Sales Down, Prices Up In Hudson Valley Real Estate 2022: Report

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The residential real estate markets in the lower Hudson Valley all experienced shifting in 2022, according to the year-end report released Wednesday by One Key MLS.

Total residential sales were down but median sale prices rose. Inventory remained very low.

"We had some very unexpected shifts," said Aaron Velez, HGAR Regional Director for Putnam County. "A doubling of interest rates in one year is going to take a lot of buyers out of the market."

The second half of 2222 was very strange, "but I don't consider it any stranger than 2021," he said. "There were factors in 2021 that led to a boom in the market. Properties were selling very quickly, multiple offers, and add to that the historically low interest rate for buyers."

Putnam County's decline in total residential sales was the biggest, down 20.5 percent, with 1,277 units sold compared to 1,607 in 2021.

The largest county, Westchester, had the smallest drop, with a decrease of 12.6 percent — 10,367 units compared to 11,866 in 2021. Orange County had a decrease of 15.9 percent and Rockland County had a decrease of 19.9 percent.

Still, in each county, the number of units sold in 2022 exceeded those of the 2019 pre-pandemic market, the report said.

The median price of a single-family residence rose in every county, with the largest being a 13.8 percent increase in Rockland to $637,000 from $560,000 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 percent, $815,000 as compared to $780,000 in 2021.

Putnam County saw its single-family median price rise 11.3 percent to $489,500 (from $440,000 in 2021).

Orange County saw a 9 percent increase in its single-family median price to $400,000 (from $367,000 in 2021).

There were lots of local shifts in the more-affordable condo and coop market.

In Westchester County, the median sale price of a condominium rose 5.9 percent last year to $450,000, while the median price of a cooperative remained relatively flat at $195,000, a 1 percent increase from 2021.

Contrast that with Rockland County, where the median sale price of a condo remained flat at 0.8 percent, to $312,500 in 2022, while the median price of a cooperative rose sharply by 22.7 percent to $115,000.

In Orange County, the median price of a condo rose 13.0 percent to $260,000.

The end of the year saw a sluggish market. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 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.

Still, the problem of lack of inventory has no meaningful resolution on the near horizon, One Key analysts said.

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.

With tightening monetary policy, it is expected that mortgage rates will stabilize.

"With mortgage rates falling throughout December, home-buying activity should inevitably rebound in the coming months and help economic growth," said National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

There is still high demand, Velez said. "Instead of 20 people for every one house, you have seven."

Interest rates have come down also.

"If I were considering selling I wouldn't hesitate to list my property today," Velez said. "When you compare it to the best of times in 2018, 2019, you have far more equity in your home today."

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