 build (by circus entrepreneur Seth Howes), it had all the original moulding and trim, a root cellar, a greenhouse, a small out building, cobalt glass windows, porches, balconies, the original outhouse, and had been featured in some publications for its beauty and architectural note. As a matter of fact, the new owner is only the 4th owner since it was built during the Civil War reconstruction period!

The home is 2300 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The whole setting is private, secluded and wonderful, yet the location is convenient to the highways and the village of Brewster, just 5 minutes away by car.

The home was a short sale, and in the process of getting the approvals, we were able to procure for the seller a $7,000 relocation credit from the first lender. Happy endings all around-not easy, but happy all the same!

Welcome to 9 Spring Lane Brewster NY. Lovely home on cul-de-sac street 1.5 miles to Metro North Train. Features include new eat-in-kitchen with granite, maple cabinets, new appliances, recessed lights and sky light. Dining room with hardwood floors, sliding glass doors to 14'x19' deck. Finished lower level with family room, wood burning stove, recessed lights, full bath. Roof - 7 yrs old, driveway 5 years old, garage doors - 1 year old. Beautiful private yard, quite dead end street. Close to school, train, I84 and I684. Asking only $379,000!!

To view more photos and details check out: 9 Spring Lane Brewster, NY 10509

To view all homes for sale check out: Brewster NY Real Estate

The real estate market in Brewster showed some healthy signs in February 2010. Namely, the number of closings shot up 33% comparing with January 2010, and the number of all properties currently listed for sale decreased 4%. Of course, it is not much in a greater scheme of things, and the absorption rate (or the number of months it will take to sell all inventory in Brewster without anything new coming on the market) is still high, but one can always hope, right?

Lately, while in the office scheduling appointments and answering the inquiries from potential buyers, I noticed a great increase of activity. Just a few weeks ago, on a good day we were making 2-5 appointments a day, now it can be up to 15-20. Those are for real estate agents showing their clients properties and making offers! More prospective buyers are also calling in and inquiring about our listings. These are definitely the signs of improvement.

Now, let's get back to Brewster real estate market snapshot. Remember that the data below is for single family houses only in Brewster school district.

Market Profile & Trends Overview

Total properties currently for sale: 132
Newly listed properties in February: 23
Median list price/current listings: $399,900
Average list price/current listings: $456,322
Number of properties sold in February: 8
February median sales price: $350,000
February average sales price: $436,813
February average days on market/sold listings: 214
February months' supply of inventory: 16.5

Property Sales

February property sales were 8, up 166.7% from 3 in February 2009 and 33% higher than 6 sales last month. February 2010 sales were at their highest level compared to February 2009 and 2008. February YTD sales of 14 are running 75% ahead of last year's year-to-date sales of 8.

Prices

the median sales price in February was $350,000, up 4.5% from $335,000 in February 2009 and down -1.4% from $355,000 last month. The average sales price in February was $436,813, up 37.9% from $316,667 in February 2009 and up 14.4% from $381,667 last month.

Inventory & Absorption Rate

The total inventory of properties available for sale as of February was 132, down -3.6% from 137 last month and down -13.2% from 152 in February 2009. February 2010 inventory was at its lowest level compared with February of 2009 and 2008. The number of new listings in February 2010 was 23, down -28.1% from 32 last month and up 15% from 20 in February of last year.
The February 2010 months' supply of inventory was 16.5 months, which is a sign of a strong buyers' market, at the same time, it is the lowest compared with February 2009 and 2008.

Market Time

The average days on market shows how many days the average property is on the market before it sells. That number for February 2010 in Brewster was 214, up 75.4% from 122 days last month and up 12.6% from 190 days in February of last year.

Selling price per square foot

The selling price per square foot is a great indicator for the direction of property values. Since median sales price and average sales price can be impacted by the 'mix' of high or low end properties in the market, the selling price per square foot is a more normalized indicator on the direction of property values. The February 2010 selling price per square foot of $191 was up 4.8% from $182 last month and up 0.7% from 189 in February 2009.

Do you have any questions or would like more information about sold or listed properties in Brewster or in nearby communities? Email, call or text me!

Brewster is a village in Putnam County, New York named after Walter and James Brewster, which were landowners there in the mid 1800's. It is a part of the Town of Southeast and it is located about 55 miles to the north of New York City. It occupies only .5 square miles of land.

Walter Brewster was a very capable and busy builder contributing well over 50 buildings to the rapidly growing local housing stock. Later on the railroad came in and helped the local farming and mining industries to expand further, creating even more good job opportunities which in turn attracted more families to move into the area.

The historic Borden Condensed Milk Company was established in 1864 within the village. The factory was at the time the largest and most efficient of its kind, with 30,000 quarts of milk condensed per day and shipped worldwide. It was located on the banks of the Croton River. Today the stream located behind the old factory is considered one of the best fishing spots found in Putnam County.

Brewster's industrial and agricultural growth however was stopped when the Croton Reservoir was built claiming much of the best farmlands and some of the mines. Today mining has stopped altogether and farming plays only a very minimal role in the local economy. Many residents work in and commute daily to White Plains, Danbury or New York City.

Recreation opportunities abound at several of the surrounding parks offering activities from soccer and baseball, to outdoor summer concerts and supervised children's summer day camp. You'll also find a couple of outstanding public and private golf courses nearby.

The Brewster Central School District consists of two elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school. There are also a number of private and parochial schools as well.

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