RYE RECENT SALES

HARRISON RECENT SALES

RYE NECK RECENT SALES

A recent client of mine is undecided- should we list now or wait until s

• LESS INVENTORY to Compete With.
• Buyers are savvy online and will notice a well priced
  house that comes on at almost any time of year, so if you price well with less
  competition, you are bound to get noticed.
• Our area looks GREAT at this time of year with the leaves changing and so much activity: School
  Fairs, Halloween Window Painting, Walking Tours, Sports Events and more. I know
  a couple who bought locally after attending the Rye Harrison Game with friends
  from Rye- he turned to his wife and said, We HAVE to move here!”

*Graph Courtesy of Trulia.com.

Original Living Room

In my experience, staging may not necessarily help your home sell for more money, but it WILL help your home SELL and it will help your home SELL FASTER.  My recent clients, a young professional couple with a baby, were growing out of their one bedroom place. In order to differentiate it from the other units in the building, the owners enlisted Kathy Rath to come over and see what we could do to warm up the apartment on a budget.  With some furniture rearranging, IKEA fabrics and pillows and some pieces from Target, this apartment was transformed!

Together with proper pricing, this home stood out from the rest, and sold relatively quickly to an all cash

buyer. Feel free to contact me for more information on this topic and for recommendations.

Her recent post featured on the William Raveis Real Estate Blog about home pricing bears repeating, perhaps now more than ever:

Click here to read her post, Stop Overpricing Your Home.

*Photo courtesy of William Raveis Real Estate

The summer lull is ending and the onset of cooler weather is starting to bring out buyers looking at local properties, as we enter into our “second busiest” selling season. The spring is typically the busiest real estate season, but interestingly, it seems in the past year or so as if the most successful part of the spring selling season is starting earlier: late February or March (following bonus time?).

Nancy Everett, a highly respected agent and consistent Top Producer, suspected the same and compiled a list of all the single family sales in Rye City School District from $2,000,000- $4,000,000 in the past year for a client presentation.* A small sampling of approximately 30 homes, but it turns out that the majority of the sales went in to contract (pending) in March, and the second highest month for contracts to be signed was November- otherwise the pending dates were spread out fairly evenly throughout the year.  So our suspicions were confirmed, at least in that price range and area. Although I would normally expect to see more homes coming on the market in the coming weeks, it has been relatively quiet the past couple of weeks, although there have been a couple of quick sales. Buyers are price driven and that will determine what sells and what doesn’t (along with condition and location, of course).

Curious what has sold in our local area? Click below for the past three months of single family sales:

RYE CITY RECENT SALES

HARRISON/PURCHASE RECENT SALES

RYE BROOK RECENT SALES

Click on the links below to view recent sales in Rye and Harrison:

RYE RECENT SALES

HARRISON RECENT SALES

Rye Housing Data

One theme we kept coming back to in between course assignments was, naturally, the state of the local housing market. And in Westchester and Fairfield Counties, he was saying, It just isn’t as bad as it seems. In fact, I may go as far as to say, it may be better than you think. National statistics may have our head spinning with foreclosures and short sales, and although we have seen that increase in our area since the recession, it is not even remotely close to the national numbers you hear on TV, especially when the numbers include Florida and California.

My current advice: If there is a home you are interested in right now, make an offer.

Spring is Here and there are some great housing options to choose from

Or give your real estate agent an indication of where you would consider making an offer. If the seller rejects your proposal, you will at least have a guideline of how to proceed, and you may find that your prospects for buying that home are not as out of reach as you may have thought. At the very least, your feedback will provide an indication to the seller of current market value from an active buyer’s perspective.

I met an appraiser at a home in Rye Tuesday afternoon, and she told me that Rye City, in her opinion, has held up better than ANY area in Westchester County in the past year. She said that we must have some secret formula that attracts people here (and we do, I think ).

RHS Football games under the lights are some of my favorite local events

Of course, that is far from a scientific survey, but I think you would be hard pressed to find another community where property values have held as well.  No,  it is not 2005 again ANYWHERE. And school district ratings are a primary factor in driving the market, now more than ever.

But there are a lot of challenging school districts, so I believe it is more than that:  the small community feel with big city sports, ongoing community events, an active downtown shopping area and city owned Rye Golf Club, access to plenty green space at Rye Town Park and Beach , the Marshlands and Nature Center. All in a compact six square miles.

