Realtor.com: Most U.S. Metros Have Higher Rental Prices than Pre-Pandemic
The median rent has risen 20.2%, from $1,409 in March 2019 to $1,694 in March 2025.
Westchester County consistently leads the market with the highest median sale prices, peaking at $1,031,500 in June 2024 before settling at $860,000 in March 2025.
Looking ahead, the second quarter of 2025 is expected to bring a modest increase in listing activity as would-be sellers grow more comfortable with the new normal of interest rates and recalibrated expectations.
The top remodeling projects that Realtors recommend sellers complete before listing their homes include painting the entire home (50%), painting a single interior room (41%) and installing new roofing (37%).
The report revealed that 24% of recent home buyers were purchasing for the first time, a significant drop from 32% last year.
NAR forecasts mortgage rates will average 6.4% in 2025 and 6.1% in 2026.
Buyers paid 14.4% as a share of purchase price and $29,900 on average in 2024, up from 14.2% and $27,200 in 2023.
“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Reviewing February’s closed sales of single-family homes, only Rockland County and The Bronx saw gains of 7.1% and 4.2%, respectively.
For the first time since 2016, new construction activity outpaced household formations. Yet, the nation still faces a supply shortfall of 3.8 million homes.
It is unclear if the coldest January in 25 years contributed to fewer buyers in the market, and if so, expect greater sales activity in upcoming months.
In January, existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 5.7% from December to an annual rate of 500,000, up 4.2% from January 2024.
Inventory for almost all property types declined in all regions in January, but Rockland County saw a huge co-op inventory gain of 63.6% and 29.9% for condos.
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