J. Philip's Westchester Real Estate Blog: New York: Ossining

Prices are down, but volume is up according to the data for single family homes in the Ossining school district for November 1-30 2011. All information is taken from the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service. 

This past November, 11 homes closed at a median sale price of $332,000. 
In November of 2010, 8 homes closed at a median sale price of $367,500. 

It is consistent that lower prices would yield a higher volume of closings. With the winter and end of the year coming, more sellers might be willing to discount their price for expediency. I counted several homes that sold considerably below asking price by percentage, with 7 selling below 90% of asking. Buyers did very well last month. 

30 homes are currently under contract or pending sale, down from 37 last month.This is normal, as activity tends to slow down around the Holidays. My experience is that while activity is lower this time of year, those that are in the market tend to be more serious.  

The median price of those 30 homes is $379,200. Last month, the median price of pending homes was $449,000, so the more expensive homes had an easier time closing. This is also not unexpected- lower cost homes, typically bought by first-time home buyers often hit more roadblocks than higher cost homes where financing is typically less of an issue, and even cash terms are seen with some frequency. As a matter of fact, 2 of the 11 closed sales were cash, including one for $1.975 million. 

119 homes are available for sale, which is only down 2 units from last month. People must be taking my advice and not hibernating for the holidays! 

One thing that remains a constant is that buyers remain in the superior position as winter approaches. The good weather is also a factor, coupled with strong inventory, so we may see spring arrive early in Ossining real estate in 2012. 

Prior posts on Ossining.

Find a home in Ossining with the Listingbook Home Search!

The October real estate closing statistics in the Ossining School district indicate a drop from October of the prior year. 

In October 2011, 7 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $410,000. 

In the same period last year, 11 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $535,000. 

Obviously, this is a precipitous drop in both volume and median price. However, there is an explanation: The number of homes under contract ballooned from 19 last month to a whopping 37 this month. Buyers are indeed signing contracts; they just aren't closing yet.

This could be due to delays on the lender side, which is something I am seeing more frequently in this environment. The pending transactions could also be short sales, which take much longer to close than typical deals (we often say that short sales should be renamed "long sales"). There could also be title issues delaying closings, which would again indicate caution on th part of the lender, the buyers, or both. In years past, buyers might turn a blind eye to a finished basement or a deck without permits. That is no longer the case.  

The median price of the 37 pending deals is $449,000, which is a healthy number. 

121 homes remain on the market as active and available at a similar median list price of $399,000. While buyers still have quite a few choices, that is a rather low number for Ossining, which typically has 150 homes in inventory, but it also indicates a lull in the sales cycle. Some people are taking their homes off the market until after the holiday season. 

Prior posts on Ossining.

Find a home in Ossining with the Listingbook Home Search!

All information is for single family homes and is sourced by the Empire Access MLS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors. 

The numbers are in for September real estate closings in the Ossining School district, and they show a significant improvement over the prior September. All information is for single family homes and is sourced by the Empire Access MLS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors. 

In September 2011, 17 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $395,000. 

In the same period last year, 9 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $345,000. 

That is almost a 90% jump in transaction totals and a 14% rise in median sale price. It is also the best September transaction total enjoyed by the Ossining market since 2006. Median price is still down almost 20% off the peak of 2005, however, and we are a long way from a full recovery off the high water marks of the last decade. 

There are currently 19 homes under contract with a buyer at this point in time, at a median list price of $429,500. This is a good sign that the trend of improvement is contunuing into the Autumn market. 

136 homes remain on the market as active and available at a similar median list price of $425,000. Buyers still have ample choices from the available inventory, and the asking prices are not far from those that are making it to the closing table. 

As a broker, my interpretation of the data is that the sellers are adapting to the new reality of lower prices. If the median asking price were higher, perhaps $475,000, we would likely have far fewer homes under contract, and of course fewer closings. So long as home sellers continue to price their homes to reflect the sensiblities of the buying public, we are likely to see an organic, sustainable recovery going forward. 

Prior posts on Ossining.

Find a home in Ossining with the Listingbook Home Search!

