ON a side street near the waterfront in Port Chester, Jamie Heffernan, a developer, has in recent weeks been putting the finishing touches on a project he is marketing as a “value priced” condominium complex, a less expensive version of what he might have built if the real estate market had not faltered.
The 11 attached homes, with white picket railings and New England-style exteriors, exemplify a trend that builders say has gained momentum from the recession — a hankering for less ostentatious, more moderately priced houses.
“Despite low interest rates and falling prices,” said Stephen Melman, the director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, “buyers these days are intent on purchasing the home they need, not the one with all the extras. Buyers are being careful, and builders are responding. Just as big cars are out, so are the McMansions.”
The three-story three-bedroom 2,000-square-foot condos at Mr. Heffernan’s complex, called Homestead Hill, are on the market for $439,000 and up. They have hardwood floors, granite countertops and other extras, but not, Mr. Heffernan explained, all the bells and whistles.
Elsewhere in Port Chester, a two-bedroom condo with two balconies in an upscale complex that has an exercise room and is closer to downtown is selling for $524,900. And in the neighboring city of Rye, a two-bedroom condo with a pool and 24-hour security in a complex overlooking Long Island Sound is selling for $825,000.
“In the current economy,” said Mr. Heffernan, whose company, JH Real Estate Group, has offices in Manhattan, “buyers don’t want to, and can’t afford to, put all of their assets into a house anymore.”
Indeed, in a survey conducted by the home builders’ association at the end of last year, Mr. Melman said, 60 percent of respondents acknowledged either already building smaller, or planning to do so. According to the federal Census Bureau, the square footage of new homes shrank last year by about 7 percent, or by the size of one room — the first such decrease in 15 years.
The immediate roadblocks to this trend in populous, mostly affluent Westchester County are the cost and zoning designation of the land. Mr. Heffernan was able to build in Port Chester only by buying a small building lot in a deteriorated part of a neighborhood already zoned for multiple dwellings. He might otherwise have faced a long and costly approval process for higher-density zoning.
Convinced that the market for lower-priced homes will grow, Mr. Heffernan said he was looking for other “good land deals.”
“There are landlords out there who are not keeping up their properties,” he said, “and especially in a tough economy, they’re anxious to sell.”
Robert H. Wilder Jr., a partner in Wilder Balter Partners in Elmsford, has found his search for suitable property taking him outside the county altogether. The company builds market-rate developments, as well as lower-priced and government-subsidized housing.
Among its projects currently on the market is Glassbury Court, an 80-unit condo complex for adults 55 and over in Cold Spring in Putnam County.
The 1,800- to 2,000-square-foot two-bedroom units are priced under $500,000 — far less than a comparable two-bedroom condo in an upscale Westchester community, Mr. Wilder said.
For example, in Scarsdale at Christie Place, also an age-restricted condo, a 1,645-square-foot two-bedroom is listed for $1.489 million.
In Orange County, the Montgomery Group is aiming for the same 55-and-up age range — a group considered particularly interested in competitively priced housing. According to Mr. Melman of the home builders’ association, baby boomers constitute the largest group of buyers now, and they are contributing to the trend toward less extravagant housing.
The Montgomery Group is building Vistamor, 455 condos on 186 acres in the village of Montgomery. Nir Avrahami, a managing member of the group, said that buyers “want luxury, but only up to a point.”
“Many have taken a beating in the stock market and on the equity in their current homes,” Mr. Avrahami added. “They can’t afford to use up all of their resources now to buy a house.
“Besides, ostentatious, large homes of 5,000 and 6,000 square feet are not what everyone is looking for anymore. It’s not only the initial price, but also the long-term costs of heating and maintaining all that space. It’s a different mind-set these days.”
Two- to four-bedroom units at Vistamor — offering 1,400 to 2,400 square feet — are priced from the mid $200,000s to about $400,000.
Back in Port Chester, Mr. Heffernan was fortunate that the prior deterioration of the neighborhood helped his project qualify for a $4 million construction loan from the Community Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit mortgage lender.
Sadie McKeown, a regional director for the lender, explained that Port Chester was unusual in Westchester in welcoming the housing.
“The condo complex represents an upgrade to the neighborhood and provides much-needed moderately priced housing for the village,” she said. “But usually any added density is not welcome, especially in places like Bedford, Scarsdale, Pound Ridge and Armonk.”
“In places like that,” Ms. McKeown said, “it’s an uphill battle for a developer.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: October 11, 2009
The “In the Region” article last Sunday in
