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.