Hudson Valley Luxury Home Sales Leap in The 1st Quarter

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Sales of luxury homes in the first quarter of 2021 registered double- and triple-digit gains compared to the same period in 2020, according to the new Houlihan Lawrence Luxury Market Report.

Luxury is defined as a price tag of $2 million and higher in Westchester County and $1 million+ in Dutchess and Putnam.

"One year ago, when the country was in a COVID-19 lockdown, it was hard to imagine that residential real estate would experience a V-shaped recovery fueled by seismic shifts in consumer behavior," Anthony P. Cutugno, Sr. Vice President, Director of Private Brokerage, said Thursday.

He said a substantially larger buyer pool coupled with declining inventory had, in fact, generated a consistent rise in luxury sales since last summer.

The low end of the luxury market has benefited the most, he said.

For example, Putnam and Dutchess Counties' luxury properties ($1M and higher) are increasingly on the radar of buyers from New York City who are gravitating to the Hudson Valley for its rural charm, pastoral beauty, and relative value, the report said. Some are purchasing second homes.

However, in Westchester County, while the number of luxury home sales rose by 82 percent, the median sale price dropped by 4.4 percent. Plus, the ultra-luxury segment ($5M and higher) has more inventory than before the pandemic.

The top echelon of buyers is motivated by desire, not need, and tends to be highly selective and unaffected by current market dynamics, the report said. So those properties tend to be on the market longer than homes in the lower end of the luxury market.

Westchester County luxury home sales /$2M and higher:

• Homes Sold: Up 82.2 percent
• Median Sale Price: Down 4.4 percent
• Highest Sale Price: $7,150,000 Scarsdale

Putnam and Dutchess County luxury home Sales /$1M and higher:

• Homes Sold: Up 207.7 percent
• Median Sale Price: Up 33.6 percent
• Highest Sale Price, Putnam: $2,125,00 Garrison
• Highest Sale Price, Dutchess: $7,000,000 Rhinebeck

"The question on everyone’s mind is: How long will this last?" Cutugno said. "Pending sales are up, showing activity is strong and days on market are down, pointing to a solid market through the summer. As we move toward long-awaited herd immunity, we are closely monitoring what changes are here to stay and those that will return to pre-pandemic norms."