Irvington vs Dobbs Ferry vs Pleasantville (Chappaqua, Valhalla: for sale, real estate market, mortgage)
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I love the insight on these boards so am hoping for more on our situation. My husband and I have two children under three and are looking to move to Westchester for all the normal reasons...space, schools, outdoor activities, and community feel. We have honed our search to these three towns and I would love to get opinions on each to help us decide where to land.
Specifically,
1. Are the Dobbs and P'ville schools as good as Irvington's? I have read all the stats but am wondering more about the quality of life for a student at these schools, including a worry that Irvington is becoming too competitive.
2. We can't seem to find housing in our price range (700s) near the downtown areas in these towns. Is that the case or has the season for real estate listings not arrived yet? We keep seeing town homes in Dobbs and Irvington. Anyone have an opinion on living in a townhouse community out there?
3. Is the housing market in each town equally competitive? We would like a starter home that we can resell easily in a few years. Any opinions on this?
Any and all opinions on deciding among these towns is appreciated!
Thanks,
LK
2. We can't seem to find housing in our price range (700s) near the downtown areas in these towns. Is that the case or has the season for real estate listings not arrived yet? We keep seeing town homes in Dobbs and Irvington. Anyone have an opinion on living in a townhouse community out there?
Be careful about the locations of these homes as well. You could be getting a house for <700K but these could be at the foot of hills or between two mountainous areas.
I love the insight on these boards so am hoping for more on our situation. My husband and I have two children under three and are looking to move to Westchester for all the normal reasons...space, schools, outdoor activities, and community feel. We have honed our search to these three towns and I would love to get opinions on each to help us decide where to land.
Specifically,
1. Are the Dobbs and P'ville schools as good as Irvington's? I have read all the stats but am wondering more about the quality of life for a student at these schools, including a worry that Irvington is becoming too competitive.
Close but not as competitive.
Quote:
2. We can't seem to find housing in our price range (700s) near the downtown areas in these towns. Is that the case or has the season for real estate listings not arrived yet? We keep seeing town homes in Dobbs and Irvington. Anyone have an opinion on living in a townhouse community out there?
Should be available. But maybe either people aren't selling, mortgage market is tight, or something else.
I do seem to see fewer for sale signs around. And I would never buy a townhouse. Much harder to sell.
Quote:
3. Is the housing market in each town equally competitive? We would like a starter home that we can resell easily in a few years. Any opinions on this?
It is probably better in Irvington but a bit uncertain all around.
I really like Pleasantville and would have loved to buy a home there. However, there is limited train parking and limited trains that make the Pleasantville stop. So, we bought in Chappaqua were there is tons of train parking and about twice as many trains to and from GCT.
If you are commuting by train, you might consider Chappaqua. There are quite a few homes for sale in your price range and, although my experience is limited, the schools don't seem to be the competitive "pressure cooker" many suggest.
Good choices, all three. Small grade sizes in the schools. I would choose Pleasantville due to the fact its a small village which leads to cohesiveness of the residents and the central location in Westchester. I am sure once spring hits more houses will come on the market.
I don't know these towns that well, but I work near Pleasantville, and it is such a charming little town. The schools have an excellent reputation, and the town has amenities like parks and a pool. I get the impression that it's got a small town feel - very pleasant ;-) Regarding the real estate market, things really don't start to come on for the spring market for another couple/few weeks, and then you'll be seeing many new listings weekly. People putting their homes on in Feb. are looking to close around May / June, making Feb/March/April prime listing months. Our broker's husband says he doesn't see her from MLK to Memorial Day!
Be careful about the locations of these homes as well. You could be getting a house for <700K but these could be at the foot of hills or between two mountainous areas.
I really like Pleasantville and would have loved to buy a home there. However, there is limited train parking and limited trains that make the Pleasantville stop.
You can park at Hawthorne or Valhalla.
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