Lower Hudson Valley notched home sale growth in 2021

Westchester home sales rose 10.4%, led increases in Putnam and Dutchess counties

Liz Nunan, ceo, Houlihan Lawrence (Houlihan Lawrence, iStock)
Liz Nunan, ceo, Houlihan Lawrence (Houlihan Lawrence, iStock)

Home sales in Westchester County rose by double-digit percentages in 2021, but the area is showing some signs of a slowdown.

Sales in Westchester County increased 10.4 percent year-over-year, according to Houlihan Lawrence’s fourth-quarter report as reported by the Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals. The brokerage said Putnam County sales rose 8 percent, while they were up 2.7 percent in Dutchess County.

Low inventory helped spur prices along in the market. Listings in all three counties dropped by at least 34 percent year-over-year, led by a 44 percent drop in Dutchess County.

This year “will likely not see the record-breaking number of sales seen in 2021,” said Liz Nunan, president and CEO of Houlihan Lawrence, according to WestFair Online. “But until the supply and demand fall into balance, the market will still be charged with buyers, and sellers will continue to prosper.”

Nevertheless, the report showed signs of possible opportunities for buyers in Westchester and the Hudson Valley.

The median sale price for a single-family home in Westchester was $725,000 in the fourth quarter, a 1 percent drop-year-over-year. For the year, however, the median price was $780,000, up 6.1 percent from 2020.

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The condo market in the county is looking less favorable to buyers. Sales soared 31.8 percent from 2020 to 2021 as the median price jumped 5.5 percent to $425,000. In the fourth quarter, there was a 4.9 percent price rise year-over-year.

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Co-op sales in the county saw a similar trajectory. Sales rose 35.3 percent from 2020 to 2021 and the median sales price was up 6.1 percent to $194,100. For the fourth quarter, prices on co-ops rose 2.9 percent.

Elsewhere in the Hudson Valley, about 100 more single-family homes in Putnam County were sold in 2021 than 2020. The median sales price for 2021 was $440,000, a 16 percent jump from 2020. The fourth quarter median sales price was $455,750, also a 16 percent rise year-over-year.

In Dutchess County, about 75 more single-family home sales took place in 2021 than the previous year. The median sales price last year was $390,000, rising 14.7 percent from 2020. In the fourth quarter, the median sales price hit $396,000, 7.3 percent higher year-over-year.

[WestFair] — Holden Walter-Warner