Next year is a big anniversary for Lisa Murphy, her tenth as a real estate agent at Houlihan Lawrence. She and her husband, Paul, moved from Manhattan to Rye, with their then three young boys, in 1996. They bought a lovely home in Indian Village, and they’re “there for the duration.” The boys are now 19, 17, and 15.

 

By Robin Jovanovich

Next year is a big anniversary for Lisa Murphy, her tenth as a real estate agent at Houlihan Lawrence. She and her husband, Paul, moved from Manhattan to Rye, with their then three young boys, in 1996. They bought a lovely home in Indian Village, and they’re “there for the duration.” The boys are now 19, 17, and 15.

 

Ms. Murphy started off in investment banking. “I was at E. F. Hutton — I guess that dates me! — when I met Paul, who was at Goldman Sachs.” She added, “I have to say that among the things I love about my work as a realtor is the flexibility. It’s much easier to get to your children’s games and events, when you work in downtown Rye.”

 

If she’s upbeat about the Rye real estate market, it’s in part because she’s a positive, practical woman.

 

“Don’t expect huge increases in sale prices in the coming months, but single-family homes sales are edging back up to 2007 levels,” she said. “One encouraging sign for me is that 45% of the buyers are Rye homeowners. They’re trading within Rye because they want to stay here.”

 

Even though most Manhattanites aren’t ready to close a deal this time of year, Ms. Murphy said they’re all out here looking for inventory, getting the tour. “The feedback is just what you’d imagine, especially these past few weekends when the weather has been great. They see everyone out and about — kids in sports uniforms, games going on all over town, people walking, biking, enjoying the parks, downtown. They see idyllic small town U.S.A.”

 

For Ms. Murphy, the nice thing about living in a community “is that it is a community! You live through the ups and downs, but with a lot of people  — in my case wonderful co-workers and the best neighbors and friends.” She laughed before adding, “Of course, with respect to neighborhoods, if you ask three people they’ll all say, ‘Rye is full of great neighborhoods, but mine is the best.”

 

Her neighborhood, Indian Village, is certainly one of them. “We’re one of 70 families, and everybody knows everybody. We’ve never had more trick or treaters than we did this year. My husband helps organize the annual fall golf outing and the Memorial Day weekend men’s softball game with Loudon Woods. We’re all already gearing up for the Christmas party.”