Somers is near and dear to my heart. I went to high school here at John F Kennedy Catholic. The area is located in northern Westchester County and is very wooded and pleasant, with the NYC reservoir system running along much of its eastern border. Appearances can be deceiving: There is quite a bit of industry here, with huge complexes for both IBM and Pepsi hidden from street view on bucolic campuses. Somers also lays claim to being the cradle of the American circus, with the high school mascot as the “Tusker” and town hall at the Elephant Hotel. 

The real estate market is also active.The following is the market activity for the 2nd quarter of 2001 for single family homes taken from the Empire Access MLS. 

This past quarter, 26 homes sold at a median price of $538,500. 

For the same period in 2010, 33 homes closed at a median price of $585,000. 

Given the effect of the Stimulus on 2010 stats, Somers should be considered very stable. 

There are 19 homes under contract at a median price of $475,000, which suggests that the lower priced sector is having more activity than more expensive homes. 

137 homes are active at a median asking price of $580,000. 

No mention of Somers would be complete without also noting Heritage Hills, the huge condiminium community here, which has the bulk of 69 units on the market at a median list price of $369,000. Last quarter there were 22 condo sales closed at a median price of $372,500. 

To find a home in Somers online, get yourself a free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 

Located in northwest Westchester County, the Hendrick Hudson School district is in the town of Cortlandt and encompasses parts of Croton, Cortlandt Manor, Peekskill, and all of Montrose, Verplanck and the village of Buchanan. All information is for single family homes from the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. 

For the 2nd quarter of 2011, 11 home closed at a median sale price of $495,000. 

For the 2nd quarter of 2010, 21 homes closed at a median price of $369,000. 

I see a little bit of supply/demand dynamics here- fewer homes are selling with higher prices. More homes sold last year at lower prices. 

16 homes are under contract at a median asking price of $402,500. If they close in the next 45 days, we’ll be looking at a market that is more like 2010 than last quarter. 

97 homes are active and available at a median asking price of $451,000. 

The area is holding its own. Inventory is quite high, and that will suppress prices. When prices do go down, transaction volume will go up. 

Previous posts on Hen Hud schools are here. 

Find a home in Hen Hud schools with a free Listingbook account. 

Pleasantville’s real estate market for the second quarter of 2011 is an analysis of single family home activity for the period April 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011 for the Pleasantville school district. All information is derived from the Empire Access MLS. 

For the second quarter of 2011, Pleasantville had 12 closings at a median price of $445,000.

For the same period in 2010, there were 13 closings at a median price of $535,000. 

That is a significant drop in median price. To appreciate how far down prices have come, in 2004, there were 22 closings at a median price of $647,500. From the peak, Pleasantville is down over $200,000 in median price. 

There are 72 homes for sale now at a median asking price of $604,200. That is almost 2 years of inventory. 

The light at the end of the tunnel for the area is on the homes currently under contract: 9 homes are under contract, and they have a median asking price of $719,000. 

Remember, we are measuring quarters here, not single months, so the likelihood of an anomaly is far smaller. That high median price for the contracted homes is real, it is significant, and it is good news. 

Previous postings on Pleasantville.

Find a great home in Pleasantville on Listingbook. 

The Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors has released their 2nd quarter report for the two counties real estate sales. It’s valuable data, and I thought I’d do something a little different- namely, take the entire first half of 2011 and see how we are stacking up with the first half of 2010. 

Here’s the scoop for single family home sales, county wide, for the period from January 1 through June 30, 2011 from the Empire Access MLS:

1710 single family homes have sold at a median sales price of $592,475. 

Here are the numbers from the first half of 2010:

1958 single family homes sold at a median sales price of $604,250. 

While we’re down 248 sales, there is reason for optimism, because much of 2010 was fueled by the artificial effect of the tax stimulus, which poached deals from the future and never did any real good from my point of view. The 4th quarter of 2010 was miserable. So, if 2011 is more consistent than the up and down of 2011, we still have a chance to compare well to last year. 

But, thus far, no matter the reason, we’re down both in volume and value. 

The first words of M. Scott Peck’s seminal book The Road Less Traveled are “Life is hard.” It was actually required reading in a senior elective at Villanova back in 1988. I thought of it yesterday as I was driving and I snapped the shot below, a sight all of us in the industry are familiar with: the road. It was hard not to take the photo- what lay ahead seemed to go on forever, framed by a pretty blue sky that seemed indifferent to my thoughts and concerns. 

