Hudson Valley Seeing Strong Sales Activity Throughout Region
Renee Zurlo | August 19, 2016
As reported in HGAR’s 2016 second quarter residential real estate sales report, the Hudson Valley continues to experience increased sales volume.
This long awaited market condition has produced a five-year high of second quarter sales reaching an overall 23% increase in closings over the same period in 2015.
Putnam County, at 32%, had the largest increase in sales while Orange County ran a close second at 30% in the second quarter.
Second quarter price increases were reported for Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties for the median sale price of single-family homes. Putnam had the largest increase at 8.5%, with a median sale price of $314,000. Orange County had an increase of 6%, with a median sale price of $222,500 and Rockland County posted an increase of 4.9% with a median sale price of $430,000.
Westchester reported a 1.6% decrease in the median sale price of a single family home, with a median sale price of $650,000.
At our mid-year point, the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service reported an active listing inventory of 9,972, a 20% decrease from 12,400 listings at the end of the 2015 second quarter.
This tightening of inventory continues in all of our regions. With increased buyer demand, historically low interest rates and a decreased listing inventory, properties are selling quickly. We are experiencing many multiple offer situations, both on newly listed properties and properties that have been on the market for several months.
In Orange County, our active listing inventory has been steadily decreasing year-after-year, from a high of 3,394 properties at the second quarter mark in 2012, to an inventory of 2,398 at this year’s second quarter. In addition, the number of listed REO properties continues to rise. At the end of the 2014’s second quarter, the number of REO listings was reported at 136. The same time period in 2015 reported 173, and at the end of this year’s second quarter, we have 243 listed REO properties.
New construction has provided a much needed, fresh new inventory for Orange County. Open house traffic at new home sites increased in the spring and is continuing through the summer. Several projects have beginning price points that appeal to first-time homebuyers and we are seeing a definite increase in new home contracts and sales.
Looking Forward
The outlook for our Hudson Valley fall market is consistent with nationwide and surrounding areas that have been experiencing improved markets. Economic conditions and political activity will be the main factors for the housing market moving forward, but we should expect that prices will increase due to current market conditions, decreased inventory and buyer demand.
Based on recent experiences and observations in my local market area of Orange County, it is crucial that we continue to do our best to educate buyers and sellers to these current market conditions. Our Matrix system can provide several effective resources, reports and market data that will help guide in pricing and negotiation, most particularly in multiple offer situations.
A current market analysis is not only a necessary and key resource for a seller, but can also be a helpful tool to guide a buyer when making an offer. Our statistical reports can provide a variety of helpful data since these can be customized to desired criteria. Another helpful resource is the Market Conditions Summary Report, which provides statistics such as, months of housing supply, absorption rate, median sale and list price information, including list to sale price ratio.
This is an exciting time in our business and one that we’ve waited a decade for! Let’s arm ourselves with all that is available to us in order to fully service our buyers and sellers, and prosper in this busy market.
Editor’s Note: Statistical information derived from HGMLS.
Renee Zurlo is the General Manager of New York for Howard Hanna Rand Realty and previously served as the president of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, the predecessor of OneKey MLS.