Economic Headwinds Took Toll on Home Sales in The Bronx and Lower Hudson Valley in 2022

WHITE PLAINS—The residential real estate markets in the New York City region and the lower Hudson Valley all experienced a shifting market in 2022. Still, in each county, the number of units sold in 2022 exceeded those of the 2019 pre-pandemic market, the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors reports.

Total residential sales in the counties to the north decreased year-over-year with The Bronx County leading the HGAR market area with a decrease of only -3.3% (2,485 units compared to 2,571 in 2021). More significant year-over-year decreases included Westchester County with a decrease of -12.6% (10,367 units compared to 11,866 in 2021); Sullivan County with a decrease of -15% (1,188 units compared to 1,398 in 2021); Orange County with a decrease of -15.9% (4,554 units compared to 5,417 in 2021); Rockland County with a decrease of -19.9% (2,919 units compared to 3,644 in 2021); and Putnam County with a decline of -20.5% (1,277 units compared to 1,607 in 2021).

Sales of single-family residential units year-over-year decreased across the board. The Bronx County had a marginal percentage decrease of -3.8% (691 units compared to 718 in 2021).

The median price of a single-family residence rose in every county, with the largest being a 13.8% increase in Rockland County to $637,000 from $560,000 in 2021, yet Rockland County’s single-family home sales decreased by -21.2% for the year to 2,121 units (compared to 2,693 in 2021). Notably, Westchester County, with the highest prices in the region, had the smallest percentage increase in the median single-family home price for the year at 4.5% ($815,000 as compared to $780,000 in 2021). The single-family median sales price of $660,000 for the third quarter of 2022 in Rockland County was 14.2% higher than 2021.

Putnam County saw its single-family median price rise 11.3% to $489,500 (from $440,000 in 2021), yet Putnam County had the largest percentage decrease (-21.9%) in single-family home sales year-over-year (1,074 units vs. 1,375 in 2021). Orange County saw a 9% increase in its single-family median price to $400,000 (from $367,000 in 2021), but saw a -15.6% decrease in sales (3,754 units vs. 4,450 in 2021).

In the more affordable condominium and cooperative sector, Westchester County posted 1,488 condominium sales in 2022, down -10-5% from the previous year and 2,125 cooperative transactions, just -0.4% from 2021’s sales activity. The median sale price of a condominium in Westchester County rose 5.9% last year to $450,000, while the median price of a cooperative remained relatively flat at $195,000, a 1% increase from 2021.

Sales of condominiums and cooperative units in Rockland County fell -18.6% and -10.2% respectively in 2022 as compared to 2021. The median sale price of a condominium in Rockland County rose 0.8%, to $312,500 in 2022, while the median price of a cooperative rose sharply by 22.7% to $115,000. Condominium sales in Orange County fell -15.9% in 2022 as compared to the previous year, while the median price of a condo rose a respectable 13.0% to $260,000.

When focusing solely on the fourth quarter residential sales numbers, there were significant decreases in the number of residential sales in all counties when comparing the 2022 fourth quarter to the 2021 fourth quarter sales. Rockland County saw fourth quarter 2022 sales (663 units) fall short of fourth quarter 2021 sales (995 units) by more than a third (-33.4%). Putnam County saw fourth quarter 2022 sales (291 units) fall short of fourth quarter 2021 sales (393) by -26%. Westchester County’s overall sales of 2,140 units were -25.5% below fourth quarter sales activity in 2021.

Single-family homes were selling below list price in all counties north of Westchester and Rockland, and they averaged a higher number of days on the market than fourth quarter 2021 in most counties, except for Westchester and Sullivan counties.

Lack of inventory continues to be a problem with no meaningful resolution on the near horizon. With the Fed tightening monetary policy it is expected that mortgage rates will stabilize in 2023. The real estate market in the New York City area and the lower Hudson River Valley, is expected to continue to see lower sales and tight inventory in the short term, however, most analysts believe market conditions will begin to improve in the second and third quarters of 2023.

In fact, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun recently noted that the real estate investment component of GDP has fallen for six straight months. “There are approximately two months of lag time between mortgage rates and home sales. With mortgage rates falling throughout December, home-buying activity should inevitably rebound in the coming months and help economic growth,” Yun predicted.

2022 Fourth Quarter and year to Date Real Estate Sales Report

Data was provided by OneKey MLS, one of the largest Realtor subscriber-based MLS’s in the country, dedicated to servicing more than 46,000 real estate professionals that serve Manhattan, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. OneKey MLS was formed in 2018, following the merger of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service and the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. For more information on OneKey MLS visit onekeymlsny.com.