During the third quarter of 2012, our real estate markets performed remarkably well, and we are very excited to share the results with you. The key words describing this quarter were vitality, demand and strength, as you will see from our recent analysis. Our Westchester Market Watch, available here, reveals information on the third quarter market performance in Westchester County,New York.
All of our markets experienced significant increases in demand from buyers, as record low interest rates combined with amazing price values drew out buyers who have been watching the market carefully for some time. We believe this trend was largely a result of one of the most important parts of the recovery: price stabilization in all sectors of the housing market, except for the very high end, where many owners have still not made adjustments.
Overall, the third quarter of 2012 saw significant increases in both single-family unit sales and dollar volume, versus the third quarter of 2011. Our reports show that the growth in buyer demand was seen in all of our markets: Westchester County, the Connecticut Shoreline,Fairfield County, and especially Litchfield County, where unit volume achieved a 35% increase over the third quarter of 2011, and dollar volume similarly rose 34%. For those home searchers who aren’t yet ready to jump into the buyer market, the rental markets are also showing vitality with their low inventory and high price levels.
We know that the recovery is still in progress, and that improvements are tempered in part by issues such as lending restrictions. Despite these factors, we are confident that the worst days of the real estate crisis are now in the past, as evidenced by the steady improvement seen across our markets. Our new market reports will demonstrate these finding to you, and also support our belief that the current high level of buyer confidence is a very positive sign as we look forward to the rest of the year.
