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That's a tough question to answer...I lived there 13 years and really paid attention to home prices. It would be easy for me to say when seeing a house whether I think it's overpriced or not, just from knowing the village so well. I would take into consideration how many BRs the house has, the current taxes, and the condition of the home.
I looked on MLSLI.com before and I'm surprised how many houses there are under $600K. Some of them are in good locations, etc....it looks like there has really been a big drop the last 6 months.
I think buyers are looking at what people paid. If someone paid $1 mil for a 3 BR house in 2006, I think buyers are thinking that's going to be a tough negotiation now. That house just isn't worth that much (probably never was).
Under 600K and not on Meadow Street?
Yep. They are using the most recent comps (or CMAs) they can get.
I don't know if prices in GC have decreased more than other areas but it sure does seem like the less desirable inventory in some of these areas have really seen their prices take a hit...while the nicer homes have managed to hold their value.
Couldn't agree more. I'm from Garden City and I second that there are many people here that do not keep up with their homes (e.g. kitchen that hasn't been renovated in more than 20-30 years). It's also true that several years ago many houses in Garden City were selling for $1 million and were not even that big.
I think another reason why Garden City was overpriced because of its location and amenities. Unlike Manhasset and Port Washington, Garden City is centrally located. You can easily access the North and South Shore from Garden City, it is close to both Jericho and Hempstead Turnpike, and is right next to Roosevelt Field Mall and all the shopping on Old Country Road. Garden City also has 5 LIRR stations that are walkable. Compared to its neighboring towns, Garden City is slightly more spacious and has wider roads as well. Garden City also has huge village pool with two water slides, an adult and kitty pool, food court, and mini golf.
Nevertheless, Garden City was still overpriced and I agree that too buyers have wised up to that in recent years.
WHY would people who can afford to live in Garden City NOT want to have a nice interior with newer kitchen, baths, etc.? It makes no sense to be living in a dingy interior with old junk for appliances, etc. ESPECIALLY if lack of money is not the reason. Lack of money I can understand. Are their a lot of "frauds" to the throne of wealthiness in Garden City?
WHY would people who can afford to live in Garden City NOT want to have a nice interior with newer kitchen, baths, etc.? It makes no sense to be living in a dingy interior with old junk for appliances, etc. ESPECIALLY if lack of money is not the reason. Lack of money I can understand. Are their a lot of "frauds" to the throne of wealthiness in Garden City?
It could also be older residents who simply are not updating their homes over the years. I don't know about you guys, but my grandparents' house was out of a time warp and they had plenty of money.
We've been looking to buy in GC for the past 6months and look at the homes for sale weekly and the prices have dropped to. Most of the inventory has very dated kitchens and bathrooms, unless you're in the 2mill dollar range. Right now we are just watching and waiting for a really great buy even if we have to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms. Homes are selling at about $350-$380 / sq. Ft. Currently. The village taxes are outrageous however so when you look At a house on MSLI chances are the county taxes are only listed. Houses in Manhassst cost more but taxes in GC are higher so either you lay out $100k more for a a house up front or over 10yrs in taxes- they will only go up too.
WHY would people who can afford to live in Garden City NOT want to have a nice interior with newer kitchen, baths, etc.? It makes no sense to be living in a dingy interior with old junk for appliances, etc. ESPECIALLY if lack of money is not the reason. Lack of money I can understand. Are their a lot of "frauds" to the throne of wealthiness in Garden City?
GC wasn't always unduly expensive accross the board. Certain parts, sure, but the eastern section near Roosevelt Field and the far western section near Stewart Manor were affordable by the middle class until recently. Many people bought homes in the 60s and 70s and basically just sat on them. Others just squeezed in and didn't have anything left for renovations after dropping $1M on a 3 bedroom high ranch on Meadow Street.
This is more philosophical but I think living Garden City has become less popular over the years not only for being overpriced, but also due to the homogeneity of the village. Garden City not economically diverse, most people tend to be upper-middle class to upper class. While there are many great, down-to-earth people in Garden City, there is also a lot of arrogance and keeping up with the Joneses attitude. It seems that younger people these days have traveled more and seen other parts of the country. Also, the economic recession seems to have taught people that materialism isn't worth it. Therefore, I think many younger families these days would rather live in a more modest area than Garden City.
I stated this in another thread but many people who move to Garden City have become unhappy with it because of the big keeping up with the Jonses attitude. No matter how highly ranked a school district is, high amounts of materialism among the children in the schools will always be a negative drawback. Do you really want to send your children to a high school where the students drive more expensive cars than the teachers?
As for Manhasset, the reason why prices haven't changed as much is because it is the North Shore (a.k.a the Gold Coast of LI) so it will always be somewhat desirable for people who have money. Garden City more like had its 15 minutes of popularity back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
It could also be older residents who simply are not updating their homes over the years. I don't know about you guys, but my grandparents' house was out of a time warp and they had plenty of money.
My grandparents were either updating or moving to a completely brand new place.
However my last surviving grandparent is 94 and she does not do redecorating or remodeling at this point but will certainly change something that is broken or wearing out at least.
This is more philosophical, but I think living Garden City has become less popular over the years due to the homogeneity of the village. Garden City not economically diverse, most people tend to be upper-middle class to upper class. While there are many great, down-to-earth people in Garden City, there is also a lot of arrogance and keeping up with the Joneses attitude. It seems that younger people these days have traveled more and seen other parts of the country. Also, the economic recession seems to have taught people that materialism isn't worth it. Therefore, I think many younger families these days would rather live in a more modest area than Garden City.
I stated this in another thread but many people who move to Garden City have become unhappy with it because of the big keeping up with the Jonses attitude. No matter how highly ranked a school district is, high amounts of materialism among the children in the schools will always be a negative drawback. Do you really want to send your children to a high school where the students drive more expensive cars than the teachers?
As for Manhasset, the reason why prices haven't changed as much is because it is the North Shore (a.k.a the Gold Coast of LI) so it will always be somewhat desirable for people who have money. Garden City more like had it's 15 minutes of popularity back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
How can you keep up with the Joneses if your kitchen and bathrooms are 20-30 years old? That doesn't seem materialistic to me.
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