Ossining Real Estate Sales Up; Prices Down in May

The New Normal continues to evolve in Westchester real estate, as prices and transaction totals go batty in different directions. Ossining's May results are fine example. According to the Hudson Gateway MLS data for May 2012, Ossining had a spike in closed transactions, but a steep decline in price compared to the same time period in 2011. 

For May 2012, Ossining has 16 single family home closings at a median sale price of $313,500. 
For May 2011, Ossining had only 5 single family home closings at a median sale price of $382,500.
There are currently 36 home under contract or pending sale, with a median asking price of $362,111.

The obvious conclusion is that once prices fell to a level that met with the public's interest, that more buyers would come to the closing table. I cannot argue with that logic. For years, buyers have been sitting on their collective hands waiting for the prices to drop to a level they would be willing to act upon. In May, they acted 16 times. This is not the lowest median price for Ossining, but the 16 transactions is very healthy- you seldom see business triple. 

With 36 homes under contract, it is safe to conclude that the trend will continue. The median asking price of $362,111 is certainly higher than May's median, but that reflects the trend upward as starter homes sell earlier, enabling people to buy their move up home afterward. 137 home remain active and available, so consumers still have plenty of choices in their home search looking forward. 

Overall, this is good news. lower prices have seldom been a surprise since the market declined 5 years ago. But a spike in sales is a rare occurrence, and speaks well of the market outlook as summer approaches. 

For more real estate commentary, log onto Westchester Real Estate Blog, authored by J. Philip Faranda, broker and owner of J. Philip Real Estate.