Living in the family home for 40 years and then retiring to Florida is no longer every suburbanite couple’s dream. Many homeowners now are looking to shed the large house once the kids have left and still enjoy the region where they’ve put down roots. This “resizing” trend is alive and well in Westchester, according to Greenwich resident Alison Bernstein, founder and president of Suburban Jungle Real Estate. “It’s not necessarily a cost thing; it’s more about what [buyers] want or don’t want as their lifestyle,” she says.
Bernstein’s firm recently launched a “ReSizers” division, working specifically with these types of buyers and sellers in Westchester and the surrounding areas. The service — which uses proprietary tech to determine which town(s) are the best fit for each buyer — is targeted toward suburbanites who, she says, “are in their early 50s or so; still working, still active; their kids are launched; and they want to start the next phase of their lives.”
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The ReSizers division has already served “several hundred” families in Westchester, and Bernstein reports a few commonalities: “Many of our clients are moving back to the city — urban life makes them feel young, plus their jobs may still be in the city, and their kids might be working there after college.”
They may also pick a Westchester urban area for a similar vibe without giving up their local routine; or, she says, “resizers may be looking for water views, so they might pick one of the Rivertowns or Greenwich.” Westchester resizers are also looking for what she calls “magnet homes,” in places like the Hamptons or the Hudson Valley, which are likely to attract grown children to come for visits — grandchildren in tow. Ultimately, she says, resizing is about living your best life when you’re in the stage “in-between raising kids and retirement” — a relatable goal for many Westchesterites.
