Despite a lousy real estate market, Ginsburg Development Co. of Valhalla sold 45 homes in 35 days as part of its 45th anniversary celebration. The company said it extended the program for another 45 days to meet demand from buyers. The company has been offering buyers a number of incentives. One buyer who signs a contract for a home this year will get a grand prize of $335,000 to put toward the purchase of a home. There will also be two smaller prizes.

The effects of the downturn in real estate markets nationwide reached the Lower Hudson Valley with a vengeance in February as sales of existing homes plunged in both Rockland and Westchester counties.  Rockland’s sales were down 38.6 percent as the median sales price declined 10.7 percent to $436,500 from $489,000. Sales in Westchester dropped 22.1 percent as the median fell 7.9 percent to $607,500 from $659,500.Putnam County’s real estate market continued to show strength, however, as it had in January, according to the state’s Realtors association, which collects the data. The county’s median sales price rose 6.3 percent to $425,000 from $400,000.To search a statewide database of existing home sales trends for February,  click here.

A forum designed to assist borrowers who may be struggling to make mortgage payments or who are at risk of defaulting on their mortgage will take place April 5 from noon to 6 p.m.

The event, known as Operation Protect Your Home, will take place at Roosevelt High School at 631 Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers.

Homeowners will be able to have their loans reviewed by bank and mortgage servicing company representatives, and housing counselors. The program is a joint effort between the New York State Senate Democratic Conference, the New York State Banking Department, and more than 15 lending institutions, housing counseling agencies, and legal aid groups.

Similar forums are planned elsewhere in the state. Call 800-718-2039 to register.

Collins Enterprises LLC of Stamford, Conn., is expected to open Hudson Park North, a high-end apartment complex on the Hudson River in Yonkers, in early April.

More than 100 people have signed up to lease one of the 294 apartments, where rent ranges from $1,800 for a one-bedroom to $2,300 for two bedrooms, the developer announced.

Hudson Park North features two towers of 14 and 12 stories, connected by a four-story building.

Hudson Park South, a 266-unit luxury apartment project adjoining its partner, is nearly 100 percent leased.

Westchester County closed 2007 with foreclosure activity up 40.1 percent over the previous year, the county clerk’s office said yesterday.

There were 2,166 new foreclosure actions started in the county, up from 1,546 in 2006. The 2006 level itself was up 42.8 percent over 2005.

The number of foreclosure judgments by courts in 2007 also was up sharply. There were 707 judgments, up 60.7 percent from 2006. The figure was more than double the 300 foreclosure judgments in 2005.

Industry observers said the increase in subprime mortgage problems has contributed to higher foreclosures in the Lower Hudson Valley. Borrowers with less than perfect credit took the loans out to buy houses and multi-unit properties; they often fell behind in payments when the interest rates started to reset at higher levels in 2007.

In Rockland County, foreclosure filing were up 16.2 percent year over year through October, to 1,045 total. In Putnam, they were up 44.3 percent in that period, for a total of 368.

Existing home sales fell across the Lower Hudson Valley and most of New York in November, putting more pressure on sellers to lower prices.

Steep sales declines of 22.2 percent in Putnam and 20.7 percent in Rockland coincided with decreases in median sales prices in both counties.

Putnam’s median fell 2.7 percent to $403,950 in November from $415,000 a year earlier. Rockland’s median tumbled 6.6 percent to $449,950 from $482,000.

Westchester County’s sales were also down — 3.1 percent in November, but its median sales price rose 7.6 percent to $640,000, up from $595,000. Westchester’s median was New York state’s highest among 57 of 62 counties reporting, according to the New York State Association of Realtors.

Schoharie County in central New York state, west of Albany, was the month’s hottest market with the biggest increase in sales and median sales price. The county’s median sales price surged 135.8 percent to $359,125 from $152,300 as sales jumped 66.7 percent.

Schuyler County in western New York had the state’s biggest decline, where the median fell 37.4 percent to $87,000 from $139,000.

The median sales price statewide was down 11.2 percent to $215,000 from $242,100 in November 2006 as sales declined 15.6 percent.

The data are collected from local Multiple Listing Services by the state Realtors association. Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the survey, and November 2007 results were unavailable from Greene County.

The November 2007 results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

Community Housing Innovations Inc, a White Plains nonprofit agency, wants to distribute $600,000 this month to help qualified first-time homebuyers make their downpayments.

The agency said the slump in the housing market has created buying opportunities for folks who have not owned their own homes in the past.

The agency, which calls itself Westchester County’s largest provider of downpayment assistance, is offering grants of $25,000 to first-time homebuyers interested in purchasing a renovated cooperative at The Quincy Park Avenue in Mount Vernon.

“Our goal is to create opportunities that will enable low to moderate income families to purchase homes,� Alexander Roberts, the executive director of Community Housing Innovations, said in a statement released by the agency. “Pricing at The Quincy Park Avenue is at a level that is very much in reach. Our grants provide the extra boost that can make the dream of home ownership a reality.�

The Cheshire Group, a Manhattan-based real estate investment company, bought co-ops in the building and is renovating the homes with the intention of selling them. Studios start at $83,700, one-bedrooms at $133,650 and two-bedrooms at $204,300.

