Property Grunt

Monday, June 09, 2008

Scarsdale passes gas

In a previous entry I stated how things are going FUBAR in the ultra tony town of Scarsdale. Well good people, I have more evidence supporting my thesis.

Take a look at this ad for this past week from the local newspaper.



One thing you do not normally see in a real estate ad is a raffle for free gas. From what I heard from the sources it was for 25 bucks, which at these prices barely fills half a tank.



In my opinion it appears that the Scarsdale market has gotten so hammered that realtors are trying to take advantage of the high gas prices by offering free gas to lure buyers. It used to be in a town like Scarsdale, the houses sold themselves. But this is just another indication that the Scarsdale brand is not strong enough to attract buyers.



Honestly, I think this gimmick was about as a effective as hiring the guy below as their pitchman. NSFW for graphic violence involving a boomerang and phalanges.



I have also heard some chatter that alot of people who live in this town are being directly affected by the Wall Street layoffs. Which should be no surprise to any of us.

One tragic story that has been going around involves former Bear Stearns employees who got shredded after the merger. Alot of these laid off workers basically put their eggs in one basket by having the majority of their money in Bear Stearns which at this point has gone up in smoke. Alot of these former employees live places like Scarsdale. Now these unfortunate soul are only left with their homes but like the safe with the lost combination, these individuals are left with equity that is locked up until a buyer comes in to unleash all that money. With the current state of the market that won't happen for awhile. And even if things kick up, it is highly unlikely they will get their asking price.