In my last newsletter, I broke down the strongest performing price ranges in Westchester County. This week, we’re focusing in on school districts — and what I found was wild: In 2025, 60.8% of single-family homes in Westchester sold over asking — up from 56.2% in 2024. 🤯 In every school district but four, more than half of single-family sales closed above list price. Five districts were above 70%: Rye Neck (71.2%), Lakeland (71.2%), Elmsford (71.4%), White Plains (72.0%), and Mamaroneck (72.5%). Additional highlights:

It was another tough year for Westchester home buyers. Inventory stayed painfully tight, despite a 5.1% increase in sales, and even with mortgage rates finishing the year a full percentage point lower, competition didn’t let up. Sellers continued to hold the upper hand, with 61.1% of homes selling above their final list price, and places like Mamaroneck and White Plains leading the charge on over-ask bidding wars. In short: buyers got a small break on rates and affordability, but not on the fight to win a house.

💰 Find your home’s value here!

_{Property Type: Residential. OneKey MLS, Inc. 1/16/26 - 1/23/26.}

If you’ve been on Instagram recently, you’ve probably seen the “2026 is the new 2016” posts everywhere. 2016 was ten years ago, and the internet is feeling nostalgic. That was the year the Apple Watch went mainstream, Amazon debuted the Echo, and the Chicago Cubs won their first championship in 108 years (Jets fans — it could be worse). Many people are convinced it was a better time (and to be fair, the year that’s a decade behind us usually does feel that way), but a lot has changed since then, especially in real estate. Throw on “Closer” by The Chainsmokers — here’s how the Westchester market stacks up against its 2016 self:

Looking back, 2016 wasn’t a blockbuster year for real estate so much as a steady, slightly odd one. Inventory stayed tight, mortgage rates stayed low, the economy looked solid — yet prices slipped a bit: the median sale price edged down 0.6%, from $627,500 in 2015 to $624,000 in 2016. That kind of softening is unusual in a strong economy with low borrowing rates, and heading into 2017, most expected prices to start climbing again — just at a slower, more sustainable pace.

Every January, I set aside a few hours every day to create Home Equity Reports for past clients. These reports offer a level of detail and accuracy that goes beyond what you’ll find on sites like Zillow or Redfin. If you would like to know your home’s equity position, reply “2026”.

This service is complimentary as a thank you for being a subscriber! 🙌

This week’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.19% (⬆️ 0.12 from last week). Last year’s rate: 7.12%!

_{> The rate you may be eligible for can vary greatly from the daily average published via Mortgage News Daily.}

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To Begin Touring Properties or to Learn Your Home’s Value:

Reply, call, or text message me: (914) 202-1101

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