A family of four with an income of $77,200 or less can qualify for a grant. The grants are available for other properties as well.

Community Housing Innovations will hold a seminar on the program Saturday at 10 a.m. at 11 Park Ave. in Mount Vernon. Another seminar is scheduled for Dec. 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Yonkers Riverfront Library. To make reservations or get more information on the Yonkers event, call 914-683-1010.

Strong demand for rental apartments in Westchester County has driven overall rental rates in the first half of 2007 up by 9 percent year over year, according to a new report by real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

The average rent for units of all types, from studios to multiple bedrooms, reached a record $1,788, the report said. Occupancy stood at 97.1 percent in the first half of the year, compared to 96.7 percent for all of 2006.

Monthly rents run from $1,500 to $2,000 for high-quality one-bedroom apartments, and $2,300 to $2,900 for two-bedroom units.

The brokerage noted that sales of houses and condos are slowing in the market, a trend that would boost demand for leased space.

Cushman & Wakefield said that 40 percent of the 344,000 households in the county are renting the places where they live. A projected 2.2 percent increase in households over the next five years would mean a need for 3,050 additional apartments, the report said.

The difficulty in building new housing in the region, however, is constraining that growth, the brokerage said. Twenty-one projects accounting for more than 5,800 condos and rental apartments have been proposed in the county, but approvals can take five to 10 years, Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director Jose Cruz said.

One consequence of the trend is the demand by investors for apartment projects in the Lower Hudson Valley.

In March, AvalonBay Communities paid $37.8 million for Crystal Hill Club in Pomona, a 168-unit luxury project developed by Ginsburg Development Group, the brokerage said. In Scarsdale, the 40-unit Stone Ridge Manor sold in March for $19.5 million. The 108-unit Diplomat Gardens in Piermont sold for $13.3 million in March.

Cruz said many apartment buildings in Westchester are family-owned, unlike other suburban areas in the metro New York region where institutional ownership prevails.

“When a property comes on (the market), it’s a feeding frenzy,� he said. “I think a lot of the landlords realize they have gold in their hands.�

Yonkers city officials yesterday joined with the developer of the $125 million Hudson Park North rental apartment project for a “topping out� ceremony marking the completion of the top floor of the development being built on the city’s waterfront. Collins Enterprises LLC and AIG Global Real Estate hope to finish the project in the spring. Hudson Park North will have 294 one- and two-bedroom apartments in two towers of 14 and 12 stories, joined by a four-story building.

Its neighbor, the $75 million Hudson Park South, was completed in 2003 and is nearly fully leased, the developer said. It has 266 luxury riverfront apartments and 20,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and professional office space.

Terrence Horton wanted to build condominiums with upscale amenities at affordable prices for Mount Vernon’s working class community.

He also wanted to help push the economic revitalization along East Sandford Boulevard and the surrounding area of the city.

The end result will be The Roosevelt at Franklin, a 12-story condominium complex with 42 units.

Horton, a real estate developer and a native of the city, gathered with Mount Vernon leaders today to break ground on the $14.5 million project at 440 Franklin Ave. Earthmovers and other heavy construction machinery were parked nearby.

“What attracts me is that I am a community developer,â€? said Horton, president of QFI Inc., a Mount Vernon-based property development and real estate management company. “This town needs individuals to not put money before quality. … I hope this project raises the bar and standard of living for Mount Vernon.â€?

When completed in about August 2008, The Roosevelt at Franklin will offer amenities such as concierge services, a fitness center and an executive conference room. Expected asking prices will be $260,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $370,000 to $375,000 for two-bedroom condos, according to Horton. He said that the condos are a good option for working class professionals who wish to live and work in Mount Vernon.

“We are targeting commissioners, law enforcement, teachers and civil service workers,� Horton said. “So these are affordable units.�

QFI previously developed Union Lane and Franklin Crest, two other residential developments in the area. The residential revitalization has coincided with a commercial renaissance. Major retailers such as Target, Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond have opened along East Sandford Boulevard in recent years.

“As we gather here today, realize that all things are possible,� Mount Vernon Mayor Ernest D. Davis told onlookers before the groundbreaking. “If you believe it, you can achieve it. We have an obligation to the next generation to make this city the best that it can possibly be.�

By the year 2020, 450 of every 1,000 people will be senior citizens and every one of those older folks will need a place to live, an executive with a construction and development company told an audience in Tarrytown this morning.

The Hudson Valley is getting gray even faster than that, Michael J. DiTullo, executive vice president of Hillside Communities in Newburgh, said. About 500,000 of the 2.2 million residents of the region are 55 or older, he said.

DiTullo said that while many New Yorkers mark their retirement by moving to warm-weather places, many stay in the Northeast, moving to New Jersey, Connecticut of Pennsylvania because they can get housing easier there than they can in New York.

That trend is one of many that speakers at a meeting on eldercare discussed in an attempt to cast light on the economic and social problems and opportunities presented by the aging of the American population.

