Realtors operating in the four-county lower Hudson region served by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors reported 3,391 closed residential transactions during the first three months of 2016, an increase of 530 sales or 18.5% from the same period in 2015. The burst of closings largely resulted from market activity that took place during the winter months of 2015 and the first few weeks of 2016. The chart below shows that first quarter closings are not only increasing but are accelerating with yearto-year increases of 10.8% from 2013 to 2014, and 12.1% from 2014 to 2015. The sales activity in 2016 was accompanied by relatively flat average prices.

Westchester County, typically accounting for 50-60% of the region’s real estate sales, posted a 14.0% first quarter gain over 2015. Setting aside its relatively small multi-family sector, cooperatives were the best performing sector with a 17.5% increase over last year. Condominiums followed at 15.7% and single family houses at 11.2%. Altogether there were 1,847 sales, an increase of 227 units over last year’s first quarter total.

Orange County continued its high volume sales activity of the past several years with a remarkable 33.0% increase this past quarter: 822 units in 2016 versus 618 in 2015.

The backbone of the Orange County market is its concentration of single family houses in the range of $200,000 to $230,000, a pricing level that is the most affordable in the region.

Lightly populated Putnam County posted 255 sales, a 30.1% gain over last year. Rockland posted the lowest overall increase among the four counties, 9.4%, although its single family house sector stood out with a respectable 16.6% increase over last year. Read the complete report here.