Luxury sales north of New York City last year began soaring in the spring and continued into the summer and fall, according to the latest report from Houlihan Lawrence.
A rare combination of low inventory and highly motivated buyers, along with low-interest rates and a booming stock market, created a seller’s market and generated record-breaking sales, the firm said.
The Houlihan Lawrence Luxury Market Report found that pandemic-driven changes in buyer preferences were especially prevalent in New York City buyers who focused more on the attributes and amenities of a home and less on proximity to Manhattan.
In Westchester County, luxury sales ($2 million and higher) grew by approximately 50%, while the overall Westchester/Putnam/Dutchess market increased by 11%.
New Yorkers leaving the city fueled a surge in Putnam and Dutchess counties, previously considered a second home area for New Yorkers, and now increasingly a primary home market. Luxury sales ($1 million and higher) shattered records, with a 300% rise in 2020, though the overall market increased by less than 10%.
In Westchester, low inventory and buyers”™ newfound sense of urgency contributed to a highly competitive environment, and nearly one in five luxury homes sold above the asking price. Multiple offers bid up selling prices an average of $100,000, and the majority of properties sold above asking fell within the $2 million to $2.99 million price range.
Westchester”™s ultra-luxury segment ($5 million and higher) did not generate the same exuberance as the lower end of the luxury market, posting just a few additional sales year over year. Nor did Westchester break the $10 million threshold ”“ the highest sale of the year was $8.6 million ”“ although the $10 million-plus market experienced considerable momentum in Dutchess County.
In 2020, Dutchess recorded three sales over $10 million, all large estates with multiple structures on 300-plus acres. Before 2020, it took over 10 years for Dutchess to reach the same number of $10 million-plus sales.
Meanwhile, communities in Fairfield County experienced more significant gains than Westchester. Darien, Rowayton, and New Canaan ($2 million and higher) all benefited from Covid-driven wants and desires that aligned with their luxury inventory.
Greenwich was by far the best performing market at all luxury price points last year. Luxury sales ($3 million and higher) more than doubled in 2020, and every price bracket achieved consistent growth in sales. Similar to Dutchess County, $10 million-plus sales in Greenwich were robust; the town”™s 15 closed sales were more than double year over year and within striking distance of peak numbers achieved in 2007.
The swift pivot in buyers”™ preference for more land and larger homes was partly satisfied by healthy inventory levels of homes in Greenwich”™s Back Country (typically 4-acre zoning). Before the pandemic, Back Country properties were out of favor with buyers, considered too large and too far from downtown Greenwich; hence, those properties were often overlooked, leading to an accumulation of inventory.
Last spring, those attributes became what buyers desired, and such properties that had been sitting on the market were absorbed.
“Looking forward, inventory levels remain low, pended sales are strong, and momentum is likely to continue in the first half of 2021,” said Anthony P. Cutugno, Houlihan”™s senior vice president, Private Brokerage. “The hope of widespread vaccinations and a return to some sort of normalcy is within reach. It remains to be seen if the changes that fueled the boom of 2020 are permanent or merely a reaction to the most extraordinary circumstances.”