With plenty of private school options as well and new inventory throughout the Sound Shore Area, there is opportunity everywhere.  Let’s take a look at some recent stats:

Market Update:

Rye City:

• 93 Homes on the market ranging from a low of $485,000 to a high of $12,5000.00 list price.
• 48 Homes currently in contract.
  
• 50 Homes have sold in the past 6 months for a median sales price of $1,321,250.
• 62 Homes sold during the same time period last year* for a median sales price of $1, 150,000.

Rye P.O./Harrison:

• 23 Homes on the market ranging from a low of $999,000 to a high of $4,795,000.
• 8 Homes currently in contract.
• 7 Homes have sold in the past 6 months for a median sales price of $1,500,000.
• 7 Homes sold in the same time period last year for a median sales price of $2,250,000.

Harrison/Purchase:

• 172 Homes are on the market ranging from $299,000 to $8,995,000 list price.
• 32 Homes currently in contract.
• 45 Homes have sold in the past 6 months for a median sales price of $1,065,000.
• 55 sold during the same time period the previous year for a median sales price of  $1,440,000.

*Rye City all 10580 zip code, RCSD & RNSD schools districts. 6 month time period 11/4/10- 5/4/11 compared with same time period the previous year. Rye/Harrison zip 10580, HCSD. Harrison/Purchase encompass all homes in HCSD. Homes in contract include conditional contract( awaiting mortgage commitment) as well as pending sales. All information per Empire Access MLS, formerly WPMLS.

What happened in YOUR neck of the woods the first quarter of 2011?  And how does it compare to last year?

Take a look at the stats posted by William Raveis for the first quarter of 2011- CLICK HERE to view.

The spring market is here, additional inventory is on, buyers are out, and homes are heading to contract so expect these numbers to go up in certain areas during the second quarter.

As a real estate professional, I see a lot of magnificent homes, but my current listing on Hilltop Place in Rye* is truly special. Quietly situated at the end of a picturesque private road just minutes from Rye’s bustling downtown, brick pillars with built in lights and white picket gates welcome you to this stately 1928 brick and clapboard colonial with sweeping views of three golf courses: Apawamis, Willow Ridge, and Westchester Country Club.

The gracious front entry with curved staircase is the heart of the formal entertainment area and includes elegant formal areas: an elegant recessed paneled living room with an oversized fireplace and beautifully decorated sun/media room, both with french doors that open to a wraparound terrace overlooking the rolling hills of the property. The sun room features a radiant heated limestone floor with hand hammered border. A library/den features antique pine paneling with a stained mahogany finish and coffered ceiling. The spacious step down dining room continues the color scheme of muted greens, rose and gold that is consistent throughout the main rooms, echoing the outdoor views.

Yet this is a truly a family home as well, with a comfortable kitchen/family room combination that also opens to the wraparound terrace overlooking the property and features top of the line stainless appliances, gleaming marble counter tops, a wood burning fireplace and flat screen TV.

An additional children/teen room nearby could have many uses. It is spacious enough for all kids’ activities and has plenty of drawers and built ins for media equipment, toys and accessories. The downstairs level features built in lockers and drawers, a bath and laundry room, and access to the four (heated) garages.

The Master suite with fireplace features spacious bath and walk in closet, and five additional family bedrooms complete the second floor, many with bath and one with an adjoining sitting room. Guests or staff will delight in a floor all to themselves on third floor with a large bonus space and four additional bedrooms and a full bath.

Featured on the Rye House Tour and detailed in this past article, this home exhibits the quality detailing as befits a luxury home built in the 20′s but with all the modern conveniences of the 21 st century- a sophisticated sound system connects five zones, main rooms wired for internet, and all internal workings of the home have been upgraded.

Additional property is available for purchase.

A perfect blend of luxury and comfort in a private location convenient to all!

This home is equally suited as a fantastic family home or serene weekend getaway from Manhattan. Please contact me at judy.croughan@raveis.com for additional information regarding this spectacular home and property, or visit me on my business page on Facebook at Rye Real Estate Blog.

* Co- listing with Loretta Rapisardi of Julia B Fee/ Sothebys Int’l Realty.