Westchester Real Estate Inc. has issued its report on first-quarter activity along with general projections for the second quarter saying that single-family contracts in the county were up 8% in January and February over the same period in 2019.
In March, contracts were down 3.7% from 2019. March was when the effects of COVID-19 started to be felt. In Putnam County, contracts for the sale of single-family homes were relatively unchanged from January and February to March, but condominium contracts were starting to slow in March from the previous two months.
Westchester condominium contracts were described as being down just slightly in January and February and then falling off by 13% in March.
“With no in-person showings currently allowed, we expect there will be little new business or contracts in the early part of this second quarter, equating to a significant drop in closings to be expected mid-year,” the report stated.
It suggested that a lot will likely depend on the duration of the crisis because the longer it goes on the more impact on the overall economy, including employment, household wealth, and consumer confidence.
Westchester Real Estate Inc. is an entity involving several real estate companies serving Westchester and Putnam counties as well as New York City. The companies are J. Philip Real Estate LLC in Briarcliff Manor, Pelham and Mahopac; J. Philip Commercial Group in Mahopac; Mancini Realty in Somers; Park Sterling Realty in Bronxville; and The Michael Shapot Team and Compass Real Estate NYC in New York City.
Total sales of all main property types during the first quarter of 2020 were down 1.5% in Westchester but up 10.6% in Putnam, according to the report. Single-family homes sales were up 7.3% in Westchester and 8.7% in Putnam.
Median single-family home prices rose 5.8% in Westchester and 2.4% in Putnam. The strongest increase was 15.7% for Putnam condos, followed by 8.3% in Westchester condos. The only dip was in the sale price of Putnam”™s multifamily market, down 5%, according to the report.
In Westchester, there were 1,057 closed sales of single-family houses, 233 condo sales, 378 co-op sales and 145 multifamily sales during the first quarter. Median sale prices were $650,000 for single-family properties, $390,0000 for condominiums, $175,000 for co-ops and $560,000 for multifamily houses.
In Putnam, there were 224 closings on single-family houses, 33 condominiums and four multifamily properties. The median sale prices were $335,000 for single-family houses, $251,000 for condominiums and $300,550 for multifamily properties.
Single-family homes in Westchester sold for 97.6% of list price in the first quarter of 2020, the same as the first quarter of 2019. In Putnam, single-family homes sold for 97.2% of list price, slightly more than the 96.8% in the first quarter of 2019.
