Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for Westchester and the Hudson Valley Region for 2015Q2

Westchester and Hudson Valley Regional 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The real estate market in Westchester and the Hudson Valley surged in the second quarter of 2015, with sales spiking throughout the region. But even with transactions reaching highs that we have not seen in almost ten years, pricing remains stubbornly flat or even down in most of our local markets.

Home sales were torrid, rising almost 15% throughout the region. This continued a trend we’ve seen for most of the last year, marking the third straight quarter of year-on-year sales increases. And the results were impressive not just in comparison to a relatively tepid 2014, with the 3,070 second quarter sales and the 12,258 rolling year sales representing the highest totals since 2007, at the tail end of the last seller’s market. More importantly, the surge was widespread, with sales up sharply in every county in the region: rising 15% in Westchester, 18% in Putnam, 10% in Rockland, 31% in Orange, and 21% in Dutchess. Clearly, buyer demand has come back to the region at levels we have not seen in almost ten years.

This surge in buyer demand did not, though, have its expected impact on pricing, with regional prices down 5.5% from last year. Now, that does not necessarily mean that the average home in the region declined by over 5% in value. Rather, some of the decline is simply a change in the mix of properties sold – after all, if you look at the sales increases listed above, you can see that we saw the strongest results in the lowest-priced counties like Orange and Dutchess. Indeed, we saw the same kind of results within each county, with most of the areas showing more strength in the lower-end of the market. So part of the reason for the decline in pricing is simply that the market was more heavily weighted down by lower-priced homes.

But the main reason for the continued sluggishness of pricing is simply that we are still working our way out of the 2008-2011 market correction. As we have noted before in this Report, it takes time for changes in buyer demand to have an impact on pricing. For example, if you look at the accompanying graph displaying regional sales and prices going back almost 15 years, you can see that sales topped out and started falling sometime in 2004-05, but prices only started to come down in 2008. In other words, it took almost four years for a decline in buyer demand to have an impact on pricing. Similarly, we have argued that it will take several years of increasing demand to start driving prices back up – and you can see that sales only started to climb back up in 2012 or so. So we’re not necessarily surprised that prices are still bouncing around at the current levels.

Going forward, we believe it’s only a matter of time before these sustained increases in buyer demand have an impact on pricing. We’re now going into our fourth year of mostly sustained increases in sales, and basic market economics tells us that increasing demand coupled with stable supply is eventually going to drive prices up. And given that we’re seeing homes at relatively affordable levels, interest rates near historic lows, and a generally improving economy, we think that meaningful changes in price appreciation in the region are imminent.

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To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Westchester Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Westchester 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Westchester real estate market continued to strengthen in the second quarter of 2015, with sales up sharply and inventories tightening. Although pricing was more mixed, we expect that buyer demand will continue to increase and eventually drive meaningful appreciation.

Sales. Single-family sales surged almost 15% above last year’s second quarter, the third straight quarter with year-on-year transactional growth. The 5,459 rolling year closings represented the second-highest 12-month total since mid-2006, at the height of the seller’s market. Similarly, the 7.3 average months of inventory for the prior rolling year was the tightest showing since 2006.

Prices. Prices were a little mixed, particularly in light of the rising activity and tightening inventory, with the average down 1.5%, the median up 0.5%, and the price-per-square-foot up 3.8%. For the rolling year, though, we’re seeing slight price appreciation across the board

Negotiability. The days-on-market and listing retention indicators suggested a tightening market and some negotiating leverage for sellers, with homes selling a little more quickly and for slightly closer to the asking price.

Condos & Coops. The condo and coop markets also flourished, with coop sales up 7.1% and condo sales up 14.2% from last year. Prices were mixed, with the lower-priced coop market seeing some softening and the moderately-priced condo market showing some significant appreciation.

Going forward, we expect that the Westchester market will continue to heat up, with activity rising again in the seasonally strong third quarter. With inventories tightening, interest rates near historic lows, and a generally improving economy, we believe that these increases in sales activity will start to push prices up more significantly by the end of the year.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Rockland County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Rockland 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Rockland County housing market continued to strengthen in the second quarter, with sales up significantly and inventories tightening. Even with these sustained increases in buyer demand, though, we’re still not yet seeing any meaningful price appreciation.

