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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.
