Active Rain February 1, 2012

How the Chappaqua Condo Market Demonstrates That All Real Estate is Local

173 Birchwood Close Chappaqua $375,000For the third time in the past 4 weeks, I have been contacted by a buyer who chose to call me directly instead of having their agent call me because their offer was not accepted. In each case, I have told the agent-and the buyer when they called- that I’d be happy to know what comparable sale they used to justify their price. In each case, I have heard the same thing in lieu of any other fact: It is a buyer’s market.

This is what I wrote earlier this week on the “buyer’s market:

 the “buyer’s market” phrase was thrown around as if it were some childhood game wildcard phrase that granted immunity from logic or true market forces.

In other words, there were no other sales they could use to justify their price- it was just a speculative pipe dream. 

One of the properties we are dealing with is a condominium in Chappaqua in the Old Farm Lake complex. Even though the 4th quarter of 2011 was not good and prices across the Westchester market were down about 5% from last year, the condominium market in Chappaqua is actually up. Here are some facts:

  • In 2009, the median price of a condo in Chappaqua was $453,000. 
  • In 2010, the median price of a condo in Chappaqua was $467,000.
  • In 2011, the median price of a condo in Chappaqua was $505,000. 
2011’s median price is the highest since 2008, when there were 19 closings at a median price of $530,000. In 2011 there were 17 closings. Not much of a difference. 
 
It’s local. This small sector of the market for whatever reason is up in median price. You can’t stress it enough: All real estate is local. What we read about in Nevada, Arizona or Florida is fine when evaluating the national scene. But if you are buying something, it is the local facts on the ground that matter, not what is happening in another state. Is it still a buyers market? It is. But the degree of leverage a buyer has on a Chappaqua condo is not what they’d have in Florida, and if they make the mistake of judging things outside of the locale, they risk losing out on a nice unit. 
 
173 Birchwood Close Chappaqua $375,000