January home sales continued to decline, while prices increased in most markets in the Greater New York City Metropolitan area, according to a report by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR), based on data supplied by the OneKey MLS. HGAR said that a limited supply and strong demand are responsible for the current market conditions.
HGAR did foresee a brighter residential sales picture as the spring selling season approaches. It expects that the tight supply will ease as more homes come to the market beginning in the spring and summer months.
“With mortgage interest rates moving slightly higher now, we continue to experience the trend of people taking a ‘wait and see’ approach before deciding to list their homes for sale, but would caution against trying to time the real estate market based on such marginal changes,” said HGAR President Carmen Bauman. “Nevertheless, we do anticipate more movement during the spring with additional inventory on the market.”
Sales of single-family homes declined in all six of HGAR’s coverage areas, while some counties experienced increases in co-op or condo sales.
In Westchester County, January sales of single-family homes and co-ops decreased 12.7% and 19.2% respectively, while condo sales increased 1.4% compared with January of 2023. The median sales price increased 5.4% to $858,250 for single-family homes and 31.5% to $562,000 for condos. The median sales price for co-ops decreased 1.6% to $182,000.
New condo listings in Westchester increased 15.5% while new co-op listings declined 18.3%. New listings for single-family homes decreased by just 2.2%. Overall inventory of single-family homes for sale declined by almost 30%, while co-op inventory was down by 37% and condos, 16.3%. Pending home sales rose 6.9% in Westchester as compared to a year earlier, according to HGAR.
January sales of single-family homes in Rockland County saw just a slight decrease of 0.9% from last year, while condo sales rose by 31% and co-ops by 33%. The median sales price increased 11.1% to $700,000 for single-family homes. Condo prices also climbed 9.2% to $355,00 and co-ops, 9.1% to $221,500, HGAR reported.
New listings for single-family homes remained the same as last year, while new condo listings saw a 23.1% hike over January 2023. Co-op listings fell by more than 20%. Co-ops experienced the largest overall inventory decline at 81.1%. Single-family-home inventory overall declined by 19.5% and condos by 3.1%. Pending sales in Rockland County shot up 13.3% in January, according to HGAR.