Real estate, like life, is not easy. It is my career, my vocation, and it is what feeds and clothes my family. And right now, the industry is in a downturn with no short road out-it is what it is. However, like driving, I like it. And the times that it is “easy” or at least not difficult, are those times when I don’t resist the hard parts. 

I think that all of us in housing know this. It’s difficult when it is difficult, and it’s easy when it is easy. We just keep driving forward, eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, engaged, paying attention, and hopefully appreciating what we behold on the way. 

I hate to rain on a guy’s parade.

As a colleague from another industry sat across my desk, we pondered why his home, listed with another broker prior to meeting me, had not sold. Looking at the market activity, his bottom line and what it appeared he’d get were about $10,000 apart. My suggestion was to lower his price and be done with it. He was not excited about that prospect, and said he was considering renting the place until the market turned around. Among the first questions I asked was what his cash flow position would be if he were to lease the place. He thought it would be about $500, which would be a $6,000 annual profit. 

God bless him. 

Having done the landlord thing I knew that if the surface appearance of $500 positive cash flow simply compared rent minus mortgage, my colleague was in for a rude awakening. So we teased it out, and to his credit, he approached the discussion with earnestness -no easy task when it’s your place. 

Here’s a summary of what I told him could happen to that $500 every month, assuming *100%* occupancy. 

• Insurance. You have to convert your policy to a landlord policy for a non owner occupant. Does that raise or lower the premium? I think we know the answer there. 
• Water bill. Tenants don’t pay the water bill in a condominium, the landlord does. Who uses more water, renters or owner occupants? I think that answer is also fairly obvious. 
• Taxes. While they are often already in the mortgage, they tend to change in one direction only here in New York: up. 
• Routine maintenance. My friend is selling because he is buying a bigger home for his family. His new home with have a furnace, central air, plumbing and electrical systems which will require routine care. So will his old home. That fixed cost will double, unless you like living dangerously and don’t peform routine maintenance on the systems in a tenant occupied home. Which leads us to…
• Big Ticket items. A landlord with $500 cash flow is better known as a landlord who is one new furnace away from having his year’s profit decimated. The same goes for the central air, and things like water heaters and garbage disposals also chip away. You wouldn’t believe what tenants flush down the toilet and put in the garbage disposal. Plumbers aren’t cheap. 
• Tenant foibles. Like the great Derek Jeter, some things don’t show in the stats- you have to tell the story. Such as the following: 
  • Tenant: The dryer is broken!
  • Landlord: But it is 2 only years old
  • Tenant: It won’t heat up! I can’t dry my clothes! You have to fix it!
  • Landlord: I’ll be right over…
    Sure enough, the dryer won’t get warm. Until the landlord pulls out the lint screen, which by this time has a family of alpacas stuck to it, because the tenant never owned a home and always had a coin laundry back in their apartment in Yonkers. Yippee. 
    The landlord rationalizes he did not have to pay a repairman, and tries not to think that his quiet evening with his family is wrecked, or his tenant is a doofus. Kumbaya. 
• Wear and tear. Tenants have been known to punch holes in things. And they put flooring and painting contractors’ kids through college. Replacing carpeting eats away at cash flow. So does replacing broken windows floor tiles, and garage door openers. Trust me.
• Guests. Lovers. Grown kids and extended family. None of whom are on the lease, but often visit and never leave. And they have no accountability to you, but the neighbors notice. These are the hole punchers. 
• Pets. I could write a book on this one. Cats especially, for some reason, but say goodbye to the carpets. And yes, you’ll be repairing th hardwood too. And oh. That. Smell. 
• Security Deposit. Yeah, they’ll try to use that for the last month’s rent in some cases. Sorry. 
• Quality of life. Then there is the being joined at the hip to people who punch holes in things, run the furnace like it’s a rental car, run the water like they are baptizing the Philistines, and sometimes may not pay their rent on time or return phone calls. If you’ve ever waited in your car at 9pm waiting for this son of a person to get home so you can ask where the missing money order is, you’ll know it’s not cool like in the Sopranos. 

For $500 a month? No, try for NOTHING. Especially if you are in the 40% tax bracket. Here’s a better idea: If you want to get $500 a month extra, wait tables on the weekends. 

I topped out at 14 units 8 years ago, and I still get jitters when I hear the phrase “lot line cleanout.” If you are moving out of town, you’ll need to pay a property manager, which also effects the bottom line. Think about that if you are relocating from Westchester to Jebip. My colleague needed a far bigger margin or to just lower the price and sell it. 

