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Home Prices Continue To Soar In Hudson Valley: Rockland County’s Single-Family Price Gain Highest In Region
Hudson Valley home prices continue to soar, with double digit increases for single-family homes in Rockland, Westchester, and Sullivan counties. Rockland County’s single-family median sales price experienced the highest gain across the region at 16.8 percent to $730,000 from February 2023.
While February’s single-family home sales were down in every county except Westchester and Orange, home prices continued to escalate throughout the New York City Metropolitan region with Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan counties experiencing price hikes of over 14 percent from last February. The report by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors® (HGAR), based on data supplied by OneKey® MLS, indicates inventory levels declined in all regions, with the Bronx, Orange and Putnam counties seeing the highest drops by over 30 percent.
Sales of condominiums fared better, with the Bronx and Westchester experiencing a more than 40 percent growth rate over this time last year. Co-op sales, however, were down across the region, with Westchester and Rockland facing declines of more than 10 percent.
Pending sales are up 8.4 percent overall for the entire MLS region, with Westchester leading the way at 18.1 percent.
“We continue to see high interest rates and low inventory impact single-family home sales in the Hudson Valley and New York City market areas but expect strong pending sales to result in rising sales in future months,” said HGAR CEO Lynda Fernandez. “However, increased condo sales in February do reflect strong demand and more options for buyers.”
HGAR President Carmen Bauman added that the low housing inventory could represent potential home sellers’ apprehension about the interest rates. “I think a lot of people may still be waiting to see how low the rates will go before deciding to commit to place their homes on the market,” she said.
Rockland County
Rockland County’s single-family median sales price experienced the highest gain across the region at 16.8 percent to $730,000 from February 2023. Co-op median sales prices also saw a dramatic increase of 22.2 percent to $137,500, and condo prices grew close to 5 percent for a median of $385,000. However, property sales dropped in all three areas with co-ops declining 25 percent decline, followed by single family homes at almost 12 percent below and condos with a 4.5 percent decline.
New listings for co-ops escalated by 60 percent and 16.2 percent for single-family homes. Only the condo market saw listings fall by just over 24 percent. Inventory in all three sectors declined with co-ops leading the way at 61.5 percent, followed by condos at 36.4 percent and single-family homes at a 17.6 percent drop. Pending sales, however, are experiencing a dramatic increase to 16.3 percent.
Westchester County
Westchester County experienced a slight increase in home sales by just 1.7 percent in February, along with an almost 14 percent increase in home prices, with a median of $831,250. Sales of condos skyrocketed by over 48 percent, with the median sales price holding at $411,000, an 8.1 percent drop from last February. Co-op sales saw a 10.2 percent decline, but a 6.1 percent hike in the median sales price at $199,500.
New condo listings were up by 20 percent, followed by single-family home listings at 13 percent. Only co-op listings declined, by 10.7 percent. Overall, co-op inventory saw the largest decline at almost 42 percent, followed by single-family homes at almost 27 percent, and condos at 19.3 percent. Westchester’s pending sales are the highest in the region, escalating by 18.1 percent.
Orange County
In Orange County, single-family home prices rose 5 percent to a median of $420,000, while condos saw a 2.4 percent decline in prices for a new median of $289,900. Condo sales increased by almost 15 percent, and single-family homes by 6.3 percent. There were no co-op sales reported. Inventory for single-family homes declined just over 30 percent, and 27.5 percent for condos. New listings also decreased in both areas by 6.8 percent for condos and 3.7 percent for single-family homes. Orange County’s pending sales are also on the rise by 9.6 percent.
Putnam County
Single-family home sales in Putnam County decreased by 7.7 percent, while the median sales price saw a 4.2 percent hike to $468,750. Condo sales saw no changes, but the median price increased just over 3 percent to $325,000. There were no co-op sales reported.
While Putnam has few condos, that market did see a 200 percent increase in new listings over the past year, while new listings for single-family homes saw just a 5.6 percent uptick. Overall, the condo inventory was up by 38.5 percent, but single-family homes declined by 37.5 percent. Putnam’s pending sales are rising slightly at 2.7 percent.
Sullivan County
Sullivan County, once considered the oasis for affordable housing, experienced a 16.7 percent hike in single-family home prices to a new median of $332,500. Sales fell by 8.5 percent over last year, and new listings declined by 8.6 percent. Inventory was down by almost 10 percent. No condo or co-op sales were reported. Sullivan’s pending sales are also moving upward by 7.9 percent.
Beth A. Bate-Du-Boff Named NAMI Rockland New Executive Director
NAMI Rockland Inc. has named Beth A. Bate-Du Boff as its new Executive Director.
Beth will serve as chief spokesperson, representing the organization in the community; she will work with board committees and volunteers to develop and implement strategies for fundraising to advance NAMI’s mission and expand services to people affected by mental illness.
Beth will also supervise all aspects of the organization including: a wide array of programs, contract management, fiscal accountability, grants, fund raising, outreach and marketing, public relations and office management.
NAMI Rockland is the local affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. The organization provides support, education and advocacy to individuals and families affected by mental health concerns and mental health education to the community. It promotes mental health research and advocates on a local, state, and national level for mental health initiatives and on public policy to improve the lives of the millions of Americans living with mental illness.
Bate-Du Boff brings over two decades of experience in non-profit administration; hands-on involvement in creating special events, grant management, planned giving, as well providing guidance and leadership in the areas of marketing, public relations, program development. Advocacy and volunteer coordination. Beth joins NAMI after serving in leadership roles as the Association for the Visually Impaired and Healing the Children, NJ.
She also worked as Director of Marketing and Financial Development for the Rockland County YMCA, Lakeside Family and Children’s Services and Jawonio, Inc. Most recently, she served as Director of Outreach for Alley Valley Mental Health in Spring Valley. She is also a published writer, blogger, and business development consultant.
She earned a BA in Journalism and Urban Communications from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. A long-time resident of Rockland County, Beth resides with her family in North Rockland, where she has been a servant leader for many local organizations, including the North Rockland Lions Club, the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, and Socks for Soldiers. Beth is an enthusiastic and active member of the Haverstraw, Nyack and Spring Valley collaboratives, and past officer of the Rockland Development Group.
Monsey Resident Who Organized Crime Scheme To Steal From Bank Sentenced To 30 Months
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Mendel Zilberberg, 65, of Monsey, New York, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in connection with a scheme to obtain a fraudulent $1.4 million loan from Park Avenue Bank. The defendant was a member of Park Avenue Bank’s board of directors at the time of the offense. ZILBERBERG was previously found guilty following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels.
In addition to the prison term, Zilberberg was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,066,853 in restitution and $506,000 in forfeiture.
In or about 2009, prosecutors said, Zilberberg conspired with a co-defendant, Aron Fried, and others to obtain a fraudulent loan from Park Avenue Bank. Knowing that they would not be able to obtain the loan directly, the co-conspirators recruited a straw borrower, who applied for a $1.4 million loan from the bank “on the basis of numerous lies, as directed by the co-conspirators.”
Then Zilberberg used his position on the bank’s board of directors to ensure that the loan was processed promptly, prosecutors said.
In total, Zilberberg received more than $500,000 of the loan proceeds. The Straw Borrower received nothing from the loan and ultimately defaulted, resulting in a loss to the Bank of over $1 million. The bank failed and was closed by regulators in 2010.
Fried pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud On Nov. 15, 2022. On April 10, 2023, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels sentenced Fried to one year and one day in prison..
