Westchester's Luxury Housing Market: 2017 Report

Sales of luxury homes selling for $2 million and higher in Westchester County hit a 10-year high in 2017 with 357 high-end homes sold, according to Houlihan Lawrence. The real estate firm released its Luxury Market Report Wednesday.

Two markets – Scarsdale and Rye City – accounted for about 43 percent of the total luxury sales in Westchester in 2017. Westchester’s top 10 performing markets for luxury home sales selling for $2 million and higher were, in order of total sales: Scarsdale (79), Rye City (74), Mamaroneck (45), Bronxville (33), Harrison (26), Bedford (23), Byram Hills (16), Irvington (12), Katonah-Lewisboro (9) and Chappaqua (8).

Meanwhile, sales of luxury homes selling for $1 million and higher in Putnam and Dutchess counties rose 9.8 percent in 2017, according to the report. The median sale price was $1.5 million, unchanged from 2016. Total luxury sales volume in the two counties was $82.9 million, an increase of 3.3 percent from 2016. The top performing market in the Putnam-Dutchess area was Garrison with 10 sales of $1 million and higher.

While sales of luxury homes in Westchester rose 4.7 percent over 2016, sale prices rose more slightly, with the median sale price at $2.60 million, up from $2.56 million. Total sales for 2017 topped the $1 billion mark, a 6.2 percent increase from the previous year’s volume, the report said.

The report said the highest selling price was $7,575,000. That was for a home in Mamaroneck. Six of the top 10 sales were waterfront properties.

Top agent Pollena Forsman weighed in on other luxury buyer trends. “This year buyers gravitated towards sleek, modern design with open floor plans. The desire for masterfully renovated, or new, continues to dominate the mindset. The land equation was notable in 2017 too, with luxury purchasers seeking enough property for soccer/lacrosse and maybe even a pool someday."

Sales in Westchester were particularly strong in the $3 million to $4.9 million range, the report said, citing 93 homes sold, a 16 percent increase from 2016. However, the $5 million plus category was essentially unchanged from 2016 with 17 total sales.

Starting in 2018, the luxury real estate market is expected to be affected by recently enacted tax legislation, Anthony Cutugno, Associate Real Estate Broker, said in Houlihan Lawrence's announcement of the 2017 Luxury Market Report.

"For homeowners, tax reform reduces the amount of property tax that can be deducted, increasing the after-tax cost of homeownership," Cutugno said. "Buyers’ purchasing power is reduced as well, and the impact is greatest in the luxury market -- higher home values equate to a larger reduction in purchasing power. We anticipate that declining purchasing power will exert pricing pressure on luxury inventory to offset the new math of tax reform.”

PHOTO: Luxury home listed by Houlihan Lawrence at 15 Richbell Road in Scarsdale/ contributed