Westchester County needs 21,000 more housing units, but only 1,299 are under construction across the entire county, squeezing home prices higher in Bronxville, Eastchester and Scarsdale.

The gap between supply and demand is showing up at open houses. In Eastchester, recent listings have drawn close to 100 buyers, averaged 12 offers per property and produced final sale prices as much as 15 percent above asking, according to Marc Gerber of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, writing in May 2026.

Single-family prices in the Eastchester area have risen more than 30 percent over the past several years, Gerber said.

Bronxville ranked third in Westchester for bidding-war intensity in 2025, with average days on market for single-family homes dropping 32.8 percent, according to a year-end market report in the Yonkers Times.

In Scarsdale, the median single-family price rose 8.8 percent to $2,459,950. County-wide, the median hit $985,000, up 6.5 percent.

Roughly 1,700 single-family homes were on the market across Westchester in September 2025, down from more than 5,100 in September 2019. That is a 67 percent drop in six years.

Where the 21,000 number comes from

The shortfall figure comes from the county's housing needs assessment. A joint report from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) and the Westchester County Association (WCA), unveiled at WCA's Real Estate Summit in May 2025, projected the deficit could balloon to between 44,000 and 77,000 units by 2040.

The RPA/WCA analysis found that failing to build could cost Westchester 8,400 to 12,000 jobs annually and up to $742 million in lost earnings each year.

The county's apartment vacancy rate stood at 1.9 percent as of the May 2025 report, well below the 5 to 8 percent range considered healthy. Rents range from $2,500 to $4,000 per month, according to Tim Foley, executive vice president of the Building & Realty Institute of Hudson Valley, as reported by Multi-Housing News.

What's in the pipeline

An analysis published Tuesday, Sept. 8, by I Live Here Media's "The Westchester Brief" podcast counted four active projects totaling 1,299 units:

  • Westchester Crossing, Port Chester: 957 apartments, including 105 affordable units. Governor Kathy Hochul broke ground April 22 on the former United Hospital site. Infrastructure work, backed by a $65 million investment and up to $10 million from the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund, is expected to finish in 2027.
  • The Parker, Yonkers: A 16-story tower with 160 affordable units at 632-636 South Broadway. The county contributed $5.9 million for land acquisition and more than $4 million in infrastructure funding. Construction was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026, according to News 12 Hudson Valley, with a projected 36-month build.
  • Station Plaza and Crescent Manor, Ossining: Unit counts for these two projects were not independently confirmed.

Even combined, those 1,299 units cover about 6 percent of the identified need.

County response

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins has launched two funding programs in 2026. The $25 million Housing Flex Fund II, announced June 17, aims to accelerate affordable housing development. A separate Affordable Housing Predevelopment Revolving Loan Fund, announced July 30, targets projects stuck between concept and construction.

Rising material costs add another obstacle. Steel and cement prices climbed roughly 25 percent in 2026 under federal Section 232 tariffs, hitting projects across the county's development pipeline.

Westchester's population crossed one million for the first time, recording the largest single-year gain of any county in New York, according to Census Bureau data cited in a June 12 I Live Here Media report.

New Rochelle offers one model for what added supply can do. The city created 4,500 units since 2020 through rezoning and a streamlined approval process. Rents there stabilized and dropped 2 percent, according to Foley.

"Building housing is really important for our economy and job growth," Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association, said at the May 2025 WCA summit. "It brings more money to be spent in our towns."

Under Governor Hochul's Pro-Housing Community Program, which targets 1 percent annual growth in housing stock, Westchester could add about 33,000 units by 2040, according to lohud.com. As of May 2025, 14 municipalities had been certified, including White Plains, Yonkers and New Rochelle. Bronxville, Eastchester and Scarsdale were not among them.