Scarsdale, NY

The housing market in Scarsdale is all over the place. Single family homes took a very heavy hit last year. Since they took their hit early, they now appear to be in recovery mode. The same can not be said for neighboring Edgemont which is now taking a drubbing and the cooperative market has also seen some difficulties.

Cooperatives:

Coops took a big hit this time around. It is somewhat surprising to see since this entry level type of housing has remained very sturdy and resistant to correction due to high demand. But it is not immune. Sales prices for the Scarsdale P.O. are down over 23%. Less so in desirable areas near the train – such as Garth Rd. But all have taken a hit since the market crash of ‘08. Sales volume for Q2 2009 is down over 45% with only 18 units sold in Q2. There is currently about 15.5 months of inventory on the market – making this a buyers market by every criteria that we have.

Condominiums:

There were so few sales that I am not including condos in my statistics except to say that volume is down by 50% and prices are up – reflecting a couple of sales at Christie Place – a new high-end 55+ luxury condo complex. It is setting a new price standard for the area – and this increase does not indicate rising prices across the board.

Single Family Homes:

These homes are located in the Scarsdale school district. Sales volume has remained steady when compared with Q2 of 2008. This reflects improvement seen in White Plains as well. Single family homes took the biggest hit early in the housing recession and are now leveling off and even recovering. Prices are actually up over 2008 averages to $1,560,000 up 4.6 %. There is over 13 months of inventory on the market, so the conditions still favor buyers. But for those who want to buy, I would suggest that you get moving. Low interest rates and buyers market that might be turning around indicate that buyers should pull the trigger rather than wait for better things.

Single Family Homes: (Edgemont)

Different town, same P.O. – totally different stats. Edgemont didnt’ take a big hit early on, but it is doing so now. Sales prices are down a near whopping 40%. That does not indicate a 40% drop in the price of the average home. It indicates a price drop combined with a market that is shunning higher end properties. More modest homes are selling – while high-end homes sit – skewing the stats downward. However with more than 2 years of inventory on the market, Edgemont is a buyer’s market.

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:

1. Scarsdale NY – Housing and Market Statistics for First Quarter 2009.

2. Scarsdale NY – Housing and Market Reports for 4th Quarter 2008.

3. Scarsdale, NY – Housing & Market Statistics for 3rd Quarter 2008.

4. This could be your “back yard”….

© 2009 – Ruthmarie G. Hicks http://thewestchesterview.com – All Rights Reserved.

Housing and Market Statistics for Scarsdale NY – Second Quarter 2009

Much of Scarsdale is in full blown buyer’s market mode. In single family homes, the price drops and inventory issues have been extremely severe. The cooperative market has held up much better. The weakness in single family homes is in part a reflection of the stressed jumbo loan market. Since most homes in the coveted 10583 zip code fall into the high-end category - the market has been dealt a more severe blow than corresponding markets in White Plains and Hartsdale.

Scarsdale is a wonderful place to live and qualified buyers should be taking advantage of this rare opportunity.

Scarsdale Cooperatives:

Coop prices and inventory have remained remarkably stable over the past year with prices dropping less than 1% over the previous year. Volume was down 28% over Q1 of 2008 and the overhanging inventory is about 12 months. However, since we are now in the prime selling season with 20 units under contract or pending, the actual inventory is significantly lower than that. Prices are close to 8% off their highs from Q1 of 2007. But this is a far milder reduction than we’ve seen in other parts of the county.

The area is desirable with an easy commute to Manhattan, so its not surprising that prices have been resistant to the declines seen in other markets. Further, the price point for cooperatives inoculates them against the woes of the jumbo loan market. The charts below show just how resilient this market has proven to be.

Scarsdale Condominiums:

There are not a lot of condos in Scarsdale. This reflects the high concentration of pre-war construction which lended itself to coop conversion in the 1980s. The level of sales will increase as Christie Place starts to have significant closings, But until then the numbers are too small a market for me to post too many statistics. For that reason I have refrained from charting or drawing any true conclusions. Only four units sold in the first quarter of 2009. There are 13 units on the market and two sold during the same quarter of the previous year. The average price was under $500,000 - however, the presence of the 55+ community of Christie Place will change those stats significantly in the coming months.

Scarsdale Single Family Homes:

Prices are down over 17% from the previous year and down 37% from 2007. The inventory of 166 homes creates an overhanging inventory of 35 months. This is a full-blown buyer’s market and is in part a reflection of Jumbo loan issues that creates a pall over the entire high-end market nation-wide. The charts below paint a grim picture.

Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of light in that there are 47 contingent/pending sales at this time. Given the state of lending, many of these will have challenging closings. However, most of the 23 pendings will indeed close. So the market is definitely picking up steam with volume increasing dramatically off of its alarming lows of the winter. If half of the contingents and all of the pending sales close within 60 days, the inventory overhang would be about 9.5 months - assuming that volume is achieved and can be sustained.

Edgemont Single Family Homes:

Edgemont shares a zip code with Scarsdale as well as the Scarsdale P.O. Edgemont is part of the town of Greenburgh - but I include the stats here because many who are looking to buy in Scarsdale are often searching in Edgemont as well.

Sales prices in Edgemont are off significantly and reflect the correction seen in Scarsdale itself. The average sales price of the first quarter tumbled 42% from the previous year. Since prices didn’t adjust downward from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008, its as if Edgemont experienced in one year the same reduction that took place in Scarsdale over two years. The average sales price fell from $1,449k in 2008 to $840k in 2009. Sales volume tumbled in the first quarter by 50% - although given the small volume of both 2008 - 2009 it is difficult to draw conclusions. Sales volume is down 81% Q1 of 2007 as can be seen in the third chart at the bottom of the page.

The current active inventory is 57 houses with homes selling at about a rate of one a month in the first quarter. At this time, the market is picking up with 8 contingent contracts and pending sales. If six of these lead to a closing within 60 days that would leave an overhanging inventory of about 19 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:

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

Hartsdale NY - Housing and Market Statistics for First Quarter 2009.

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

What the Heck is Going On with the Crazy Westchester NY Housing Market? Taking a look back in order to move ahead.

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

Scarsdale NY - Housing and Market Statistics for First Quarter 2009

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