Why is Westchester County so expensive? (Coram, Fishkill: houses, neighborhoods, buying)
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I guess it is supply and demand, Economics 101. Apparently the housing is priced this way because they sell at that price. But I just can't wrap my mind around how or why Westchester County houses are priced so sky high. Many houses listed on Trulia right now are extremely old (median 1925), have no backyards and need renovations-- around $700K Meanwhile there is literally a shoe box / trailer looking listing in Pleasantville right now with no backyard priced at $628K. This is just one example, but there are several dozens listed at this moment. Granted, summertime is a seller's market. Also, I don't really like the rustic vibe and would rather a flat LI land than the trees of WC, though it is a shame because I do appreciate the commute into Grand Central and distance from my MIL Wish WC was just a tad more affordable and that the product was a little more worth it ATM. Will have to wait until the market shifts again to even consider buying anywhere in the tristate area. Unless you can all provide me with some grand insight as to why WC is less bang for your buck than LI?
Also, while I have your attention, why is Stamford, CT so affordable when it is such a short distance to NYC and seemingly a nice area? Too good to be true?
I guess it is supply and demand, Economics 101. Apparently the housing is priced this way because they sell at that price. But I just can't wrap my mind around how or why Westchester County houses are priced so sky high. Many houses listed on Trulia right now are extremely old (median 1925), have no backyards and need renovations-- around $700K Meanwhile there is literally a shoe box / trailer looking listing in Pleasantville right now with no backyard priced at $628K. This is just one example, but there are several dozens listed at this moment. Granted, summertime is a seller's market. Also, I don't really like the rustic vibe and would rather a flat LI land than the trees of WC, though it is a shame because I do appreciate the commute into Grand Central and distance from my MIL Wish WC was just a tad more affordable and that the product was a little more worth it ATM. Will have to wait until the market shifts again to even consider buying anywhere in the tristate area. Unless you can all provide me with some grand insight as to why WC is less bang for your buck than LI?
Also, while I have your attention, why is Stamford, CT so affordable when it is such a short distance to NYC and seemingly a nice area? Too good to be true?
Yes it is supply and demand. But you do list things which have basically no effect on price thinking they should reduce a price. For example, old houses sell well since many people like older houses. A lot of people in Westchester are expats from places that value age & history over shiny newness. And yes the lot sizes in southern Westchester are smaller for sure - its a tradeoff against the shorter commute times. As for the rustic vibe & trees vs the flat open LI type landscape - that is generally something that will lead to higher property values. Time and time again studies show neighborhoods with mature trees have enhanced property values over otherwise identical properties. So it seems that many of the things that make Westchester desirable (with consequent effects on prices) are things which you are either indifferent to you or don't like....
I don't think anyone needs to sell WC, it sells itself. You would probably be overall happier in LI.
As for Stamford - its fine, nothing wrong with it. But effective journey times just station to station are more like 1 hr. Add 15 mins on at both ends getting to the station and getting to your workplace in the city - that's 3 hours of commuting a day. A lot of people's limit comes in around 1 hr total each way - there is less demand for the longer commute.
I guess it is supply and demand, Economics 101. Apparently the housing is priced this way because they sell at that price. But I just can't wrap my mind around how or why Westchester County houses are priced so sky high. Many houses listed on Trulia right now are extremely old (median 1925), have no backyards and need renovations-- around $700K Meanwhile there is literally a shoe box / trailer looking listing in Pleasantville right now with no backyard priced at $628K. This is just one example, but there are several dozens listed at this moment. Granted, summertime is a seller's market. Also, I don't really like the rustic vibe and would rather a flat LI land than the trees of WC, though it is a shame because I do appreciate the commute into Grand Central and distance from my MIL Wish WC was just a tad more affordable and that the product was a little more worth it ATM. Will have to wait until the market shifts again to even consider buying anywhere in the tristate area. Unless you can all provide me with some grand insight as to why WC is less bang for your buck than LI?
Also, while I have your attention, why is Stamford, CT so affordable when it is such a short distance to NYC and seemingly a nice area? Too good to be true?
If comparing prices in say Pleasantville vs. Stamford, you need to also remember Stamford (a city) schools are probably not comparable to the better districts in Westchester- with the exception of a few towns you're also paying a premium for that in Westchester. One good thing is Stamford has pretty low taxes compared to Westchester however.
As others have noted, Stamford entails a lengthy commute to Grand Central and its schools are not especially good when compared to many, many districts in Westchester. So of course it is less expensive. There is no free lunch.
