State of the Local Real Estate Market
As the first six months of 2011 have come to a close, here's a look at Bedford and Lewisboro's market's performance.
“How’s the market?” is a question that I’m asked just about everyday. It seems everyone wants to know what’s going on in real estate. Homeowners are curious about how their home’s values are holding up; renters are looking for the right time to make a purchase.
There’s no easy answer. The media is chockfull of headlines announcing how the market is doing; some say its up while others say its down. They’re both right. How can that be? It all depends on what time periods you’re comparing and what areas or segments you’re looking at.
Some facts:
- Seventy single-family homes were sold in Bedford during the first six months of 2011 according to the Empire Access MLS. Last year during the same time period there were 59 sales.
- Over the last decade, 2009 saw the fewest sales, at 29, while 2007 had the most with 102. Now we are well below the recent high but significantly above last year.
- Interestingly, the total dollar sales were $89,948,768 for 2011 while last year—with fewer transactions—they were $90,341,990 indicating that the average transaction was smaller, $1,242,125 as compared to $1,531,220. That number was as high as $1,546,468 in 2005 with 83 sales.
- In Lewisboro, 44 single-family homes were sold this year, as compared to last year’s 46. 2009 was once again the lowest year in the past decade with only 18 sales.
- Both were significantly below the recent high in that town, set in 2005, of 86 single-family sales during the first half of the year.
- Lewisboro’s average transaction was also smaller this year, $671,166 as compared to last year’s $698,631. In 2005 the average size transaction for the first half of the year was $986,990, significantly higher than what we saw in 2010 and 2011 and indicating that Lewisboro’s prices have decreased more significantly than Bedford’s.
For more information, attached to this article is the 2011 Second Quarter Residential Real Estate Sales Report, released by the Westchester Putnam Association of REALTORS® and the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service covering all of Westchester and Putnam counties.
