The Village of Ossining is my hometown. Ossining is in Central Westchester County on the banks of the Hudson and is noted for being the home of Sing Sing Prison down by the river and Maryknoll Mission up the hill a few miles. Notable Ossining natives include Peter Falk, Martha Quinn, Dominic Pace and Erica Leerhsen. The village is densely populated; over 25,000 people live here, so the volume of transactions compared to nearby villages is relatively high.
Here is the data on single family home sales in the Village of Ossining going back to 2000. All information is from the Westchester-Putnam MLS.
| Year | Avg Price | Median Price | # Sales |
| 2000 | $ 253,000.00 | $ 240,000.00 | 123 |
| 2001 | $ 291,000.00 | $ 287,000.00 | 108 |
| 2002 | $ 330,410.00 | $ 309,000.00 | 118 |
| 2003 | $ 367,162.00 | $ 360,000.00 | 139 |
| 2004 | $ 446,400.00 | $ 419,500.00 | 114 |
| 2005 | $ 464,476.00 | $ 440,000.00 | 135 |
| 2006 | $ 453,712.00 | $ 440,750.00 | 124 |
| 2007 | $ 443,464.00 | $ 424,583.00 | 126 |
| 2008 | $ 422,748.00 | $ 418,250.00 | 80 |
| 2009 | $ 397,278.00 | $ 361,000.00 | 9 |
The thing that strikes me about this is the relatively robust consistency of the transaction total and average price through the years. Consider this: 2007, while widely considered a down year, actually has a higher transaction total and median price than 2004, which was considered one of the hottest years on record. It just goes to show that all real estate is local.
2008 was certainly a historically down year in transaction totals, but that really isn't different from most other places. Of course, even with a stable market problems arise. If you bought your home with 100% financing in 2004 or 2006 and had to sell your Ossining home today, you'd be underwater. You also be in the same boat (or under the same boat) as most other Americans who put nothing down on their homes, so it isn't so much an Ossining problem.
Currently, there are just 62 single family homes for sale in the village. Most years that would be a very low inventory, but given how much volume dipped last year fewer people are putting their homes up. The average asking price is $460,000. Only 14 homes are pending sale or under contract, and their average asking price is about $375,000. Only 9 homes closed thus far in 2009 and the average sales price was about $398,000. Without some developments to restore consumer confidence, we are looking at a "correction" back to 2003-type values. Worse, we are only on track to have about 50 or so closings in 2009, which is absolutely paltry.
I am an optimist, so I am hopeful that the belief that the current low rates and other favorable conditions will bring out more buyers and get us out of the malaise.
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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.
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