Sales. Rockland sales rose 9.7% compared to last year, with the 386 closings representing the second-highest second-quarter total since 2007. Similarly, the rolling year sales total approached 1,600 for the first time since 2007, at the height of the last seller’s market. All this activity had its expected impact on inventories, with the average months of inventory over the past year falling below 10 months for the first time in almost ten years.

Prices. Even with all this buyer demand, pricing was a little mixed, with average price falling 2.4%, the median flat, and the price-per-square-foot up just 1.6%. For the year, pricing is sluggish, a bit of a disappointment for Rockland homeowners given the more encouraging results of the first quarter.

Negotiability. The listing retention and days-on-market indicators showed that sellers were gaining a little bit of negotiating leverage, with homes selling a little more quickly for for slightly closer to the asking price. We expect this to continue if buyer demand stays strong and inventories tighten.

Condominiums. The condo market surged in the second quarter, with sales up 23.5% and inventory falling 16.4%. Even with these spikes in demand, though, we’re still seeing mixed results in pricing, with average up but the median down slightly.

Going forward, we believe that Rockland demand will continue to surge through the seasonally strong third quarter, and that these increases in demand, coupled with the tightening of inventory, is bound to drive pricing up by the end of the year.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Orange County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Orange 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

Activity in the Orange County housing market continued to surge in the second quarter, with sales up and inventories tightening. But pricing is still a challenge, with prices continuing to deteriorate even with buyer demand increasing.

Sales. Orange County single-family sales spiked in the second quarter, with closings up over 30% from last year and the 644 sales in the quarter representing the highest second-quarter total since 2007. Similarly, the rolling year total of 2,503 sales was the highest 12-month total since early 2007. All this activity had its expected impact on inventories, with the months of inventory falling almost three months from last year.

Prices. Even with these surges in buyer demand, though, we’re still seeing downward pressure on pricing. Prices fell across the board in the second quarter, down 8.2% on average, 9.6% at the median, and 4.8% in the price-per-square foot. The rolling year results were not as stark, but average prices were still down over 5% for the full year.

Negotiability. The negotiability indicators similarly demonstrate a market that continues to transition. Sellers were forced to discount their homes a little more aggressively to get them sold, with the listing retention falling slightly. On the positive side, though, homes were selling a bit more quickly, albeit at a relatively slow rate overall.

Condominiums. The condo market surged dramatically in the quarter, with sales up a whopping 71.2% from last year’s second quarter. Again, though, all this activity isn’t driving up prices, with pricing down across the board.

The Orange County market is perplexing, mixing torrid sales growth with a tepid pricing environment. One explanation might be that the market is simply stronger in the lower-end, which is changing the mix of the properties sold and ultimately driving pricing down. We remain confident, though, that if buyer demand continues to grow, it is bound to eventually start driving positive price appreciation.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Putnam County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Putnam 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Putnam County real estate market rose again in the second quarter, with sales continuing to increase and now prices showing some positive signs of growth.

Sales. Putnam sales surged again in the second quarter, rising 18.2% and hitting the highest second-quarter total since 2007. Similarly, the 835 rolling year sales represented the highest 12-month total since 2007, at the height of the last seller’s market. All this activity has had its expected impact on inventories, with the average months of inventory for the rolling year falling to the lowest level (12.9) since 2006.

Prices. Last quarter, we noted an unexpectedly sharp drop in Putnam pricing, which we attributed simply to the small sample size and some outliers. This seems to be the case, since second quarter pricing was more consistent, with the average up 6.6 over last year, the median flat, and the price-per-square-foot down slightly. Over the longer-term, where we have a larger sample size, we’re seeing pricing down just slightly over the rolling year.

Negotiability. The negotiability indicators of listing retention and days-on-market were basically flat for the quarter. For the rolling year, we’re seeing some slight indicators that sellers are gaining negotiating leverage, with listing retention up slightly and days-on-market falling sharply.

Condominiums. The small Putnam condo market spiked in the second quarter, with sales up almost 30-% from last year and now up 17.8% for the rolling year. And we’re now seeing some longer-term price appreciation, with the average up over 10% for the year.

Going forward, we believe that Putnam is poised for some price appreciation by the end of the year. Pricing has been sluggish, but with these clear indications of rising demand – activity up, inventory down – we think it’s a matter of time before homeowners start enjoying some modest price increases.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Dutchess County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Dutchess 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Dutchess County housing market continued to strengthen in the second quarter, with sales up significantly. Even with these sustained increases in buyer demand, though, we’re still not yet seeing any meaningful price appreciation.

