2015 was an interesting year for Westchester real estate. The year got off to a slower than normal start (remember all of the snow?) and it took a bit of time for inventory to hit the market. Once it did, there was a lot of it! April & May had the largest 2 month jump in new listings for single family homes in more than 5 years! For Westchester County as a whole, here are some highlights to recap the year:

• the dollar volume of sales was up 3% from 2014 (and is up 87% from the 2009 low) the total number of sales hit the highest level since 2005 (but that was still 5.5% below the high)
• mean selling prices were below 2013 and 2014 levels and about 10.5% below 2007’s peak pricing
• median selling price was about 8% below 2007’s peak pricing

The interest rate on a 30 year mortgage was at the second lowest level in more than 44 years, averaging 3.85% in 2015 (and far below the 8.36% average of the past 44 years). If you had paid the mean selling price at the average interest rate in 2015, your monthly payment is about $150/month less than it would have been in 2009, when mean selling prices hit their low. Interest rates have a powerful effect on monthly payment!

In terms of inventory:

• overall, the number of new listings was up 4.7% in 2015
• the largest increases in inventory were in the $500,000 – $1 million & $3 – $4 million price ranges
• these price ranges also saw the biggest jump in the number of sales
• the number of homes priced under $1 million increased 4% but the number of sales rose by 8%

Market specific comments:

• in southern Westchester County, home sales were particularly strong in White Plains (10605 & 10606) and the Rivertowns (Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington); Westchester sales were up 6% and these area saw gains of 7.5% and 10%, respectively
• the median selling price in Edgemont dropped 8.5%
• average and median selling prices in Harrison were down 7% and 21%, respectively Rye City had median selling prices drop 8.7%
• Larchmont & Mamaroneck saw average and median selling prices rise 10% and 21%, respectively

Outlook:

Tough to say! If you are looking to buy/invest in this market, on a price basis, I would encourage you to have a long term mindset because it wouldn’t surprise me if the market slows down a bit. However, consider that you would be locking in a mortgage interest rate at a (low) level that will probably not be seen again. I have consulted with several colleagues in Manhattan and southern Connecticut and heard anecdotes of slowing markets. Nobody knows how the spring real estate market will develop but with the recent uncertainty in world financial markets, if Chinese and Middle Eastern capital dries up, that could cause a ripple effect which will definitely be felt in Westchester.

Bottom line:

Pricing remains the key to getting a property sold. For any given area and price point, there are many competing properties. Given the savviness of today’s buyers, the perception of value attracts bids and a seller simply cannot underprice a property but they can easily overprice.

The future:

I helped over 50 families with their real estate needs in 2015. With your referrals, I hope to assist more people this year!

Below is a link to the market statistics that were released by the Multiple Listing Service. Definitely an interesting read!

3Q2015 Market Stats

For those interested in a look at their particular area (by school district, ZIP code, etc.), email me (jeremy@jeremyzucker.com) and I will be happy to send you an update.

Happy New Year!

First, I would like to thank everybody who has helped me grow my business - 2014 was an excellent year! I helped a record number of families relocate. As many of you know, one of my main goals is to give my industry a better name by providing excellent customer service and in-depth market knowledge. I would love to help more families this year, so please keep the referrals coming!

In terms of the real estate market, 2014 was a good year. To sum it up, the number of sales were flat year-over-year but selling prices were up about 5%. When you look at individual areas, the numbers vary quite a bit. Below are some charts with data broken out (mostly) by school district.

Some highlights:

• 2014’s highest sale was $27,500,000 in Armonk (a 17,000 sq. ft. house on 32 acres)

• Edgemont saw the number of sales increase 13% year-over-year with a 20% increase in median sales price (and +10% for the average sales price)

• Rye City witnessed the number of sales drop by almost 20% but median sales price increased by 23%

• Scarsdale had a 6% increase in the number of sales and selling prices increased by 15%

• White Plains saw a 4% drop in the number of sales but prices were up about 8%

While there are many buyers in this marketplace, there continues to be a lack of well priced homes. I hear complaints from buyers on an almost-daily basis about this problem. Sellers who price their homes above market value are making a big mistake - at the wrong price, not only will they get less traffic, but they will get fewer (if any) bids. Buyers are sophisticated and most are patient; they simply don’t want to deal with sellers who think they have something better than they actually do.