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Volume XVIII • Number 37 • September 8 - 14, 2011 •
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Property values plummet here
By MIAWLING LAM Local property values have hit new lows, with Riverdale’s median house price plunging below $580,000, new figures show. Property data compiled by Zillow reveals the local median house price fell to $579,500 in July, a 3.5 percent drop from the previous year. Record low interest rates and heavy discounting have done little to stem the real estate downturn, with Riverdale’s homes losing a third of their value since the housing bubble burst. Five years ago, the median house price was $1.5 million. The grim data also suggests a whopping 70 percent of Riverdale’s homes have depreciated in value in the past year, up from 35 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, houses in North Riverdale fared better, with median house prices rising 0.5 percent to $589,400, up $23,400 from nine months ago. Properties in the 10463 zip bucked the national trend, with nearly half of all homes recording an increase in value. However, North Riverdale’s list prices—widely considered the best indicator of market conditions—were
$35,000 less than their South Riverdale counterparts. Senior Associate Broker at Exclusive Properties Sotheby’s International Realty Ellen Feld warned residents to examine the data with caution. The veteran broker explained that Zillow relied entirely on Multiple Listing Service data, a service that many local agencies do not use, and instead estimates that Riverdale’s property values have declined between 20 and 25 percent since 2009. “The total number of houses sold is dramatically down from five years ago, but there are houses that are selling,” she said. “There’s a lot of demand out there. People are out looking at houses and they want to buy, but they’re concerned, and their concerns run much bigger than the housing market—they’re global considerations.” Feld, who is the secretary of the South Riverdale Merchants Association, said it was also misleading to look at median prices for the whole of Riverdale. “The neighborhood is so different that you can’t compare prices in Fieldston to prices in other parts,” she said. “It just doesn’t work. There is no averaging out. “You have North Riverdale prices, you have South
Riverdale prices that fall in between and then you have some estate houses that are similar to Fieldston.” According to the data, brokers have also shaved the listing prices of nearly one in 10 local properties in the past month to entice buyers. One of Riverdale’s iconic houses, located in the exclusive enclave of Fieldston and affectionately dubbed the “Castle in The Bronx,” is one property that has slashed its sale price. The five-bedroom home, which comes complete with fortified stone walls and a turret, is now on the market for a relative bargain—$2.995 million. Last year, its owners, Alec Diacou and Suzi Arensberg, were asking for $3.75 million. Feld said although the industry has not yet bottomed out, she believed there was a glimmer of hope. “We cannot say that it has reached the bottom. I think the outlook is good but it will be another year or two, perhaps at the end of 2012, before we see a little turnaround,” she said. “I’ve lived in Riverdale over four decades. I’ve been in real estate over three decades, and I think we’re an extraordinary community that will recover.”
Large 14-acre riverfront property about to change hands
By BRENDAN McHUGH The Passionist Fathers of Riverdale are selling their 14-acre riverfront plot to the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. According to the Daily News, the Hebrew Home is buying the adjacent property for $16.2 million, which includes a 116year-old mansion and a large retreat house. “It wasn’t an easy decision for us to make,” said the Rev. Paul Fagan, director of the ministry since 2000, “but we’ve been closing facilities throughout the east coast when we couldn’t afford to maintain the facilities.” The Passionists closed the retreat in January due to increased expenditures, fewer retreat guests and fewer people to run the facilities. “The building and property was more than we could afford as a religious community,” Fagan said. The Hebrew Home did not return requests for comment, but the Daily News reported that court papers show a contract of sale has been drawn up, with a third party involved. Fagan said a majority of the guests that came to Riverdale were from The Bronx and Westchester County, and the next-closest retreat houses are
in Jamaica, Queens, and West Hartford, Connecticut. “There was a declining number of people using the retreat, and a declining community involvement to run facility,” Fagan said. The Passionists, a Catholic order founded in Italy in 1720, bought the property in 1927 from a wealthy local family. In the 1970s, around 3,000 guests came to the Riverdale retreat house each year, according to Fagan. Last year, fewer than 2,000 used the facility, which overlooks the Palisades in New Jersey. He said the Catholic Church’s declining reputation and a change in family values are to blame for the shrinking numbers. The property sale will allow the Passionists to pay off debts totaling $191,762, according to the Daily News. The rest of the money will go to running other facilities. According to Charles Moerdler, Community Board 8 land use chairman, it’s not entirely clear yet what the Hebrew Home will use the land for. It appears that there have been discussions of putting in residential housing, a parking lot, or some combination of the two. Any construction on the
facility will need to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which gives the city and community board a chance
to review, comment and vote on any projects. Residential houses—no highrises, according to Moerdler—
could draw criticism from nearby residents, who have already complained heavily of concerns Continued on Page 5
The Passionist Fathers of Riverdale are selling their 14-acre plot along the Hudson River to the Hebrew Home for $16.2 million. The Hebrew Home hasn’t said what they plan on doing with the land, but those familiar with the situation say it may be used for residential housing and more parking.