Suburban splendor

As might be expected, overall prices in ritzy Westchester top other nearby suburbs in the luxury home category.

In the second financial quarter, Westchester’s median sales price for luxury properties — in other words, the top 10 percent of the market — was $2.2 million, according to Douglas Elliman, the real estate brokerage.

In contrast, the median luxury price in affluent Fairfield County, Connecticut, was $2.13 million, Elliman data shows, while on Long Island, the median was $1.08 million, a figure that excludes the Hamptons and focuses mostly on Nassau County properties, in order to compare areas with similar housing inventory.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey’s Bergen County, the sales median was $1.84 million, according to data prepared by Joseph Rand, a managing partner of Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, who considers the luxury segment to be any deals above $1.25 million, or about five percent of the market.

While Westchester may have elbowed out its rivals, those other suburban enclaves are not without their mega-listings, though some may be too dear for their counties. The three most expensive are to the right.

$62M
Fairfield County, CT
1143 Sasco Hill Road, Fairfield
10 bedrooms; 10 full, 5 half-baths; 17,000 square feet

In Fairfield, near the exclusive Southport enclave, is this five-building, 20-acre estate on Long Island Sound, dating to 1923. It was initially listed in 2013 after its owner, Bradley Jacks of Lehman Brothers, faced a tax auction after owing $272,000 on the property, though that debt appears to have been settled. Property taxes, usually considered to be lower in the Constitution State than in Westchester, run $570,000 a year.

$48.9M
Bergen County, NJ
18 Frick Drive, Alpine
12 bedrooms; 15 full, 4 half-baths; 30,000 square feet

This new-construction stone mansion, a sort of Garden State take on Versailles, does not seem to be lacking for much, featuring coffered ceilings, a 4,000-bottle-wine cellar and a full-size indoor basketball court, in a town celebs like Stevie Wonder and Diddy call home. The house couldn’t find any takers when it came on the market in 2010 at $68 million, and it still couldn’t after being reduced to $56 million in 2012.

$38M
Nassau County, NY
88 Old House Lane, Port Washington
8 bedrooms; 9 full, 4 half-baths; 16,000 square feet

A rare contemporary home in the trophy category, this new-construction property on Nassau County’s Gold Coast, on Long Island Sound, was completed last year. Unlike the area’s Gatsby-era mansions, it has flat roofs, cantilevered floors and tall banks of windows. Dazzling interiors include a pool. The seller will throw in a complimentary housekeeper, driver and personal chef for a year.