Effect of budget rejection on RE market (Scarsdale, Lewisboro: sales, real estate)

[ponytrekker]

What happens if a school budget gets voted down? RE prices tank immediately v. neighboring districts? Has this happened recently anywhere? The budget votes are getting closer and closer. I'm thinking of selling now.

[EagleScout94]

pony, I think you will find that most buyers (and even many residents) are shockingly ignorant of the specific details of school and similar issues, and generally rely simply on "common knowledge". maybe if drastic cuts are made, people might care, but otherwise, it is probably not an issue in sales analysis (just my humble opinion from the perspective of a recent buyer who was somewhat surprised by nonchalant attitude of most sellers and buyers and new neighbors). also, people may understand that almost every district is having monetary issues right now, so specific district's budget issues may not be an indication of that district's lack of support. just as an example, the only district in Westchester to have abandoned "constructivist math" is Scarsdale, and even there, it took nearly a decade of falling performance. I simply resigned myself to the fact that unless something changes, regardless of which town we chose, my wife and I will be paying 25k (or more) per year of property taxes, but will still have to tutor our kids at home (as well as possibly pay for a private tutor).

[TDNY]

RE prices may easily go up, because the reason the budgets lose is because the taxpayers don't think they are getting good value for their money. Ever escalating taxes and spending are no way to lure new people to the area. I know of many people who have moved out of Westchester or declined to move here because of the property taxes.

BTW, yes, school budgets have been voted down many times, it's not some cataclysmic event or anything. My own district has doubled the budget in the last ten years, with the same enrollment. The schools aren't twice as good. Wasting money doesn't make schools better.

[dma1250]

90% of the time after a budget is rejected, voters approve the revised budget. In that case, most buyers probably won't even hear about it (although some more diligent ones probably will). However, if no revised budget is put up or if the revised budget is voted down, then the district is forced to adopt a bare-bones budget that (by law) cuts a great deal across the board (from teachers to equiment to sports programs). In that case any buyer who bothers to do a google search will hear about it and chances are will be worried about the impact on the schools' quality.

I was talking to a local realtor recently and he said that some of his buyers are nervous because our district is making changes (closing a school). The change is due to declining enrollments and will, according to the board, save money in the future. The realtor said that buyers are worried that the change will impact the quality of the schools and that they don't seem to care that the tax rate is barely going up. Once people move in, he said, they worry more about taxes increasing--but when they're buying, they worry far more about school quality.

[havoc315]

Instability in the school district, including uncertainty about the future of the school budget, is not good for real estate values. That said, real estate values won't plummet because a school budget goes down on the first vote.

[JackieDzaluk]

Katonah Lewisboro had it's first budget go down this year but the second time it passed. There is a thought that they occasional "no' vote keeps the school board on their toes in terms of managing expenses. It certainly is a mystery how the budgets are going up when enrollment is going down.
There is no reason to panic when I budget fails.