White Plains is the county seat of Westchester and is, in many ways, the hub of commerce for the area as well. It is home to the county government offices, numerous malls, the local Westchester Board of REALTORS, and some fantastic food and libation along Mamaroneck Avenue. You don’t go to White Plains to hide- you go there to get things done. It is a great commuting point with appealing neighborhoods and proximity to everything. There are many co ops and condominiums near downtown. The mix works. There is very little not to like about White Plains.
This data is for the city of White Plains only and is taken from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. It compares the sales of single family homes from the first quarter of 2006 , 2007, 2008 and 2009. I cut the data off at March 27 of each year so the numbers would be consistent.
Year | # Sales | Average Price | Median Price |
2006 | 40 | $ 749,060.00 | $ 687,500.00 |
2007 | 42 | $ 695,938.00 | $ 655,000.00 |
2008 | 25 | $ 677,508.00 | $ 623,000.00 |
2009 | 27 | $ 605,926.00 | $ 590,000.00 |
Clearly, White Plains exhibits the “soft landing” people spoke of before the financial crisis hit. The number of transactions did go down from 2007 to 2008 but prices didn’t drop very much. Transaction totals stabilized in the face of lower prices in 2009. In short, White Plains was not immune to the downturn but was not as adversely affected as some other parts of the county. This speaks well of White Plains- even though the economy is down, people are still buying there. I just sold a listing in the Battle Hill section this past week.
Don’t think for a minute that it isn’t still a buyers market in White Plains, however. Inventory is still quite high- 131 active single family homes remain for sale here, and only 21 are under contract with buyers.
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You can search the MLS like an agent at http://jphilip.listingbook.com.
J. Philip Faranda ranks among New York’s premier short sale REALTORS specializing in short sales in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam & Dutchess Counties. www.NYShortSaleTeam.com. Read Phil’s short sale blog at http://NewYorkShortSaleBlog.wordpress.com.
J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers, Peekskill, Cortlandt, Tarrytown, Yorktown, Montrose, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Valhalla, Hartsdale & all of Westchester County, New York.