Westchester County Foreclosures and Inventory
Foreclosures are available in greater numbers than they have ever been. Although this is definitely a sad situation for those who are impacted by foreclosure, it does appear that the Westchester foreclosure activity has not caused any serious damage in terms of excess inventory or further depressed the pricing structure of our local residential real estate market for the remaining homes in inventory.
Many statistics we see reflect the national real estate market, not the local real estate market. Though it is true, nationally there is continued cause for concern about backlogged processing of foreclosed properties as well as those homes in which owners have fallen behind in their payments, but they are yet-to-be-filed for foreclosure actions. Here, in Westchester, we find our market is improving.
Foreclosure filings on at the Westchester County Clerk's office reflected a 50 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to 2009. Many foreclosure filings in our area are resolved through the short sale process. Realtors who are active in this submarket, like Prudential Centennial Realty, will yield lower sales prices than those we would see in a normal transaction. However, this fact does not necessarily mean there was a loss of value among the unimpaired properties on the market.
Even more good news for the Westchester New York real estate market is that as we closed out the year 2010, there were 5,703 total Westchester NY homes for sale. That's 6 percent more homes in our inventory than at the end of 2009. Inventory has steadily-albeit slowly-increased since 2007. In the past 12 months the co-op/condo segment has contributed to a lot of our inventory accumulation as many first time home buyers and moderate income buyers still remain cautious about entering the home owner market. Overall, though, Westchester County NY inventory is not at all excessive. In fact, the current inventory is at about the same level as it was in 2005-2006 before the recession took hold.
What does this all mean to you?
That's easy, if you are looking to buy or sell a home, it is more important than ever to get the help of a professional Realtor. At Prudential Centennial Realty, we understand the ever-changing real estate market of today and are here to help you understand it too.
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