Westchester real estate: Median home prices set record by topping $1M for the first time

Westchester single-family home prices hit a new high in June for the second straight month.

In June, median sales price shot up by 12.7% to $1.03 million from June 2023, after it set a record of $980,000 in May, according to a report by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, home sales in Westchester went down by 13.3% and inventory plummeted by 17.1%.

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Crystal Hawkins-Syska, Westchester regional director of Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, said strong demand amid historic low inventory and an influx of deep-pocketed buyers are driving up prices.

“The inventory keeps going down, but there are still quite a few people who want to buy right now. They’re driving the prices up,” Hawkins-Syska said. “In addition, we’re still seeing some of the greatest transfer of wealth ever in American history going from the baby-boomers to their descendants.

"There’s a lot of cash around there that also gives people more power to push the prices up in a way that has been unprecedented.”

Hawkins-Syska said buyers are paying more than asking price for homes across Westchester, 7% to 12% more.

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“It’s ZIP code specific and definitely driven by home conditions,” she said. The nicer a home is, the more buyers are willing to pay top dollar.

As of Tuesday, there was a 2.4-month supply of homes in Westchester, below the four to six months’ supply that is generally considered a market balanced between buyers and sellers.

Towns with the highest supply were North Salem (8), Somers (5) and Bedford (3.7). Port Chester (1), Rye (1.4) and Pelham (1.4) had the lowest inventory across the county.

Home sales fall across Westchester, Rockland, Putnam

The report also showed sales fell across the lower Hudson Valley, while all three counties, including Westchester, Rockland and Putnam saw its median sales price go up.

In Rockland County, single-family home sales declined by 12.5% as median prices increased by 7.9% to $720,000 compared to June 2023. Sales in Putnam County went down by 16.9% while the median sales price increased by 19.2% to $590,000.

“We expect lower interest rates and higher levels of inventory to help stabilize pricing and to generate more home sales in future months.” said Lynda Fernandez in the report, CEO of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.

According to Freddie Mac, fixed interest rates for 30-year mortgages were at 6.77% as of July 18 , down from the average rate of 6.92% in June.

Helu Wang covers development and real estate for The Journal News/lohud and USA Today Network. Reach her at hwang@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester real estate: Median home prices set record by topping $1M for the first time