Below are excerpts from the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ (HGAR) 2012 third-quarter report for Westchester Putnam real estate.
Westchester and Putnam Counties enjoyed a second round of increased residential real estate sales during the third quarter of this year.
Realtor firms participating in the Westchester-Putnam Division of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS) reported 2,243 closed residential transactions in Westchester, a 15% increase over the same period last year; in Putnam County the increase was 29%.
For Westchester, the third quarter volume was the highest since 2007, and for Putnam, since 2008.
While sales volumes have increased for two consecutive quarters, selling prices have not. The third quarter median sale price of a single family house in Westchester was 8% less than last year’s third quarter median.
The decrease in Putnam was a hefty 25% (please note that Putnam data are subject to large percentage swings because the overall base count is low).
The lower average price in the region is mostly due to sellers’ price concessions in response to general economic conditions.
The only sector to enjoy price gains was Westchester condominiums, up by 4%. The cooperative apartment median fell by 7%.
The inventory of properties listed for sale decreased by 10% in Westchester, and by 11% in Putnam.
Inventory remains low on account of the continuing reluctance of potential sellers to test the waters.
Still, posting two consecutive quarters of increased real estate sales in our region is encouraging because it occurred in the face of lackluster or even adverse economic circumstances.
We are probably close to the point where buyers and sellers see eye to eye on the bottom line for prices, and where an increasingly active market generates its own energy for renewed health.
Read the complete 5-page report here.
To compare this report with reports going back as far as 1981, visit Market Statistics at www.HGAR.com.
