Categories: Bedford Hills

Westchester sales up 2% | Bedford Hills Real Estate

Single family home sales rose just over 2 percent in Westchester County compared to the third quarter in 2015, according to report released Tuesday from the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

Westchester lagged behind other counties in the HGAR report, which also incorporates Putnam, Rockland and Orange. For the four-county region, sales rose 7 percent compared to the third quarter in 2015. For the year, sales in all four counties are 15 percent higher than last year.

“The real estate market is healthy,’’ said Marcene Hedayati, HGAR President and part owner and manager of William Raveis Legends Realty Group in Tarrytown. “It’s growing, and transaction are up. Prices are flat, which is good because we don’t want to see some sort of wild market where prices keep going higher and we have a situation like we did in the early 2000s.”

The median sale price for a single family home in Westchester County fell 1.2 percent to $668,500, according to the HGAR Report. The median sale price in 2015 was $676,500.

Inventory, however, continues to fall in Westchester County and other regions. In Westchester, inventory fell 18.2 percent compared to the third quarter in 2015. Inventory dropped 20 percent over the four counties compared to third quarter in 2015. In Putnam County, inventory fell a staggering 29.4 percent.

“Inventory has been declining for more than a year, but it has not yet put pressure on prices,’’ Hedayati said. “I’m not sure at what point that will happen. We keep thinking it’s going to happen, but it hasn’t done so yet. We’re also having fewer buyers coming out as well. I think we’ll be able to tell more in the spring market what impact lower inventory is having on prices.”

Hedayati also said most pricing sectors continue to perform well, except for the high end markets.

Westchester County continues to attract growing families looking to move from the city. Millennials are finally starting to see the value in home ownership, but they are also seeking properties that are move-in ready and require little work and repair.

“There’s something for everybody on the market now,’’ Hedayati said. “Buyers are a little more particular than they have been in the past. Buyers are much more sensitive. They are reluctant to buy homes that require much work. And staging has become a huge factor. Homes that are priced right and staged well are getting a lot of attention.”