Savvy Buyers Beware ! Yes, it’s a buyer’s market, and there is no doubt about that, BUT highly desirable properties can still sell virtually overnight or in as little as 30-90 days.   Due to its close proximity to Manhattan and other points South, Rockland County remains a sought after investment by many savvy purchasers.I’ve been hearing recently of buyers who take months and months to decide on their purchase.   Buyers may visit 50-60 houses.   This all takes a lot of time. During that time, one of the properties they’ve seen and liked may not be there when they finally feel they’ve “seen enough” and come back to it.

The chart below bears this out.  My search criteria was the following:

1. All of Rockland
2. Properties Under Contract (UC)
3. Properties Sold (TT)
4. Transaction Date – Year To Date (YTD)

If you want to be sure you’re not missing anything … let your fingers do the walking.   Begin AND CONTINUE your search online.   We have wonderful technology here free to use.   Most every property today has many pictures and a comprehensive description,  so you can get a fairly good and realistic idea of what’s out there.   Pay close attention to price, condition, and location.  If they all seem to be on a scale of 8-10 (with 10 being the best), that property will most likely move fairly quickly.

So … BE CAREFUL. Take care not to lose a property because you think it will be there for months, weeks or even days from now. It may well be gone!   If your concern is that you will be paying too much or the price will decline even further,  remember that this is your home that you will most likely live in for many years. Compare home ownership with renting, and even at today’s prices most people often come out ahead.

And one other thing … the rates are low now, but how long will they stay that way.  My next post will do a house purchase side by side comparison between 4% and 5% interest rate.  Happy hunting!

Rockland Resale Market

Abbreviations used on this chart:

STATUS COLUMN:
UC = Under Contract ~ TT = Property has sold and closed
BR = Bedrooms ~ BTH = Baths

Source: Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

If you’d like to know the sale price of any of these properties, simply click on the contact tab (above right) and fire off an email to me.