Houlihan Lawrence Third Quarter Market Report 2016

Houlihan Lawrence Third Quarter Market Report 2016: Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties are on pace to set a new high in home sales according to Houlihan Lawrence’s recently released third quarter report. The strongest part of the housing market continues to be in homes under $500,000. Home sales in Putnam and Dutchess County, where there is an abundance of lower priced homes, are up 20% with prices showing some buoyancy. Especially in Putnam County where median home prices are up 8%.

Barry Graziano, the manager of Houlihan Lawrence’s Armonk brokerage, said, “Budgets remain tight for first time home buyers and they are seeking out affordable homes even if they are farther away from the city. That means overall median home prices are down. But this kind of activity speaks well to the narrative that the market is building a base. We expect these new buyers to eventually trade up and that will help lift all properties.”

Home sales up in Northern Westchester

Consistent with regional trends, Q3 home sales in Northern Westchester, which includes Bedford, Byram Hills, Chappaqua, Katonah-Lewisboro, North Salem & Somers, reflects a strengthening market despite median sales prices that were flat.

37 Smith Farm Rd., Bedford listed at $1,680,000

Across all six towns third quarter home sales increased 13% compared with Q3 2015. With the exception of Chappaqua, every town saw near double digit or greater increases in home sales with Byram Hills sales increasing by 30%. In Bedford home sales were up 27%.

Some signs of strength in home prices

Bucking the trend, the median sales price for homes sold in Bedford and Chappaqua were up 6% in the third quarter. The median sale price for Byram Hills homes was the highest at $1,099,000 though that number was down 7% compared to the same period in 2015.

Further signs of a strengthening market are the numbers on pending sales and active listings. As of September 30, sales pending in Northern Westchester are up 21.2% and listings are

98 N. Old Farm Rd., Chappaqua listed at $1,395,000

down 16.7% YTD compared with 2015. And pending sales are strong up to a million dollars with homes in the $700,000 to $999,999 price range up 28.2% YTD. Inventory for luxury homes, priced over two million dollars also declined while there are 9 pending sales compared to 3 as of September 30, 2015.

And homes are selling faster too

Not only are home sales and pending sales up with inventories down but homes are selling faster too. According to the Houlihan Lawrence Third Quarter Report the average days on market in our towns is at a ten year low of 106 days.

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