If this sounds antithetical for a broker to talk folks out of real estate investing, it isn’t. I deal with professional investors, not weekend warriors, because the late night infomercials are a lie. 

I sleep better at night. I hope my friend will now as well. 

I’m not interested in discussing whether or not it will ever be Morning in America anytime soon, but I think we can all agree that it isn’t Morning in Real Estate right now. We are in a dark evening in some precincts, and from my observations the freaks really do come out at night. The red meat of the buyer pool is incredibly marginalized now, often paralyzed by a lack of confidence or financial setbacks, forcing many agents to work with what some might term “the bottom of the barrel.” 

In short, many of the buyers out there now were never people who would have been in the front of the line during the days of irrational exuberance. And sellers, who are in mourning over lost equity and often under their own financial stress, are often at their own breaking points. It makes for some, shall we say, interesting scenarios. 

• Take the case of the buyer who gets a perfectly good deal-a great one, as a matter of fact- yet they still have an adversarial attitude toward the sellers, as if they are owed something more. After weeks of increased demands on the seller, the deal implodes when the homeowner declines to put on a clown outfit and sing with a banjo. Apparently, a huge concession, some furniture, the tractor, snow blower and repairs aren’t enough, the seller has to live in a hotel for 3 weeks because the buyer’s rate lock expires too soon. Their agent, hanging onto their ankles for dear life (and a commission), never thought to help with mortgage financing for fear of being sacked. 
• The you have the cash buyer who runs all over town making offers of 65 cents on the dollar, whose agent proudly boasts “but it’s cash,” as if the term will perform a hypnotic jedi mind trick and convince the seller (and their lender perhaps) that the form of payment will trump basic addition and subtraction. Again, the agent is just happy to be working with someone, operating under an illusion that they’ll make a sale with this person because Cash is King.
• Sellers aren’t immune, we see  our share who are turning down offers an eyelash short of asking price because if the offer is that good, they must have been underpriced. And their Aunt Doris, who lives a time zone away and sold real estate in the 1980s, wonders aloud how they can take that deal if there hasn’t been an open house yet. 
• And then you have the lawyer, my personal favorite here in New York, who apparently lives in the illusion that it is still 2005, choosing an inane battle to fight to the detriment of losing a buyer with a full commitment. So what if the deck is illegal? Because, dear, banks don’t loan money on homes that are out of compliance. Now do us a favor and go back to writing wills for your bridge partners. 

With the closure and razing of the old building that housed Big Top and several other small businesses and their imminent replacement by Walgreen’s, the village of Ossining will have yet another “big box” drug store. Nearby Chilmark shopping center on the border in Briarcliff also has a proposal on the table for the arrival of the area’s second CVS, which will be at the cost of Prescriptions Plus. 

Those of us old enough to remember Arcadian Garden Center before the arrival of CVS might recall that there was a time when Ossining was well served by small, neighborhood pharmacies, and the populace got by just fine. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon, but other than occupying vacant retail space that the market appears to not otherwise fill, I am skeptical of the value brought by another retail giant.

The argument that they bring jobs is doesn’t resonate with me. The various stores in Big Top’s building employed dozens, just as Walgreen’s will, but there will be 4-5 fewer proprietors in our midst. Their accountability and civic presence is not something that can be measured in a spreadsheet. 

I remember as a child on Linden Avenue walking down Clinton to Big Top or Burd’s stationary for candy or toys. The storekeepers at places like Strictly Ice Cream (remember them?) knew your name. They were neighbors. This was especially important with how the now disappearing small pharmacies filled prescriptions, which isn’t always a smooth process at a larger outlet (and after 4 pregnancies in our family, that is no small issue). 

The utility for consumers will remain constant, although I am dubious as to how our quality of life improves with so many choices of where to get a gallon of milk, a greeting card, or shampoo. In a diverse vibrant village with so much charm and history, can’t we attract a more independent and varied type of business? Is local ownership dead? I hate to stand in the way of “progress,” as relative as the term is in this case, but can’t we do better? 

This is the market report for the Byram Hills School district (predominantly Armonk and parts of Bedford and Mount Pleasant) for the 2nd quarter of 2011. All information is for single family homes and is sourced by the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. 

For the second quarter of 2011, 23 homes closed with a median sale price of  $970,000. 