Growing up in Ossining, even though I went to Catholic schools after 1st grade, I always got the connection between the local history and the high school mascot, the Ossining Indian. We were told of the Sint Sinck heritage, stone on stone, and how the high school teams were emblematic of that history. That changed in 2002, when social and political pressure convinced the district to retire the Indian mascot. OHS grad Dana Goldstein, quite an accomplished scholar herself, has written a complex commentary on the change and aftermath.

Of course, the community is now a decade into mascot limbo, and with all due respect for the folks with the Ossining Indians Forever bumper stickers, I see less of an issue with the loss of the Indian as the lack of a suitable replacement.  They have tried and trashed the fictitious "Riverhawk," then simply "O," and now I see tacit references in the press to the "Pride," as if those ex -jocks among us don't already know that the term is as common as "athletic supporter." The only official announcement of Pride is on a student blog I found from a senior, Trevor Gill, who graduated last year.

I wouldn't have a horse in this race if I did not still reside in the district. My alma mater, John F Kennedy Catholic in Somers, is represented by the Gaels, another ethnic character, only of the Irish variety. I won't go past mentioning that Notre Dame's mascot, the fighting Irish, is literally a drunk leprechaun. And I couldn't root for the Washington Redskins. But the reason for retiring the Indian was not mere political correctness. Tomahawk chops, caricatured logos and costumed buffoons would be reason enough for me if the mist of genocide and suffering did not linger. And as much as I'd like to cross my heart and promise to go back to the Indian if we could do it respectfully and without chicanery and stereotypes, I don't think we can unring the mascot bell.

What I would like to see is a mascot that the entire community can get behind that isn't a vowel or part-time adjective. The reason the Indian still remains in our consciousness is because they haven't devoted the effort to a suitable replacement that matched the campaign to retire the Indian. The world has changed. No one is changing their mascot from Wildcat or Bear to Indian. It is the other way around.  I think it is time for Ossining to adapt, because you cannot rewind. The best thing to do is for the district to put an earnest effort in finding a new identity that resonates with both sides of the argument once and for all.  

What can you get in Ossining for $741,000? 

If you acted fast, you could have gotten a gorgeous 2002-built colonial in Waterview Estates. Here's what it had under the hood: a level half acre lot backing up to wilderness (General Electric-owned reservoir), exquisite landscaping, a lawn sprinkler system, a wrap around porch and a 2-car garage to start, and we havn't even walked inside. 

Inside: 3600 square feet of living space, 4500 if you included the walkout finished basement. 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, with a master suite to die for; a granite and stainless steel gourmet kitchen with an island; a family room with a classic wood burning fireplace and sliding doors to the rear deck; lots of architectural detail and contractor-owner upgrades; plenty of massive walk in closets; cathedral ceilings with skylights; gleaming hardwood floors on the main level, including the formal living rom and den; high end carpeting in all bedrooms upstairs and in the finished basement rec room - get the picture? 

Now for a little bragging:

We listed this home on May 13, 2011, got an accepted offer in June, went under contract in July, and closed on September 9. 91 days total start to finish, less than half that before an accepted offer. It is the highest price for a home in this subdivision since 2009. Selling a home this fast for 99% of asking doesn't happen by accident in this market. You have to know what you are doing, and you have to execute. 

If you'd like a home like this, get yourself a free Listingbook account and find another home right here or a nearby community with our easy home finding application that lets you search the MLS like an agent.  

This is the market report for Ossining, NY for August 2011. It covers single family homes in the Ossining School District. All data is from the Empire Acess MLS. 

In August 2011, Ossining had 15 closings at a median sale price of $420,000.

In August 2010, Ossining had 15 closings at a median sale price of $436,000.

Both volume and price are holding steady, and this is a fairly siginificant departure from the downward trend of previous periods this year. August of 2010 was in the the stimulus period, so the results this August, which are unaffected by any outside forces or inducements, are organic and describe some strength. That is good news for sellers, finally. 

Currently, there are 33 homes under contract at a median asking price of $409,222. This shows that pending prices are are also strong, and we should expect volume to remain steady as the autumn approaches.  

