Monday, February 23, 2009

Inventory Up, Prices Down

Sunday's New York Times had a series of articles looking at the real estate market in Westchester and other parts of the region. Not surprisingly, the upshot was that few properties are selling even though asking prices have dropped. (I knew that.) One of the homes profiled was the stunning farmhouse (right) in the Huntersville section of Yorktown which I featured in June and which has had it's price cut from $1,195,000 to $999,000. (The home is now listed on www.forsalebyowner.com.) Why is inventory in Westchester up 14.5% from last year even though asking prices have dropped? One of the agents who was interviewed stated that the lack of sales is due to continued overpricing by owners. But the general thrust of the Times articles was summed up in the following excerpt:


Conventional wisdom holds that well-priced, attractive and aggressively marketed homes will sell. Now that is not necessarily true, said Cynthia Lippolis, principal broker with River Towns Real Estate in Croton-on-Hudson. “I have some good listings that are priced very well and attractive, yet they are sitting there,” she said. “The economy is holding everyone back.”

So, the big question is: Will reluctant buyers bite if prices drop a bit more, or has the state of the economy simply scared everyone into waiting? And, if people are waiting, when will they stop? Until then, we'll just have to enjoy the hunt—which is always the best part anyway.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I would probably buy now if I weren't worried about my job. But between the possibility of getting laid off in the next few months and the fact that prices might drop even more, it seems silly not to wait a bit more. And I'd buy that farmhouse if I could afford it!