Prices are down, but volume is up according to the data for single family homes in the Ossining school district for November 1-30 2011. All information is taken from the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service.

November 2011 11 homes sold median sale price of $332,000
November 2010, 8 homes sold median sale price of $367,500.

Ossining Real Estate Market Report October 2011 - The October real estate closing statistics in the Ossining School district indicate a drop from October of the prior year.

In October 2011, 7 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $410,000. In the same period last year, 11 single family homes sold at a median sale price of $535,000.

Time It Right: When to Build a Home or not to build … Can anyone answer this question? Whenever someone has a big decision to make they typically turn to family, friends and of course the Internet for answers. Does building a new home qualify in the category of a “big decision?” You bet it does and in the real estate market of the past several years, the question of “when” has become perhaps more prevalent than “if.” Here are a few things to consider when deciding if the time is right for you to build.

Saving Toward a Down Payment: 8 Great Ideas By Barbara Pronin

Like many consumers today, you may be thinking this is a great time to buy your first home and you are right. Rock bottom prices, historically low mortgage rates, and a great selection of properties in all price ranges make this an excellent time to buy.

Here are the "Top 10 Homeowner Financing Tips" to consider when getting a mortgage.

By Barbara Pronin, RISMedia Columnist - Deciding what kind of home loan is best for your needs is an integral part of the home buying process. But it’s not always easy, according to California mortgage broker Ken Go.

Opportunities of making a short sale offer in our local market requires patience. When shopping for a home, you may notice that certain listings are labeled as short sales, short pays or pre-foreclosures. All of these terms mean the same thing: the seller is upside-down on his or her mortgage and is attempting to negotiate a deal with the lender in the hope of avoiding foreclosure.

The More You Know: 4 Great Tips for Home Sellers

Tip 1: Identify three experienced agents who are familiar with your neighborhood. Look for agents who have “for sale” signs placed in your neighborhood. Ask each to prepare a market analysis (how much is it worth?) and a marketing plan (how do you plan to market my home?). Ask lots of questions about both. Include the main points of your marketing plan in your listing agreement so that all parties will know what is to be expected (i.e. frequency of ads and the publications/websites where they’ll appear, frequency of open houses, etc.). Limit the length of the listing—two months or less is good, but no more than three months. If the agent is doing his/her job as set out in the listing agreement you can always renew the listing when it expires. If they’re not producing results you’ll be able to document the reasons if you decide to cancel the listing early or be able to show them why you aren’t renewing the listing with them.

Gardeners Get a Jump on Spring - Now that winter’s darkest days are (hopefully) behind us, spring is closer than you think. Get a head start on spring gardening and begin planning now for an easier and more rewarding gardening season. The following tips can help jumpstart your season.

By Josh Garskof - You're longing to replace those dark oak cabinets, avocado appliances and worn countertops in your kitchen, but you want to minimize the costs and time of construction.

The Question of "When is a good time to buy real estate?"  Uncle Sam lowered rates = (residential home loan interest rate will remain low through 2012 and 2013). 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are less than 5 percent, yes less than five percent. During November, 2011, 30 year home loan interest rates dipped below four percent, these are unheard of rates. It's almost like free money, not to mention if you equate current low home prices or short sale opportunities.

Everyone wants the real estate market to get better: Real estate agents are selling less homes than they once were, taking a huge decrease in take home pay. Builders are selling about one-tenth as many homes as they were selling in 2005. Appraisers have recently taken blame for the housing crisis, for either over-appraising residential property or under-appraising homes. Consumer markets are also waiting impatiently for a rebound of their local real estate markets.

Getting the Most from Your Heating in the Winter Months - Heating your home during the colder months uses a large percentage of the energy you use throughout the entire year. And with winter weather finally setting in, most of us are likely to crank up the temperature indoors to ward off the cold outdoors. But at a time of year when many of us are already stretched against a difficult financial climate and high energy prices, how many of us can really afford to have the heating on all the time?

The follow advice, offered by Glow-Worm heating, can help you get the best from your heating systems during the cold winter months. Ensuring your heating system is running efficiently and that you are not wasting any energy can therefore help you to make big savings on your fuel bills.