There are 132 active listings at a median asking price of $424,611. We are actually down to under a year's worth of inventory at this rate, and while buyers do have lots of choices, sellers have gained some ground. It remains a buyer's market, but not as severe as it was earlier this year.

Since inventory is down & prices and volume are stronger it suggests that we may have turned the corner. 

Previous posts on Ossining are here. 

Search Ossining homes like an agent with a free Listingbook account. 

I had the good fortune to be asked  by the Ossining-Croton Patch.com site to blog for them regularly, and this past week I was featured in one of their videos on the challenges of the housing market. We met at one of my firm's listings in Ossining, and filmed interview style on the state of the market, what sellers can do to get their homes sold, and where I saw the market going. 

If you want to see me in a talkie and hear my nasal, best suited to be writing voice, feel free to click on the link. My editor said we would be doing it again, but maybe he was just being nice. I was proud that I refrained from drooling. Articulate talk will be in the ear of the beholder. 

By the way, the house we are filmed at is Tom Ricapito's listing at 14 Hillcrest Ave in Ossining, a really great 4 bedroom 2 bath starter home with a 2-car garage that is only $349,900. It is 2100 square feet, a great rear patio and landscaping, and even has a bar in the basement. And yes, it has a waterfall in the back yard. Call Tom at (914) 804-3048 if you'd like to see the place. 

Ask any foodie about New York and you'll know that we have the best bread they've ever had. Local restaurants often boast that they have bread baked from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, and with good reason. I myself have lived in New Orleans, Austin, Rochester, Philadelphia, Boston and Maryland and appreciated the local offerings (New Orleans has some of the best food in the world!) but always measured bread against the bread from home.  While Arthur Avenue bread and rolls are the world standard in my view, Ossining bakery is right up there. 

Among my fondest childhood memories is when I would go with my father to Ossining Bakery after Sunday mass. He'd stand at the counter with his fedora hat and horn rimmed glasses, smile at the counter person, and order 12 hard rolls as we called them. Delicious crust, soft savory inside. If he was in a good mood we might get some doughnuts, and then we'd go home, Mom would cook hard boiled eggs, and we'd watch Abbott and Costello or the Bowery Boys on channel 11. I can't eat a good roll and not go back in time. 

Ossining Bakery is a regular guy place- nothing fancy, baking is done on premesis, and the interior is exactly the same as it was when I was a kid- devoid of pretense, glass counter with the baked goods, a few tables, and self serve coffee. If it were a restaurant, it ould have red and white table coths and folding chairs but always be crowded. Anthony, the current owner, bought it 12 years ago from the folks who ran it for the prior 30 years, and the continuity in both presentation and quality remain. 

Rolls and basic pastries are their pride and joy- you can expect about half a dozen differen types of doughnuts along with crullers, turnovers, and cookies. And the rolls are the best in Westchester, period. They go great with butter, tomato sauce, or soup. They make everything taste better. I eat them alone- they are that good.

Don't expect flowery cakes that looked like they were made by a confectionary Rembrandt. It's not that kind of place. They do the basics, they do it well, and that's why it has been an instuitution for decades. I hope they never change. 

I've actually met with people for coffee here, and, and will again just for the aroma of the next batch of greatness wafting from the ovens. 

Ossining Bakery
50 North Highland Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
(914) 941-2654 

We have a unique listing that might be of interest for someone looking for a home they can renovate without having to pay cash or getting a rehabilitation mortgage. It is a 2172 square foot tudor in the heart of the village adjacent to St Ann's school yard on Eastern Avenue. It was used for years as a single family, but is zoned as a two-unit and still could be converted. 

The home has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a stucco exterior, with a 1-car garage and a flat rectangular lot. It is a few blocks from shopping and public transportation. The owner will hold a mortgage with a 20% downpayment for the right buyer, with negotiable terms. Owner-financed home are rare, so this is a unique opportunity. 

The home is a true renovation job. It has been gutted to the studs and needs a new heating system and other mechanical updates, but as they say it has good bones. The list price is $250,000 with taxes of approximately $10,600. The median price of homes in a half mile radius from here is $365,000. If you are interested or know someone who might be, feel free to call or email me. 

40 Elizabeth Street, Ossining, NY 10562. $250,000, owner financing available.