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“Even though sales were a tick down, we saw some meaningful price appreciation,’’ said Joe Rand, a managing partner for Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty. “Sales were down, but we were measuring against an unnaturally high baseline. Last May was a spike in interest rates and that sparked a frenzy. When people realized rates weren’t going over 5 percent, it slowed things down a bit. It set a high baseline. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the market.”
For the second quarter, 1,955 homes were sold in Westchester County, a decline of 2.4 percent from the 2,003 homes sold in the third quarter in 2013, according to figures provided by Houlihan Lawrence. The median sale price climbed 4.6 percent to $680,000, and the average sale price rose 6.6 percent to $916,593.
For the complete report from Houlihan Lawrence, click here. Reports from Douglas Elliman and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty are also available online.
Westchester’s communities along Long Island Sound reflected the trend of the county as a whole.
Single family home sales rose by 11 percent in Mamaroneck, but dipped in Harrison (eight percent) Port Chester (25 percent) and Rye City (24 percent).
The median sale price for single family homes climbed 18 percent in Harrison, 30 percent in Rye City, 3 percent in Port Chester and 1 percent in Mamaroneck.
Some homes are even selling above asking price. Houlihan Lawrence’s report said 36 percent of homes sold in Mamaroneck in the third quarter sold at or above asking price, . In Westchester County, 19 percent of homes sold went at or above asking in the third quarter, according to HL. The average Westchester home sale was at 97.3 percent of the asking price, the highest percentage to asking since 2005.
“We saw the return of the bidding war and multiple offers last summer for a little bit,’’ Rand said. “It’s coming back, but at a much more selective way. Well-priced homes are generating interest, but it’s not widespread. What we’re seeing now is much more sustainable. A certain market and a certain time, you might get it a bidding war. It’s certainly not 2004, when almost everything was a bidding war.”
Realtors are encouraged heading into the fourth quarter that the market has exited recovery mode and has now reached steady, stable growth.
“The market is fundamentally sound,’’ Rand said. “We’re seeing a nice reasonable rate of appreciation. Things aren’t soaring. I’ll take 4 or 5 percent a year all day long. Inventory is good, demand is strong and mortgage rates are stable. I think the market is in better shape than at any time in the last 10 years.”
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