Sales. Dutchess County single-family home sales surged in the second quarter, with transactions up 21.4% from last year. Indeed, the 494 sales represented the highest second-quarter total since 2007, at the height of the last seller’s market. Similarly, the 1,866 rolling year sales is the highest total we have seen since early 2008.

Prices. Even with this torrid activity, pricing was still mixed, with the average up 1.6%, the median down 2.0%, and the price-per-square foot falling over 20%. Over the longer term, we’re seeing some pricing challenges, with the average price down about 2% over the past 12 months.

Negotiability. The negotiability indicators also show that Dutchess sellers are still struggling to get some leverage, with the listing retention rate flat and the days-on-market actually rising 11.5%. As the market heats up, we would expect homes to sell more quickly and for closer to the asking price, but that’s not happening yet.

Condominiums. The condo market was more sluggish, with both sales down and prices falling across the board both in the second quarter and for the last rolling year.

Going forward, we believe that Dutchess demand will continue to surge through the seasonally strong third quarter, and that these increases in demand, coupled with the tightening of inventory, is bound to eventually drive pricing up.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Bergen County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Bergen County SF 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Bergen County housing market continued to strengthen in the second quarter of 2015, with sales and prices up across the board compared to last year. Although the longer-term trends are more mixed, the market is clearly moving in a positive direction.

Sales. Bergen single-family home sales surged in the second quarter, with closings up 10.2% from last year. This marked the third straight quarter that year-on-year sales were up, although the first time that the increase was in the double-digits. We expect that sales will continue to rise in the seasonally strong third quarter.

Prices. With these sustained increases in buyer demand, we’re also seeing some meaningful price appreciation. Prices were up for the quarter, rising 2.8% on average and 4.4% at the median. The longer-term trend, though, was more mixed, with the average down 1.4% and the median basically flat.

Negotiability. The negotiability indicators were also mixed, indicating that sellers are still struggling to gain leverage with home buyers. Essentially, homes were selling a little more quickly, with the days-on-market falling 4.1%, but they were also being discounted a bit more, with the listing retention rate falling from 96.0% to 94.7%.

Condos & Coops. The Bergen condo market was not as strong in the second quarter, with sales up 4.3% but prices down across the board. The longer-term trends go in a different direction, with sales down 4.0% for the rolling year but prices more mixed.

The Bergen County market is going in the right direction, with sustained increases in buyer demand that are driving sales growth and now some emerging signs of price appreciation. Going forward, we expect that sales and prices will continue to rise in a seasonally strong third quarter, especially with an improving economy and near-historically-low interest rates.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Passaic County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Passaic County 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Passaic County housing market continued to strengthen in the second quarter of 2015, with increases in both sales and prices that reflect a sustained increase in buyer demand. Going forward, we expect that this will continue through a seasonably strong third quarter.

Sales. Passaic County sales were up in the second quarter, rising 5.1% from last year. That marked the third straight quarter with year-on-year sales increases, demonstrating sustained growth in buyer demand. You can see that in the longer-term trend, with sales up 5.4% for the rolling year. Clearly, buyer demand in Passaic County is strong and getting stronger.

Prices. These sustained increases in buyer demand are having their expected impact on pricing, with prices up across the board from last year: 3.3% on average, and 3.1% at the median. For the year, we saw a mild but meaningful 1.1% increase in the average sales price, indicating that Passaic pricing is slowly but surely moving in a positive direction.

Negotiability. The negotiability indicators, though, were decidedly mixed, demonstrating that sellers are still struggling to gain negotiating leverage with buyers. The days-on-market indicator was essentially flat for both the quarter and the rolling year, and the listing retention rate was actually down a bit. In other words, homes were taking just about as long to sell, and were being discounted a little more heavily.

Going forward, we expect that Passaic County buyer demand will stay strong through the seasonally robust third quarter, and that we will continue to see price appreciation through the end of the year. With home prices at affordable levels, interest rates near historic lows, and a generally improving economy, we expect the Passaic market to stay strong.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE REPORT

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 20, 2015

So What’s Going on in the Morris County Real Estate Market?: The Rand Quarterly Market Report for 2015Q2

Morris County 2015Q2This week, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty is releasing its Quarterly Market Report for all the counties it services: Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties in New York; and Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties in New Jersey. Below is an excerpt from the report, but you can get the full Report here.

