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Residential real estate finishes strong in Hudson Valley in 2021 – The Journal News

While not quite touching the hysteria of 2020 when frenzied home buying was characterized by cash sales, multiple bids and record prices, the residential real estate market in the Lower Hudson Valley continued to show historic gains as 2021 came to a close, according to an end-of-the-year real estate analysis provided by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

The positives? The number of residential home sales increased, prices were up, and more buyers, priced out of the single-home market, turned to co-ops and condos as an affordable alternative. Yet, lack of inventory continues to be an an issue in the new year. 

Sales of co-ops and condos were strong in Westchester in 2021, according to an end of year report from the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

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Houlihan Lawrence President and CEO Liz Nunan said, “2022 will likely not see the record-breaking number of sales seen in 2021. But until the supply and demand fall into balance, the market will still be charged with buyers, and sellers will continue to prosper.”

Rockland leads the way

In terms of the increase in the percentage of residential sales, Rockland County led the way with a 19.3% increase over 2020, with 3,631 units sold in 2021, followed by Westchester County, which saw a 19.1% increase, with 11,855 units sold, and Putnam with a 10.6% increase, with 1,605 units sold.

Richard Ellis, owner of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty in Nyack, said that activity was strong in Rockland over the latter part of the year. “Pricing is more or less flat, but still at a high and inventory is low,” he said. “And over-asking price offers are still happening in all price points.” 

Richard Ellis, of Ellis Sotheby's International Realty with Marylyn Dintenfass, who is selling a home in Garrison..

Prices are still up

According to the HGAR data, prices continued to increase in 2021. The median sale price of a single-family home in Rockland County was $560,000, up from $500,000 in 2020; in Putnam, the median sale price was $440,000, up from $380,000 in 2020.

In Westchester, the increase was less steep, $780,000 compared to $735,000 in 2020 (with HGAR noting a slight decrease of 0.8% in December).

Clayton Livingston of McGrath Realty in Pawling said his sales in 2021 were more than all four of the previous years’ sales combined.

“Every year, I worried about how we would do in January, February and March,” said Livingston, HGAR’s Regional Director. “The last two years, that certainly wasn’t the case. We have had demand right through the winter season. In fact, we had people standing in line at open houses this week.”

Some buyers, faced with price and inventory challenges in the single-home market, turned to multifamily units or co-ops and condos in 2021. In Westchester County, for example, co-op sales increased 36.3% to 2,129 units (from 1,562 in 2020). 

Crystal Hawkins-Syska is the immediate past President of Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. She is a real estate broker Keller Williams NY Realty

For many suburban purchasers, co-ops and condos represented a means to build the equity to purchase a single-family home.

“That was a real positive in 2021,” said Crystal Hawkins-Syska, immediate past president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, and a real estate broker with Keller Williams NY Realty.

Inventory is down

The end-of-the-year activity reflects a return to the more typical seasonality in the market, according to the HGAR report and others.

Signed contracts in the last quarter of 2021 were down from prior months.

Douglas Elliman reported a marked decrease in signed contracts in the lower Hudson Valley in December, precipitated “by significant decreases in new inventory.” 

HGAR reported end-of-the-year inventory of single-family homes in Westchester was down 42.7% in the fourth quarter with just 679 units on the market compared to 1,184 the prior year. In Rockland, just 225 single-family homes were available at the end of the year, a significant decrease from 2020 when 468 were on the market.

“The lack of inventory has always been a part of the real estate cycle,” said Hawkins- Syska. “It almost always reaches that point where there is nothing left to sell. But what made this year different is that we are in an artificial cycle precipitated by COVID. The lack of inventory may have happened, but the pandemic may change how long the lower level of inventory may last.”

Hawkins-Syska also noted some potential sellers, especially those looking to downsize, are not budging due to the uncertain market when it comes to their next move. 

“That is huge,” she said. “In the past, I had sellers who were risk- takers, but not in this market. It was so crazy.”

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What the future holds

Traditional indicators such as days on market were down in 2021, homes were selling at competitive prices – most often close to or at list price and often above list price. As Hawkins-Syska noted, lack of inventory continues to be a problem heading into the new year and it is expected that buyers in 2022 will see mortgage rates begin a steady rise.

But real estate professionals believe the strong market that began last year will continue into 2022. 

Paul Adler, chief strategy office of Rand Commercial, said, “2021 created a new paradigm in suburban real estate.”

“We are entering the third year of COVID,” he added, “and it’s apparent the transience and the move toward the suburbs is no longer an aberration or a reaction to the pandemic. It’s now sustained. I think we have seen a permanent change in lifestyle.”

Ellis believes that change will fuel strong early sales. “Overall, I would still describe the market as red hot and I think it will remain this way minimally into the summer.”

For those sellers who sat out most of the 2021 pandemic buying frenzy, 2022 will present opportunity, said Hawkins-Syska.  

“I can say that those people who held out, they made out like bandits,” said Hawkins- Syska. “I had one seller who just could not pull the trigger, and she made the right call. When she finally decided to sell, the inventory was just that much tighter and she got a much more competitive offer for her home.”

She also noted that strong performance of residential real estate in the Bronx is something to keep an eye on, especially as high home prices continue to shut out some segments of the market in Westchester.

“The median price went through the roof in The Bronx,” Hawkins-Syska said. “It shows a trend, again, of where buyers are in this market. Westchester has a little of everything, suburban, urban, green spaces, near transportation, but the Bronx is actually the gateway borough with lower prices and taxes, so that is something to watch.”

By the numbers

Westchester

Number of homes sold in 2021 and median sales price:

  • Single family: 7,409;  $780,000
  • Condos: 1,662; $425,000
  • Co-Ops: 2,129; $193,000
  • Multi family: 655; $675,000

Putnam County

Number of homes sold in 2021 and median sales price:

  • Single family: 1,373;  $440,000
  • Condos: 201; $293,950
  • Co-ops: 2; $137,500
  • Multi family:  29; $505,000

Rockland County

Number of homes sold in 2021 and median sales price

  • Single family: 2,683;  $560,000
  • Condos: 728; $310,000
  • Co-ops: 98; $93,750
  • Multi family: 122; $487,500

Karen Croke is the features editor for lohud.com and poughkeepsiejournal.com.

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