J. Philip's Westchester Real Estate Blog: New York: Croton on Hudson

Previous posts on Croton on Hudson. 

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
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• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

Croton on Hudson is a charming village located in northwest Westchester County in the town of Cortlandt.  This market report is for single family homes in the Croton-Harmon school district, which is not coterminous with the village but is close.  All information is from the Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 

Prices are up considerably in Croton, but there were only 3 closed sales in May compared to 6 in May 2009. The area tends to be in close harmony with the school year cycle, so I expect a busy June because school is out and the stimulus deadline is June 30.

11 homes are under contract or pending sale, and there are 68 homes listed actively for sale. Buyers have lots of options to choose from in Croton. 

To give some perspective, Croton had 1 closing in May of 2006 and 6 closings in May 2005, at the height of the market. 

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

Arrowcrest is small, exclusive neighborhood in Croton on Hudson that has a beautiful view of the Hudson River and abuts Hudson National Golf Club. The striking thing about the development is the great job they did to blend Arrowcrest homes in with the wooded nature of the area. The builder did not "scorch the Earth" and clear cut every inch the way I have lamented in the past. This is not only prettier, it yields more privacy for the homes. Although the oldest home here is only about 12, the maturity of the Arrowcrest neighborhood makes it feel far more established. 

The subdivision was built mostly from 1998-2000. The average Arrowcrest home is about 4000 square feet with a 1-plus-acre lot. The last three sales in the development, all within the last 6 months, ranged from $875,000 to $910,000. There is a homeowner's association. Despite the atmosphere that suggests the contrary, the neighborhood enjoys municipal services for water and sewer- no wells or septic tanks here. Homes feature 2 car garages, full basements, central air conditioning, hydro air heat, and kitchens and master suites to die for. 

The school district serving Arrowcrest homeowners is Croton-Harmon, which encompasses Tompkins Elementary, Van Cortlandt Middle School, and Croton-Harmon Senior High School. In addition to the golf course next door, there is Croton Point Park, Teatown Nature Reservation, and shopping in Mt Kisco or Peekskill is also close by. The Village of Croton is 5 minutes away down Riverside Avenue. To get anywhere from Arrowcrest you drive down the main road with a spectacular view of the Hudson River. 

There is to be sure plenty of upscale housing in north Westchester; however, to get newer vintage homes in a wooded setting with a view of the Hudson is rare, and that scarcity makes Arrowcrest special indeed.

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

I've got Croton on Hudson on the mind lately. It isn't because my older brother has lived there for 30 years or because I camped at Croton Point Park as a young scout dozens of times. It could be because the only Bed and Breakfast in all of Westchester County is here, or maybe the numerous excellent restaurants. The real reason Croton is on my mind is because I'll be leasing office space there in the near future, and I intend to do more business in the area in 2010.

Downtown Croton is idyllic- small shops, food, boutiques, and towny-type places that date back prior to my youth.    

 The Village has one of the biggest train stations on the Hudson line of Metro North. It is a major interchange, and even Amtrak stops here.  

The views of the Hudson River from many points on the Village are breathtaking, and I think we get a little spoiled after seeing it every day.

If you want to know more about Croton, the NY Times did a very nice piece on the village last month, and included a very good slideshow also. I highly recommend them. Of course, I like my own photos of the place.

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

I have blogged about Croton on Hudson previously. Croton is a beautiful river village just about an hour north of Manhattan by train, and is a popular commuting point. I spent much of my youth there, as my older brother and his family have resided there since about 1980. 

Of the 42 single homes sales this year, the price breakdown is below. My data source is the Westchester-Putnam MLS. 

There are no surprises here. If you want a decent place for under half a million, Croton is a fantastic choice. It has upscale homes also, but overall sales are down for 2009. The market started slow in the village, and thus far this year only 42 homes have sold. In 2008, by comparison, 68 homes sold during the same time period. At the peak in 2005 the number was 85, so sales by transaction total are down 50% from the peak.

There are 52 homes on the market as I write this, so we have over a year's worth of inventory available. Given the fact that available inventory is at it's lowest ebb in December, that could swell up to well over 70 after the holidays. One good piece of news is that the median home value of $455,650 is down only about 10% from the 2005 peak of $510,000. That speaks well of the village, but speaking well of Croton comes easy to me. 

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission

Croton on Hudson is a small village just north of Ossining located in the neighboring town of Cortlandt. I spent a great deal of my youth there. As a scout I camped at Croton Point Park many times, and my high school youth group was based at Holy Name of Mary on Grand Street. It has a charming downtown, multiple riverfront parks, and lots of classic pre-war architecture. My brother and his family have lived there since the early 80's. Here's the weirdest thing about Croton. There are (count 'em) THREE attorneys there that I actually like and refer. If you knew me, you'd agree that is quite the anomaly.

Comparing the first quarter of 2009 to the same time period in 2008 tells a great deal about how the market has changed for single family home sales in the past year. All data is from the Westchester-Putnam MLS; I cut the time off at March 23 because today is March 23. I limited the search to the Croton-Harmon school district, so there are some data with a Croton mailing address that is not included.

The transaction number is way down from the prior year. And things were pretty consistent until 2009 in Croton. Consider 2006 and 2007:

What can we learn from this? Transaction totals have always been in the double figures, for one. And the median price has been roughly half a million dollar rather consistently. But thus far in 2009, it is out of whack. A few more expensive homes have sold in the district, and the lower priced part of the spectrum is en absentia.

There are 7 homes either under contract or pending sale, which doesn't bode well for a strong spring either, especially when you consider that a whopping 54 homes are actively for sale. If another 15 or 20 go on the market in the spring (a distinct possibility in the traditional cycle) and only 7 sell in the next 90 days, inventory will be even more out of balance. It will be out of balance if 20 sell, and that won't happen.

It will take some time for this to even out. And that isn't good news for anyone except someone planning on buying. Buyers, what few of them are, have their pick this Spring in Croton.

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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.

• We Are Westchester County, NY Real Estate. Reach Phil at (914) 723-8900.
• J. Philip Faranda, Broker-owner, J. Philip Real Estate, LLC. 2010 Vice President, Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. 
• I am one of New York's premier short sale REALTORS. 
• J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, Croton, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
• Free MLS Search! Register for a Free Listingbook account and search the MLS like an agent. 
• I am hiring agents. 

All content/images, unless noted, are the property of J. Philip Faranda & may not be used without permission