Westchester home sales increased 21 percent in 2013 over the previous year, which has created a great environment for sellers, said Diane Cummins, president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR).
The White Plains-based group released its 2013 year-end home sales report this week. It showed 13,781 total sales in its coverage area, which includes Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland counties. This is the highest number of sales since 2007, according to the report.
Among the four counties, Westchester only trailed Orange in increased sales over 2012.
“I think we’ve turned the corner,” Cummins said. “I think these numbers demonstrate a consistent growth pattern.”
Sales really picked up in the second and third quarters of the year. They slowed down somewhat in the fourth quarter, which is typical due to the weather and holidays, Cummins said. However, fourth quarter sales in 2013 were up 16 percent over 2012 and 34 percent over 2011, according to Joe Rand, managing partner of Better Homes and Gardens.
“That finished a really strong year. Sales came back in a really big way in 2013,” he said in a video.
With two years of increased home sales, prices are starting to follow, which Rand said usually trails home sales by one-to-two years.
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