For the 2nd quarter of 2010,  29 homes closed with a median sale price of  $940,000. 

Things look pretty steady here, with prices up a touch amd transaction total down some. 

31 homes are under contract with a median list price of  $1,250,000. 

150 homes are active with a median asking price  of $1,272,500. Inventory is high, but pending sales look to carry on in a relatively healthy volume. Armonk is home to IBM and is also close to I-684 so it is a very good commuting location. And the available inventory has some gems. 

To search for Armonk homes for sale like an agent, get yourself a free Listingbook account. 

This Market Report is for the Yorktown school district and all data is for single family homes taken from the Empire Access (formerly Westchester-Putnam Multiple) Listing Service.

In the 2nd quarter of 2011, Yorktown had 27 closed sales at a median sale price of $380,000.

In the same time period of 2010, 45 homes sold at a median sales price of $465,000.

Clearly, Yorktown is taking it on the chin this quarter. However, this quarter is being compared to the last stretch of the stimulus from last year, which artificially inflated the numbers. 

Currently, there are 26 homes under contract at an asking price of $397,464. If they close at an average of 95% of list price, that will put median value at just under $380,000. Values, therefore, look steady. 

There are 150 active and available listing on the market now at a median list price of $449,000. That means there is 18 months of inventory on the market, which is quite a bit. And judging from the median sale prices, the higher prices homes are not selling as well.

It is a good time to be a buyer. Is there an acho in here?  

Previous postings on Yorktown can be found here. 

To check out the 150 available properties Yorktown has to offer, register yourself for a free Listingbook account. 

Last year I did a blog post on the churches in Ossining. Today I’ll share some of the very beautiful houses of worship in Briarcliff Manor.

This is St Mary’s Episcopal Church of Scarborough on Albany Post Road (Route 9) right next to Sleepy Hollow Country Club. I love Gothic stone buildings like this.  

This is All Saints Episcopal, also in Scarborough at the Intersection of Scarborough Road and Old Briarcliff Road. This is moments from my home and is another gorgeous stone structure. 

This is Scarborough Presbyterian. If you’re seeing a “Scarborough” theme here, it is with good reason: Scarborough is one of the older parts of Briarcliff Manor along the Albany Post Road corridor, and this would be the logical place to build a church in the area’s earlier days. A quick story about the bell tower- back in college in the 1980’s, my friend worked a summer for an electrician, and he had to go up there for a job. Whatever had to be fixed up at the top first had to be excavated out from decades of ancient bird droppings. He decided that his father’s advice to stay in college and get a degree was good advice. 

Faith Lutheran is far more modern. As different as it is, it has always stood out pleasantly. 

Briarcliff Congregational Church is another striking old stone structure that is over a century old walking distance from downtown. A bigger building than a photo can do justice, I’ll post two. 

Congregation Sons of Israel is walking distance from where I grew up, and I remember frommy youth how the building has grown over the decades. It is another place with a larger footprint that is very pretty framed against a blue sky. 

Saint Theresa’s Roman Catholic is another stately, traditional stone building, but instead of slate the roof is tin! The front steps were just made for a wedding portrait, and I have driven past quite a few. 

I have left out Holy Innocents Episcopal, and I’ll try and add that in the near future. I love these buildings, and they are one of the prettier pieces of scenery for me as I drive around no matter what the season might be. 

This is the market data for the second quarter of 2011 for single family homes in Peekskill, and all information is sourced from the Empire Access (formerly Westchester-Putnam) Multiple Listing Service.

In the 2nd quarter of 2011 there were 14 closings at a median price of $239,500. 

In the 2nd quarter of 2010, Peekskill had 16 closings at a median of $267,500. 

Prices continue to slide in Peekskill, and transaction totals are also down some. It is a good time to be a buyer, and investors know this- there are 11 homes under contract at a median asking price of only $160,000. The less expensive inventory is all that’s moving. 

There are  73 active listings with a $290,000 median list price. That is over 18 months of available inventory at incredible prices compared to the bulk of Westchester County. 

I’ll repeat: Now is the time to buy in in this beautiful, historic town on the banks of the Hudson. Peekskill also has a plethora of condomiums as well, and I may post a market update on that sector also. 

Get yourself a free Listingbook account and check out homes for sale in Peekskill. 

Previous posts about Peekskill are here.  

I remember as a child in the 1970’s hearing my mother lament that she knew that she was making less than her male counterparts. It was a problem, and pay equality continues to be an issue to this day. Things are improving, but I don’t think we’re there yet. 

