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Below is the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ (HGAR) 2013 Annual and fourth-quarter report for Westchester Putnam real estate.
The Lower Hudson region’s real estate market continued its strong recovery of the past two years with double digit increases in sales volumes, and some increases in prices as well, in the four-county area served by the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, a subsidiary of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, Inc. MLS Member Realtors working in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties reported a grand total of 13,781 closed residential sales in those counties, a 20% increase over 2012’s performance which itself was a robust bounce-back from the bottom of the real estate recession in 2008 and 2009.
The recent numbers were the highest posted with the MLS since 2007. On a percentage basis, Orange County led the way with a 23% increase in sales over the full year 2012, followed by Westchester (21%), Putnam (17%), and Rockland (14%). Broken down by quarters, the first quarter of 2013 was the slowest, the second and third quarters were the most vigorous, and the fourth quarter eased back again although, with a 16% increase over the fourth quarter of 2012, it was still a fine finish and bodes well for 2014.
The accelerating sales volumes over the past two years have dented the region’s inventory of properties for sale. There was a total of 8,942 residential units (single-family houses, condominiums, cooperatives, and in Westchester, 2-4 family residences) available at the close of 2013, a 7.1% decrease from 2012, which itself posted a decrease from 2011.
The region is emerging from a period when supply was tight because potential sellers were concerned about economic conditions and were reluctant to list their properties because of that. Some of that reticence to list still exists among potential sellers who are wary of lingering high unemployment as well as uncertain federal legislative and regulatory enactments that might negatively affect real estate as well as the economy as a whole. However, it now appears that the downward direction of inventory results more from classic supply and demand – sales outpacing new supply – than from consumer nervousness about the real estate market per se. Continue reading this report here.
To compare this report with earlier reports, visit HGAR.com.