Westchester versus Long Island in my view is not even comparable. Although there are undoubtedly some beautiful and lovely areas to live on Long Island, LI is known for being far more congested than WC, with the population density being double. So think twice as many cars on the highways and in parking lots, etc. When I think of LI I tend to think of cookie cutter new developments without much charm or personality, which is in stark contrast to many towns and villages in Westchester with older and more distinguished homes. I also tend to think of terrible LI accents, especially further out on LI, which to me is a massive turn off.
And most of all, having family on LI, I feel comfortable saying that it has much more of a showy and nouveau riche vibe. Westchester tends to be much more quietly wealthy, and like attracts like. So the kind of people who are drawn to a flashy, spend all of your money atmosphere, often end up on LI, while different personalities are drawn to Westchester. This is of course a gross generalization with exceptions, but I know enough people in both LI and WC to think that these reputational differences are largely grounded in reality.
As others have noted, Stamford entails a lengthy commute to Grand Central and its schools are not especially good when compared to many, many districts in Westchester. So of course it is less expensive. There is no free lunch.
Westchester versus Long Island in my view is not even comparable. Although there are undoubtedly some beautiful and lovely areas to live on Long Island, LI is known for being far more congested than WC, with the population density being double. So think twice as many cars on the highways and in parking lots, etc. When I think of LI I tend to think of cookie cutter new developments without much charm or personality, which is in stark contrast to many towns and villages in Westchester with older and more distinguished homes. I also tend to think of terrible LI accents, especially further out on LI, which to me is a massive turn off.
And most of all, having family on LI, I feel comfortable saying that it has much more of a showy and nouveau riche vibe. Westchester tends to be much more quietly wealthy, and like attracts like. So the kind of people who are drawn to a flashy, spend all of your money atmosphere, often end up on LI, while different personalities are drawn to Westchester. This is of course a gross generalization with exceptions, but I know enough people in both LI and WC to think that these reputational differences are largely grounded in reality.
And unfortunately those areas are far beyond the reach of 95% of the population.
As others have noted, Stamford entails a lengthy commute to Grand Central and its schools are not especially good when compared to many, many districts in Westchester. So of course it is less expensive. There is no free lunch.
Westchester versus Long Island in my view is not even comparable. Although there are undoubtedly some beautiful and lovely areas to live on Long Island, LI is known for being far more congested than WC, with the population density being double. So think twice as many cars on the highways and in parking lots, etc. When I think of LI I tend to think of cookie cutter new developments without much charm or personality, which is in stark contrast to many towns and villages in Westchester with older and more distinguished homes. I also tend to think of terrible LI accents, especially further out on LI, which to me is a massive turn off.
And most of all, having family on LI, I feel comfortable saying that it has much more of a showy and nouveau riche vibe. Westchester tends to be much more quietly wealthy, and like attracts like. So the kind of people who are drawn to a flashy, spend all of your money atmosphere, often end up on LI, while different personalities are drawn to Westchester. This is of course a gross generalization with exceptions, but I know enough people in both LI and WC to think that these reputational differences are largely grounded in reality.
Comparing Westchester to Long Island is not an apples to apples comparison. Westchester is just a single county, while LI is an entire region. You should instead compare LI to the entire Hudson Valley, or just compare Westchester to Nassau (or maybe just parts of Nassau). LI is much more diverse than Westchester in terms of types of communities, commuting distance to the city, types of populations, ect, because LI is huge, and is so big that it constitutes its own region. No one in the history of the world has cross-shopped houses in Bronxville and say, Coram, just like no one has cross-shopped Bronxville and Fishkill. I am sure people have cross-shopped Bronxville and Manhassat.
As others have noted, Stamford entails a lengthy commute to Grand Central
I just wanted to point out that there are many express trains from Stamford that are quicker than the fastest trains from Pleasantville, and about 4-5x more of them as well. Take a look at the Metro north morning and night schedules to compare the two.
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Meanwhile there is literally a shoe box / trailer looking listing in Pleasantville right now with no backyard priced at $628K. This is just one example, but there are several dozens listed at this moment. Granted, summertime is a seller's market. Also, I don't really like the rustic vibe and would rather a flat LI land than the trees of WC, though it is a shame because I do appreciate the commute into Grand Central and distance from my MIL 
Wish WC was just a tad more affordable and that the product was a little more worth it ATM. Will have to wait until the market shifts again to even consider buying anywhere in the tristate area. Unless you can all provide me with some grand insight as to why WC is less bang for your buck than LI? 