But is real estate an occupation where pay equality is an issue? According for a recent article in Forbes, real estate ranked as one of the top 10 sexist jobs in the United States, along with truck driving and marketing managers, earning about 70 cents on the male dollar. The piece also put women at about 52% of the agent population, which struck me as peculiar.  In my area, women dominate the agent pool; I’d put them closer to two thirds of licensees. 

Since real estate is virtually only a commission based pursuit, the 70 cents on the dollar statistic can’t refer to a lower salary. Commissions are negotiable; you earn what you sell. In my market, female agents dominate the high dollar producers. There are plenty of males who are high producers (like, for instance, Yours Truly), but we’re outnumbered. And I don’t think that New York is an aberration. I think females make up the lion’s share of the agent population just about everywhere. So what gives? 

I really don’t know the source of Forbes’ data. However, if the average female agent really does earn less than $700 per week and the average male almost $1,000, I have some theories. 

1. While men may very well be a minority of the agent pool, a higher percentage who are licensed may be full time bread winners. This is where women being in the majority works against them, because the more part timers you have, the more your numbers are pulled down. 
2. Commission splits for women could be lower for women, which strikes me as incredibly unlikely. The competition for productive agents is fierce, and I have never heard of such a thing as offering a female agent less and expecting to get her license hung in your office. 
3. A wild card could be that female agents negotiate lower commissions with clients, but, like number 2, I see no evidence of this at all. 

7 things you can do on Google + that you can’t do on Facebook

A short one this evening, but worth sharing: 

I have been having challenges keeping up lately. A reality of my position and how the company is growing is that I really can’t devote as much time to buyers as I once could. Today alone a three headed monster arose: one timeslot, two buyers wanting to see homes, and a 3rd appointment needing my attention. I could only do one. 

I took the non-buyer appointment and brought in two of my newer agents to match up with the buyers. One wasn’t available tonight but I was able to re-schedule the client. The second agent met up with the client for a showing and did a great job- so good, as a matter of fact, that the buyer thanked me for the matchup! She felt very comfortable and they bonded. In one showing. That is awesome. 

Now, if a guy is going to get fired, that is the way to get fired. It is a good feeling knowing that when I make a client handoff that the people are in good caring hands. 

I love my team! 

I had an appointment this morning where I was reminded of two cornerstone laws of real estate:

1. Unrealistic people tend to remain unrealistic no matter what evidence is brought before them.
2. The price one asks for their house and the price one gets are two entirely different animals. 

Back to the zinc mine after stealing some rest over the July 4th weekend. A few thoughts thus far as I rely on “mental muscle memory” to get going:

1. To my colleague agents who email me their listings: cut it out. I read the hotsheets and I have amazing technology to match buyers and sellers. You do it to pacify your sellers, but why don’t you educate your clients instead. It is carnival barking, and it antogonizes.
    
2. Note to Self: Slim-Fast shakes should replace breakfast, not be an apéritif. 

3. Summer camp has started. Alleluia, Alleluia, let a thousand legions of Cherubim and Seraphim sing praises to the Almighty.

4. On that note, my daughter officially has the shoe thing going on. The rhinestone sparkly pair she insisted on wearing to camp confirms it must be an evolutionary thing.  

5. People who add me on Facebook but have all of their information under lock and key will not be confirmed. The huns will not kidnap your daughter and pillage your home if you tell me where you work and what you do, since you probably have that on 10 other sites not called “Facebook.”

6. Google+ probably won’t supplant Facebook in the next year, but I don’t see how LinkedIn can survive. Getting all your friends from high school to migrate will be no easy feat, but tech savvy people in the Industry are already there or will be as soon as it is out of beta. 

7. To the guy who emailed me yesterday and said “I’ve emailed you three times.” C’mon. It was July 4th.
    
8. Hydrofracking sucks. Energy companies by definition cannot be trusted to clean up after themselves, and when a process introduces compounds to the ground water designed to dissolve rock we are asking for trouble.

9. Some people get a tattoo when they are drunk. Others buy puppies. 

10. No, I don’t have any updates on any files since the last time you asked me late Friday.
     
11. “I can’t reach you” is feeble and lame. If you call me Friday evening after 6pm and it went     straight to voicemail, burn another half a calorie and send a text, email or smoke signal before you vent on Saturday.
12. I hope you have as good a summer as I did in ’85 between high school and college.