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Ossining, NY Real Estate News

By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
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Comments 15
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This market report is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for September of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  In the wake of last month's encouraging numbers, this September was way down from September of 2009. Sales are down by 40% and the median price tumbled $65,000. Not good!  However, 22 pending sales is healthy, and the available inventory of 161 homes offers great options for prospective home buyers.  I would not read much into the down numbers; Ossining has not fared poorly lately and was due for a down month. I have a feeling October will be a strong bounce back.  Previous postings on Ossining.   You can search for a home in Ossining by getting yourself a free Listingbook account.   
Comments 1
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
I have to say that I normally cringe when Westchester Magazine ranks anything related to our local communities. My own home town of Ossining is often left in the shadow of the more affluent communities, and believe me, Westchester has some affluent towns. Yet the October issue of Westchester magazine has ranked Ossining 2nd out of 40 places to live, and unapologetically so.  The article took the following criteria into consideration: Diversity Housing Costs Parks and recreation Proximity to NYC Safety Schools Proximity to water Nightlife Shopping  Downtown Taking all that into the ranking criteria, Ossining came in 2nd to Irvington and ahead of 37 other communities. I have criticized author Elsa Brenner before, and even as the father of bi-racial children I wonder aloud at her preoccupa...
Comments 5
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This market report is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for August of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  The numbers are up, which is encouraging we we distance ourselves from the stimulus. The number of transactions is up 40% from August of 2009 and the median price is up almost $20,000. Encouraging stuff.  Another fact from the data: For both 2008 and 2009, homes that sold in the first 90 days got a higher percentage of asking price than homes that took over 90 days- about 2% in 2010 and a whopping 4.5% in 2009. Moral of the story: price it right in the beginning and you'll sell, and sell for more. 2% at a median price of about $400,000 is $8,000!!! There's your stimulus! Who needs the government? In 2...
Comments 6
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
One of the neat things about the old river towns like Ossining is the pre war architecture, the likes of which we'll never see replicated. Nothing demonstrates that more than the churches in the village, many of which are located downtown off Main Street on South Highland Avenue. It is a menagerie of steeples as you drive through. Many of the churches deserve their own postings, which I'll do in the future. Here are a few highlights.  Ossining Gospel Assembly is actually up Croton Avenue about a mile from downtown, but the impressive stone structure should be included.  Trinity Episcopal is a beautiful Gothic building with a courtyard between the church and parish hall.  First Baptist is at the corner of Main and South Highland. It dates, as I recall, from the Civil War era, and may be ...
Comments 9
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for July of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  The numbers are mixed. The number of transactions is up slightly from July of 2009 but the dollar value is down considerably. This is not a source of concern, because the median asking price of the homes under contract is well over $400,000. All months are different, and this looks like an anomaly.  Available inventory is high (146), with lots of choices on the market. 21 homes are under contract, which was the same as in June.  Previous postings on Ossining.   You can search for a home in Ossining by getting yourself a free Listingbook account.   
Comments 4
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
The St Augustine's Parish annual Italian festival will be held at the Parish Grounds Tuesday July 27 through Sunday August 1. There will be children's rides, game booths, lots of food, a white elephant sale, and a $10,000 grand raffle. Last year my kids went bananas on the rides, which were good fun, and Luke's cub scout pack volunteered at the Goldfish booth. We won one of those huge rubber bouncing balls at one of the game booths, which Max bit, and the goldfish didn't quite make it to collect social security. But we had fun, and I recall that the parish raised their goal. It is the largest fundraiser for the church and school they have.  This is as good a time as any to post a few pictures of the church and school grounds, which are utterly beautiful, as the campus overlooks the Huds...
Comments 3
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Last September I wrote a blog post about the AMC TV Series Mad Men and its connections to my home town of Ossining, NY where the main characters' home is set. The post was picked up by TIME.com and a number of other sites, including my local paper. With the 4th season of Mad Men starting next week, our local paper contacted me again and did a Sunday Spread on the show's connection to Westchester County, and Ossining in particular. They met 4 of us, including the mayor at the Ossining Train station last week and we had fun on camera talking about the show. One of the things I discuss is my view of where the Draper's fictional house is most likely set, as Bullet Hole Road is nonexistent. A local historian, Norman McDonald, opined that their home is set in Chilmark; nothing would thrill me...
Comments 10
By Debbie Gartner, The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers
(The Flooring Girl)
On Monday, I had a customer who had a major flood in her town house over July 4th weekend while she was away.  Three floors need to be replaced, several ceilings and several walls need to be replaced, as well as have the whole place repainted.  Because everything is essentially affected, she basically needs to move out of her house (movers are coming on Monday/Tues to pack up her stuff for storage) and she'll be staying in White Plains down the street from me at City Center for the next 2-3 months. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is both devastating and overwhelming for my customer - both her and her husband work really late hours, so it's very challenging to find the time to figure out what to do, who to trust, etc. Now, thankfully no one was hurt, and thankfully her insurance is cov...
Comments 3
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
On this, my forty-third birthday, I thought I'd pay a small tribute to my roots and share Ossining, New York with you. I was born in nearby Sleepy Hollow (known then as North Tarrytown) in 1967 and lived in Ossining until I graduated high school. I then left for college in Pennsylvania and had a 15-year odyssey of homes before moving back to stay in 2000 after I met my wife. In that time, I lived in Philadelphia, College Park, Maryland, New Orleans, Boston, Northern New Jersey, and Rochester. And here I am, typing at my kitchen table 1 mile from the home where I was raised and half a mile from Ossining High. Here is a little bit about my home town.  This is Saint Ann's Church. I was baptized here, confirmed here, eulogized my father here, married here, and had three of my children bapti...
