Westchester Real Estate Inc. said in a report that the Westchester and Putnam residential markets in the second quarter were on a positive trajectory the first two months of the year, started to stall a bit in March, hit the low mark in April but now has started to open up again.
WREI is a consortium of real estate firms that includes: J. Philip Real Estate LLC in Briarcliff Manor and Pelham; J. Philip Real Estate and the J. Philip Commercial Group in Mahopac; Mancini Realty in Somers; Park Sterling Realty in Bronxville; and the Michael Shapot Team at Compass Real Estate in Manhattan.
The report stated that the number of pending contracts for single-family homes in Westchester jumped from 223 in April to 421 in May, and soared to 952 in June, surpassing the 666 in June of 2019. In Putnam, there was a spike in pending contracts from 52 in May to 159 in June.
“The impetus for this is low interest rates on mortgages and a shortage of homes for sale. Buyer demand continues to outpace the number of homes available for sale in the most desirable price points and locations, driving up prices,” the report stated.
The average inventory of single-family homes was down 32% in Westchester and 23% in Putnam, with offers sometimes coming in almost as soon as properties hit the market. Single-family homes sold on average for 98.1% of the listing price in Westchester in the second quarter of 2020, and 97.8% in Putnam, slightly higher percentages than in the last several quarters in both counties.
Second quarter single-family sales in Westchester were 1,183, down from the 1,500 in the first quarter of 2019. Gains made in the first quarter of the year helped hold the drop to 10% for the first six months of 2020. In Putnam, single-family sales for 2020 stood at 227 compared with 244 in the first quarter of 2019.
There were 203 condominium sales in Westchester in the second quarter of 2020 compared with 346 in the same period last year. In Putnam, there were 31 condo sales, up from 25 in the second quarter of 2019.
Putnam had no multifamily sales close in the second quarter of this year, compared with four in last year’s second quarter. In Westchester, there were 77 multifamily sales in the second quarter compared with 1,521 in the same period a year ago.
The median sale price for a single-family home in Westchester during the second quarter of this year was $711,000, a slight increase from the $705,000 for the same period last year, according to the report. In Putnam, the median price was $359,900, a slight drop from $364,250 in the second quarter of 2019.
WREI said there was a pent-up demand including interest from New York City residents concerned with density and communal spaces such as shared hallways, elevators and laundry facilities. People working from home, and sometimes also schooling their children at home, now consider more space a necessity and, according to WREI, there is a demand for access to more outdoor space.
WREI also sees mortgage rates that quite recently fell as low as 3.15% to be a factor, as was the stock market’s comeback. It said the New York City residential market has softened with new listings coming to a virtual halt and sales volume significantly below last year.
WREI forecast that the Westchester and Putnam markets will continue strong into the fall.
