Westchester Q3 median sales price rose for fourth consecutive quarter, inventory’s still tight
The median single family home sales price in Westchester increased to $535,000 in the third quarter, which is the fourth consecutive increase, according to Douglas Elliman Real Estate’s third quarter market report. Median prices of luxury homes — the upper 10 percent of all single family sales — slipped 1.7 percent to $2,112,500. Overall, Westchester home sales fell year over year for only the second time in three years, declining 6 percent to 3,003. Listing inventory decreased 5.2% to 4,203 — the lowest third quarter inventory in the last 13 years, the report noted. Co-ops were the only property type to see a rise in sales, surging 4.7 percent to 559. [Douglas Elliman]
Fallen film mogul Harvey Weinstein sells home in Westport
Disgraced film executive Harvey Weinstein sold a home in Westport for $1.65 million. The home has 3,050-square feet, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and sits on more than a half acre, the Los Angeles Times reported. Weinstein had purchased the home more than 20 years ago for $825,000. The executive was the subject of recent bombshell reports in The New York Times and the New Yorker that outlined decades of alleged sexual harassment and assault. He has been fired from his own company and is seeking treatment in Europe, according to the latest published reports. Darlene Letersky of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage was the listing agent. Judy Michaelis, also with Coldwell Banker, represented the buyer. [LAT]
Office availability flat in Westchester, down in Fairfield in 3Q
Office availability remained unchanged in Westchester while Fairfield County ended the quarter with less available space, according to a third quarter market report from Colliers International Group. Jeffrey Williams, Colliers executive managing director, said that after an eventful first half of the year, Westchester’s office market “took a breather,” as the availability rate remained unchanged from last quarter at 22 percent. Fairfield’s office market saw moderate activity, according to Sean Cullen, director of research for Colliers’ Stamford office. Demand outweighed supply enough to lower availability to 23.8 percent. [Colliers]
$100M luxury development breaks ground on former site of Beckwith Pointe in New Rochelle
National Realty & Development Corp. broke ground this week on its $100 million waterfront residential development in New Rochelle, the former site of Beckwith Pointe on the southern tip of Davenport Neck. WatermarkPointe, a 72-unit luxury project at Davenport Avenue on the Long Island Sound is being developed by National Realty & Development Corp. According to the development’s website, the property will have nine buildings with eight residences per building featuring a mix of two-bedroom and three-bedroom condos. Amenities include a waterfront clubhouse, fitness center and outdoor pool overlooking the beach. Beckwith Pointe was a 30-year-old beach club and catering hall.
Lawsuit over renovations at ambassador’s mansion in New Rochelle moves forward
The Permanent Mission of Chad to the United Nations won a round in its battle over the cost of renovations at a historic mansion in New Rochelle. A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that that Chad can defend itself in a $1.4 million contract dispute over work at the ambassador’s residence, a 11,216-square-foot Gothic mansion at 157 Davenport Avenue, according to Westchester Business Journal. Hilt Construction and Management Corp of New Jersey said it did nearly $3.9 million in renovations, including $228,000 for 19 new bathrooms and $201,500 for a heated pool and deck, and that Chad still owes $1.4 million. The case has been in and out of U.S. District Court Judge Vincent L. Briccetti’s courtroom and drawn in the State Department, which argued in favor of immunity for official U.N. missions. Judge Briccetti gave Chad an Oct. 20 deadline to formally respond to the lawsuit. [WBJ]
Senior housing may replace Rye Brook office building
A mostly vacant office building may make way for new senior housing in Rye Brook. A developer has filed plans to demolish 900 King Street, a 215,000-square-foot, three-story building where sole tenant Greenwich Hospital has its administrative offices, according to Westchester Business Journal. The building’s owner, Rye King Associates, an investment partnership led by Manhattan commercial real estate firm George Comfort & Sons, proposed building a senior housing campus consisting of a four-story structure with 160 two-bedroom apartments, 24 two- and three-bedroom townhouse units and about 85 units in a four-story assisted living facility. The townhouses and apartments would require at least one resident per unit to be 55 or older. The office building has been mostly vacant since Dr Pepper Snapple Group left in 2004. [WBJ]