Buying a home in Scarsdale or Eastchester just got measurably more expensive, and countywide data suggests Bronxville is no exception.

The median home price in Westchester County hit $999,000 in the second quarter of 2026, a 16.2% jump from a year earlier, according to data from the Houlihan Lawrence Q2 2026 market report as cited by the I Live Here Westchester podcast on Friday, July 24. That figure is more than double the New York State median of $475,000 reported by the New York State Association of Realtors for June 2026.

Meanwhile, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.58% as of Thursday, July 23, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The rate has risen for three consecutive weeks and sits at its highest point since August 2025.

The I Live Here Westchester podcast estimated that the combination of the $999,000 median price and a 6.55% rate (the figure when the episode was recorded) adds roughly $321 per month to a buyer's mortgage payment compared to a year ago. The podcast did not disclose its assumptions on down payment or loan size.

Fed holds, costs don't

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 on Tuesday, June 17, to hold the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, the fourth consecutive meeting without a change. But holding rates steady has not translated into stable housing costs locally. Nine of 18 FOMC policymakers projected at least one rate hike before year-end in the June dot plot, and the median inflation forecast for 2026 jumped to 3.6% from 2.7% in March.

The Fed's next policy meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29. Rate futures markets reflect roughly a one-in-three chance of a hike at that meeting, with the probability rising to near 100% by September, according to bond-market pricing reported by the Idaho Business Review.

Local market stays hot

In Scarsdale and Edgemont, 15 homes closed in the week ending Wednesday, July 22, with sale prices ranging from $1.865 million to $8.75 million, according to Scarsdale10583. The top sale, $8.75 million at 12 Burgess Road in the Murray Hill neighborhood, was new construction by KOSL Building.

Marc Gerber, a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices agent with more than 30 years in the Eastchester market, described the market's intensity in a May 2026 column, before the Q2 data was released: "At my recent open houses, we are drawing close to 100 buyers, averaging 12 offers per property, and final sale prices reaching as much as 15% above asking."

Gerber attributed the tight supply in part to the "lock-in effect," where homeowners holding pandemic-era mortgages near 2.65% are reluctant to sell and take on rates above 6%.

In the luxury segment, Westchester sales above $2 million climbed 16.1% year over year in Q2, with the quarter's highest sale reaching $10 million in Rye, according to the Houlihan Lawrence luxury report released Tuesday, July 14. Liz Nunan, president and CEO of the 138-year-old brokerage, said supply at the highest end of the market remains limited even as inventory improved in several price segments.

What comes next

Ten-year Treasury yields, the benchmark for 30-year mortgage pricing, have risen a quarter of a percentage point in July alone. If that pace holds, mortgage rates could climb further regardless of what the Fed decides July 29.