DiTullo said he believes many people whose children have grown up and moved out remain in their large homes because of a lack of smaller homes in the area. If the region had more smaller homes so that these folks could “downsize� that would free up their houses for young homebuyers, he said.

Meredith Oppenheim, who runs Oppenheim Real Estate Ventures LLP in Manhattan, said the government in Mexico is working to make it easier and safer for American retirees to move to that country. The government and developers see an economic opportunity in the influx of older Americans crossing the border in pursuit of a more affordable place to live.

Many health-care providers in Mexico are seeking partnerships with U.S. health-care institutions in order to establish credibility, said Oppenheim, who won a Congressional Medal of Honor for writing a cookbook for seniors donating all the proceeds to charity.

She said that though Americans who make the move surrender certain benefits, it can still be more affordable.

“It’s not a panacea,� she said of moving to Mexico. “It’s just what some people are seeking as an alternative.�

Provident Bank, Elant Inc. — which is a Goshen-based provider of services for senior citizens — and other sponsors were behind the summit. The audience of more than 100 included government officials, businesspeople, educators and experts on aging.

Nestfinders Real Estate of Mamaroneck and its team of seven agents have merged with Scarsdale-based Prudential Centennial Realty, which has 11 agents.

Nestfinders’s agents continue working out of their office at 619 East Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck.

Mark Nadler, the president of Prudential Centenial, said the merger allows his firm a greater geographic reach. Most prospective buyers do not limit themselves to buying a property in just one community but want to look at homes in a number of different communities, he said.

AvalonBay Communities of Alexandria, Va., has purchased Crystal Hill Club, a gated, 168-unit luxury complex in Pomona, according to the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Crystal Hill Club includes one- and two-bedroom apartments in six townhome-style buildings and three mid-rise complexes. More than a dozen investors bid to buy Crystal Hill, which was developed by Ginsburg Development Corp. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Principals of Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate have closed their White Horse Mortgage Services affiliate as part of a deal to obtain lending services for clients from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Most of the staff at the former White Horse now work exclusively for Houlihan Lawrence at the Wells Fargo office in White Plains, said Stephen Meyers, chief executive officer at Houlihan Lawrence.

Meyers said Wells Fargo’s expertise and marketing resources attracted the Bronxville-based independent real estate agency to the deal.

White Horse was formed in 1998; about six to eight staffers joined Wells Fargo, Meyers said.

High-rise condominiums are on the market for $750,000 to $10.49 million at a 44-story story tower scheduled to be completed this fall in downtown White Plains.

The prices at this complex, known as The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, are well above the median $375,000 price for a Westchester condo as tracked by the Westchester County Association of Realtors. But there have been plenty of buyers willing to pay a premium for an address inside the county’s tallest building. In fact, the project’s developer says that condo sales are occurring at a “sizzling� pace with 70 percent of the units selling during the past four months.

“I never dreamed that it would happen this quickly,� developer Louis R. Cappelli said in a telephone interview. “We didn’t expect to be at this sales point until the end of 2007.�

Cappelli credited the brisk sales in part to the strength of the New York economy, record Wall Street bonuses and surge of empty nesters. New York’s luxury real-estate market also appears to be holding up better than some overheated markets around the country, including Florida and Las Vegas.

“In the high-end market of New York, I don’t know if there is a real estate slowdown,� he said. “Whatever correction there was, it seems to have corrected itself.�

The tower features 181 condominiums in what is billed the tallest building between Manhattan and Boston. The residences, which offer views of Manhattan, Long Island Sound and the Hudson Valley, range from 1,028 to 5,243 square feet with versions that include one to three bedrooms. The tower is expected to be ready for residents to move in by September or October.

Still available for nearly $10.49 million is the complex’s most expensive unit—a 5,243-square-foot penthouse on the 40th floor that features views of both the Manhattan skyline and Long Island Sound.

Young professionals and empty-nesters from Westchester, Manhattan and southern Connecticut are the typical buyers of the condos. Some buyers have also been attracted by costs per square foot that are about half the prices of similar-sized units in Manhattan.

“There was need in the marketplace for this product,� Cappelli said.

The development in downtown White Plains is the latest project to transform the city during the past five years through an influx of new retailers, restaurants and condos.

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton will be next to a 10-story Ritz-Carlton hotel expected to open in early 2008. Owners of the condos will have access to amenities such as maid service, room service, concierge and a luxury spa.

Sales of existing single-family homes fell sharply in area counties during October as the region experienced the slower housing market hitting much of the country, according to preliminary data from the New York State Association of Realtors.

In Westchester County, sales dropped 17.3 percent to 377 home compared to a year earlier. In Rockland County, they fell 12.6 percent to 132 homes. In Putnam, sales dropped 27.9 percent to 80 homes.

The report also listed the median sales prices by county and the change from a year earlier: Westchester, $615,000 (down 4.7 percent); Rockland, $470,000 (down 6.6 percent); and Putnam, $412,500 (up 0.6 percent). Statewide, home sales dropped 7.3 percent to 8,721 units, and the median sales price fell 6 percent to $235,000.