Westchester homes sales plunged in 2023, with prices and mortgage rates high
Westchester County home prices continued rising in 2023 as sales fell amid low inventory, according to a report by Houlihan Lawrence.
The report released Thursday showed single-family home sales for 2023 fell by 23.7% from 2022, while median sale prices were up 4.3% to $850,000.
In addition to the low inventory, historic high mortgage rates that peaked last fall kept sales down.
Nearly all price points experienced a decline in sales, except super-luxury homes sold at more than $5 million, which went up 8%. Sales of homes between $3 million and $5 million dropped the fastest, from 201 to 136.
A report by Sotheby’s International Realty says Briarcliff Manor and North Salem were the only towns that saw house sales increase, by 3% and 2%, respectively.
More: What kind of house will $1M get you in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam? We checked
With demand high in the suburbs since the pandemic, home sale prices continued soaring. Median sale prices in Westchester jumped by nearly 30% from $655,000 in 2019 to $850,000 in 2023.
Sales of condos and co-ops also followed the trends with median sale prices slightly increasing by 3% and 1%, respectively.
Neighboring counties, including Putnam and Dutchess, also saw declines in sales. Sales dropped in Putnam by 25% from 2022 to 2023, and in Dutchess by 21.2%. Median sale prices were down by 1% in Putnam and up by 3.4% in Dutchess.
The report did not cover Rockland County.
Liz Nunan, president and CEO of Houlihan Lawrence, said most areas in the northern suburbs have sustained heightened demand across all price points, continuing to fuel the competitive buyer environment.
“Amidst the inventory scarcity, we continue to benefit from the diverse offerings of recreation, cultural amenities, and vibrant communities our region has to offer,” Nunan said.
The new year is expected to bring a "more normalized market, more closely aligned with the market conditions prior to the pandemic,” Paul Breunich, chairman and CEO at Sotheby’s International Realty, said in the report.
He predicted that an increase in inventory in the fourth quarter of 2023 will continue into the new year. As the Federal Reserve has forecast three rate cuts over the course of 2024, it would lead to mortgage rates following suit, he said.
“A natural outcome of the supply and demand imbalance is increased home sale prices,” he said. “Mortgage rates would need to drop from the soaring heights in order to prompt more homeowners to list their properties.”
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 NY home sales plunged in 2023; prices high, inventory low
