The market for luxury homes in Westchester remained very strong in the third quarter of the year, according to a report from real estate brokerage Houlihan Lawrence.
There were 240 homes in the luxury category priced at or above $2 million changing hands, with a total value of $703,577,314. In the third quarter of last year, 181 luxury homes had been sold in the county with a total value of $509,421,965.
A total of 526 luxury homes worth more than $1.5 billion have been sold in Westchester for the year to date, representing a 75.9% jump in the number of sales completed in the first three quarters of 2020.
Houlihan Lawrence said the median sale price for a luxury property in Westchester was $2,622,500 in the third quarter of this year, compared with $2,550,000 in last year”™s third quarter.
In Dutchess and Putnam, where the luxury market begins at $1 million, there were 46 sales in the third quarter of this year, representing a 17.9% improvement over the third quarter of 2020.
For the year so far, 118 luxury homes were sold in the two counties, an 87.3% increase over the number sold in the third quarter of 2020.
The median selling price for luxury homes in Dutchess and Putnam during the third quarter of the year was $1,550,000, down slightly from the $1,599,000 in last year”™s third quarter.
In Greenwich, where the luxury market begins at $3 million, there were 120 luxury home sales in the third quarter with the median selling price at $4,237,500, up 6.5% from the $3,977,500 reported for last year”™s third quarter.
Total dollar volume for Greenwich in the luxury category was $597,638,896 in this year”™s third quarter, compared with $462,388,500 during the same period last year.
There was a very slight softening of the market during the third quarter in Darien, where the luxury market begins at $2 million.
The number of units sold dropped by 4% from 50 in the third quarter to 48 in the third quarter of this year. The drop had little impact on year-to-date results, however, which showed 121 luxury homes sold so far this year compared with 76 during the same period last year.
Houlihan Lawrence provided examples of luxury homes that have been on the market. These included a 12,827-square-foot house at 63 Wrights Mill Rd. in Armonk. It has seven bedrooms, is on 2.4 acres, has estimated property taxes of $88,457 and a price of $6,985,000.
A house on 4 acres at 20 Windy Rdg. in Cold Spring that has four bedrooms and estimated property taxes of $38,123 is priced at $6,250,000.
“Since Covid, real estate has become an increasingly important asset class for high-net-worth individuals,” said Anthony P. Cutugno, senior vice president at Houlihan Lawrence. “These buyers are aware of the advantages, including diversification and a hedge against inflation, contributing to the surge in this price range.”
Cutugno used the word “staggering” to describe the number of luxury homes sold in the area during the past six quarters.
“In 18 months, the number of homes sold in Greenwich and Westchester equals the combined total of luxury homes sold in 2017, 2018 and 2019,” Cutugno said. “Buyer appetite, inventory levels, and consumer confidence will determine how long this feverish pace of luxury sales will last.”