The Morris County housing market spiked in the second quarter of 2015, with sales up sharply and prices continuing to appreciate. If buyer demand stays strong, then we are likely to see continued meaningful price appreciation through the end of the year.

Sales. Morris County sales surged 17% in the second quarter, with the 1,498 sales marked the highest second-quarter total since 2007, at the tail end of the last seller’s market. This continues a trend that we’ve been watching for almost a year, with year-on-year sales now up for three quarters in a row – with the rolling year sales now up 6.2% from the prior rolling year.

Prices. As we would expect, these sustained increases in buyer demand are having an impact on pricing, with the average sales price up 4.1% and the median sales price up almost 1%. For the rolling year, we’re also seeing positive results, with the average price up 2.3% — a meaningful and sustainable level of appreciation.

Negotiability. Morris County home sellers are also gaining some leverage in negotiability, as indicated by the time that homes are staying on the market and the amount that they’re discounted by sellers. The days-on-market were down 4.4% for the quarter and 5.1% for the year, indicating that homes are starting to move more quickly. And the listing retention rate was up for both the quarter and the year, indicating that sellers are negotiating deals closer to their asking price.

Going forward, we expect that the Morris County market will continue to grow through a seasonally strong third quarter. With homes still at historically affordable prices, interest rates low, and a generally improving economy, we believe that buyer demand will stay strong and continue to drive price appreciation through the end of the year.

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Rand Country Blog July 5, 2015

Are We In a Buyer’s or Seller’s Housing Market?

3d render image of houses with graph growingThe real estate industry is constantly going through changes, and that includes the climate of the market. If there is high inventory and low prices, you can bet that you are in a buyer’s market, and if there’s low inventory and high prices, you can be sure that you’re in a seller’s market. In the U.S., however, the type of market varies by location. Because of the size of the U.S., some areas might be displaying traits of a buyer’s market, and other places might be showing signs of a seller’s market. It all depends on where you live.

According to RealtyTrac, homes are selling for 108 percent of asking price on average in the Bay Area of California, as well as in Washington, D.C.; Cass County, North Dakota; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In these locations, sellers are receiving more than they originally asked for, which shows that there is a high demand for housing.

Then, there are areas, such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, where buyers have the most influence and sellers are receiving less than the asking price, and this is happening even though the number of homes on the market are limited.

According to RealtyTrac, less than a third of housing markets in the U.S. have homes that sell for above the asking price, 60 percent have homes selling for below the asking price, and only 14 percent of homes sell at their market value.

If you want further proof that the U.S. real estate industry can’t be pinned down to one kind of market over the other, there are also areas that have markets where the situation is on even ground between buyers and sellers. These places include the D.C. suburbs of Montgomery County, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; the Phoenix metropolitan area; and Riverside County, California.

To give you an example of the areas around near where I live (the lower Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey), there is definitely a situation where there are certain counties that have markets that are more suitable for buyers, some that are better for sellers, and others that are great for both. Orange County is certainly a buyer’s market with its 30-percent sales increase of single-family homes from last year and a median sales price of $220,000. Dutchess County also has a relatively low median sales price, coming in at $249,600.00, but faired even better than Orange County in terms of sales for single-family homes, topping that region with a 21.4 percent increase. Putnam County experienced changes that have made it a decent market for both buyers and sellers, with sales having shown a considerable increase of 18.2 percent and prices displaying more consistency and a promise of growth.

The northern New Jersey counties near the lower Hudson Valley (Bergen, Morris, and Passaic), have been displaying wonderful activity within their markets. All three counties have enjoyed increases in sales and prices, and they also have the lowest amount of average days on market for their homes (ranging from 76-155 days), whereas Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties in New York have homes that spend a higher average of days on the market (ranging from 170-218 days).

When you’re looking to buy a home, it’s always important to study the current housing market and see where you can get the best deal for a home. Each area has its own market that favors either the buyer, the seller, or both, so you should have an idea about what a certain market is going to offer you before you actually visit that area. As long as you stay on top of the market and use it as a valuable real estate tool, you will surely know where it is best to search for a home.

If you’re interested in Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty’s full market report for the second quarter of 2015, you can find it here on our blog. The QMR includes a market overview and in-depth analyses pertaining to each county that Rand Realty covers.

To learn more about Rand Realty, visit their website and Facebook page, and make sure to “Like” their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

 

Sources

www.cnbc.com