Real Estate: Teardown-Rebuild Cycle Continues to Drive Home Prices Up in Scarsdale

17 Dolma Road was demolished.After a six-month moratorium on development, Scarsdale made some changes to the building code in 2024. The code changes were intended to decrease home bulk, protect wetlands and setbacks and give more scrutiny to plans.

Though some developers say it has slowed the approval process, it does not appear to have stopped the cycle of demolishing small homes and constructing far larger ones that are often priced out of reach of prospective buyers. With home inventory at historic lows, developers continue to tear down starter homes and replace them with homes priced at $3mm to $4mm and above.

We asked local realtor Jonathan Lerner of Five Corners Properties for his views on this trend and here is his reply:

“You’re absolutely right, Scarsdale’s inventory is still at historic lows. Some of the homes that end up being torn down or rebuilt do get listed on the MLS, but many never make it that far. Builders and developers have a few big advantages when it comes to securing these properties. They’re typically cash or pre-approved buyers, they don’t worry about inspections or open permits, and they can close quickly with very little risk of backing out. For many sellers, that kind of certainty and convenience outweighs trying to keep the house on the market for weeks and dealing with a parade of showings.

In other cases, sellers reach out directly to local builders they know or who have done work nearby. Sometimes they’re just trying to avoid paying broker fees. Ironically, studies have shown that homes marketed through a good broker often sell for more, because exposure drives competition — and in today’s market, we’re seeing listings draw 20 to 35 showings and multiple offers. Scarsdale continues to be one of the strongest seller markets in Westchester.

As for affordability and inventory, the constant teardown-rebuild cycle keeps upward pressure on prices and limits the number of homes available for regular buyers. Scarsdale’s median age is around 41 and trending older, which also slows turnover a bit. All of that contributes to the tight supply we’re seeing now.

For anyone even considering selling, this is a great time to get a realistic sense of what their home might be worth. At Five Corners Properties, we’ve been helping many longtime residents make smooth transitions — some staying local, others moving to places like the Carolinas or Florida, where there are still great values.”

Gregg Menell of Pendulum Property Group offered these comments on the market: 

"I looked at new construction homes that are active, pending and sold in the last 360 days. 23 out of 34 of these homes had been publicly listed before they went to a builder. The other 11 (32%) appear to have been sold through an “off market” transaction. Existing homes that are good development opportunities and that are publicly listed are seeing strong competition from both builders and end users. In some cases, the builders are unwilling to pay as much as the end users. However, where a home needs to be fully gutted, it will likely go to a builder.

A quick look at the sales prices of the off-market deals shows prices that appear to be much less competitive than if they been publicly listed. There is no way of knowing, however, if these sellers were convinced that this was the best that they could have received or if they were willing to forgo upside potential in order to have a private process requiring fewer showings and that did not require any prep beforehand."

If you’re wondering what’s being torn down or built up, here are just a few of the items on the agendas at the Committee for Historic Preservation and the Planning Board this month.19 Woodland Place will be subdivided into two lots.

Subdivision 19 Woodland Place:

A brick colonial at 19 Woodland Place on a one way street in the Village of Scarsdale, was taken down along with quite a few trees in 2024. Now an application has been filed to subdivide the half acre plus lot and build two new homes, one a Tudor and the other a Colonial.  See the plans here:

2 New Homes on Coralyn Road:

Also on the agenda for the Planning Board on meeting on Wednesday October 22 at 7 pm are applications to build two new homes at 1 Coralyn Road and 3 Coralyn Road.

New Home on Fayette Road: 70 Fayette Road

On a corner .2 acres lot at 70 Fayette Road, where a split level was approved for demolition by the CHP, developers have applied to build a new home that exceeds the site disturbance threshold.

New Home on Madison Road: Also approved for demolition is 190 Madison Road, where an application has been filed to build a new home on the corner lot that disturbs the adjoining property buffer and exceeds the site disturbance threshold.

30 Farragut RoadNew Home at 30 Farragut Road

An application to demolish 30 Farragut Road will be considered by the Committee for Historic Preservation this month.

At 17 Dolma Road, the Committee for Historic Preservation denied an application to demolish the Tudor home in January 2025. However when the developer filed an appeal, the Scarsdale Board of Trustees decided not to act on the appeal and a demolition permit was issued. Developers have applied to replace the Tudor style home with a large contemporary house that exceeds the site disturbance threshold. Below see a rendering of the proposed home, which will be built on a street that architectural historian Andrew Dolkart recommended to be designated as a historic district. 
See plans for the proposals here:

Rendering of a proposed new home at 17 Dolma Road