Comments 14
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for June of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  The numbers are far better for June 2010 than they were in June 2009 for Ossining. In May 2009, there were 13 sales at a median price of $410,000. Therefore, the volume is up 45% and the median price is up almost $19,000. As I said last month, I would not call this appreciation as much as I would the weeding out of distressed fire sales and foreclosures.  Available inventory is healthy (138), with less than a year's worth of homes active on the market. 21 homes are under contract, so July and August promise to be active months as well.  Ossining just completed one of the county's most impressive public libraries, wit...
Comments 3
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
I have blogged about the Ossining reservoir before. I grew up a block away and rode my bike around it when it was an overgrown mess. It was rededicated as a park about 10 years ago. It was mentioned in the TV series Mad Men, as the Drapers live in Ossining in that program. I actually got a fair bit of attention when I wrote about the many historically accurate references from that fictional show to the reality of Ossining history. That's all good, but what's better is actually being there. I drove past a few days ago and took a nice pause at my childhood haunt. You can see the infamous water tanks in the back. They were sky blue and covered with graffiti when I was a kid. Now you hardly notice them. However, they did put the reservoir out of a job when they replaced it as the primary wa...
Comments 3
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
This is for single family home activity in the Ossining school district for May of 2010. All information is derived from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.  The numbers are far better for May 2010 than they were in May 2009 for Ossining. In May 2009, there were 9 sales at a median price of $380,000. Therefore, the volume is up 33% and the median price is up almost 20%. I would not call this appreciation as much as I would the weeding out of distressed fire sales and foreclosures.  Available inventory remains quite high, with about a year's worth of homes active on the market.  Given its commuter friendly proximity to Manhattan (50 minutes on the Hudson Line), diverse choice of home type and many other quality of life friendly characteristics, Ossining is a great place to c...
Comments 1
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
We have just listed a nearly new, virtually mint condition 2006 build corporate owned foreclosure for $499,000 at 6 Marble Place, Ossining, NY 10562. Among the features: Almost 3000 square feet 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths Master suite with jet tub and walk in closet 1st floor laundry Family room with palladium windows, fireplace and sliders to deck Full basement Stainless steel and granite kitchen with island Level, rectangular yard Very convenient village location by shopping and other amenities Quiet residential neighborhood 6 Marble Place Ossining, NY 10562 I grew up a stone's throw from this street and know it well. It is a pleasant, quiet part of the village near shopping and transportation. The place really needs nothing- it is in move-in condition. This is one of those really rare oppo...
Comments 7
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Ossining can mean many things- it can refer to the Village of Ossining, the Town of Ossining, or an Ossining delivery address in the town of New Castle or Yorktown. In the market data I am referring to, it will mean all properties in the Ossining school district, which is pretty much all of the above. All data is taken from the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service for the past 180 days market activity for single family homes only.  83 homes sold in Ossining in the past 180 days at a median sales price of $445,000.   24 homes are currently pending sale or under contract at a median asking price of $439,111.  145 homes are active and available. Median asking price: $469,222. There is just under a year's worth of inventory available for sale, which is actually less than many other p...
Comments 4
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Ossining is one of the few places in Northern Westchester County with many cooperative apartments. The Village of Ossining actually has hundreds of co ops, and given the prices of Westchester County homes, they are often viewed as the starter home for our area.  Active Listings: 46    Median List Price: $144,950 Pending Sale: 3 Sold units since January 1, 2010: 2 Most available co ops are 2 or 3 bedrooms in apartment buildings.  Some 2009 statistics for context: Sold 1 bedroom co ops: 9.   Median Price: $122.000 Sold 2 bedroom co ops:  15.  Median price: $147,000 Sold 3 Bedroom co ops: 6.   Median Price: $205,000 If you want a co op and don't want to live in southern Westchester, Ossining is one of the best options with the most choices. 
Comments 2
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Max ran out of kibble so I ran down to Arcadian Shopping Center to replentish the dawg Smörgåsbord. You see a lot when you open your eyes, and I am glad I brought the camera. Over the past 2 years, I have seen business in town contract, close, and cause vacancies. That trend appears to be reversing, and Ossining is open for business. Here are a few good signs of growth and expansion of commerce.        Some of the vacancies are 2-3 years old; a large restaurant just opened in the same shopping center which I'll blog about in the near future. The fact that so much is happening at the same time is significant to me. All of this is happening within a diameter of 300 or so yards. This is no coincidence, and portends a recovery in my view.  This will have a positive effect on Ossining real e...
Comments 0
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Marie Graham, in addition to being a friend, is the founder of the Refreshed Home. Her specialties include interior design and killer staging for getting your home sold. On Saturday, January 30th at 10 am, she'll be putting on a workshop on how to stage a home for sale optimally, and I will be in attendance. I am encouraging my seller clients to check it out. The event will be in the conference room of the Ossining Public Library at 53 Croton Ave. What sellers need to understand is that buyers in this market are very choosy and the competition for their attention is brutal. A home that is not attractive or set up to it's full potential can have it's chances hurt for selling in a timely fashion for the most the market can bear. People buy with their eyes in many cases.  If you are for sa...
Comments 0
By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Ossining Christmas Vigil: Lighting the Way for Santa One of the really cool local traditions in my old neighborhood on Osage Drive and Susquehanna Rd was to put rows of candles out along the street to light the way for St Nicholas. As I was driving to my office on an elf errand around 11:30pm, I drove through the street to admire the view of the Holy Child's birthday candles. The photos do not do it justice; in person it is breathtaking. This one is the view from Pleasantville Road as you turn in to Susquehanna Road.  The candles light the way for St Nicholas He won't have any trouble finding this house.  This was truly impressive in person.  Prior to snapping this one a car drove by. People actually drive through the neighborhood to see the candles.  You can see them winding down the s...
Comments 4