NYC Suburban Housing Boom Slows As “Inventory Ran Out” 

City-dwellers have been fueling a housing boom across several New York City suburbs for at least a year. But, new housing data suggests surging home prices, fierce bidding wars, and low inventory have caused fatigue among buyers. 

“Losing your fifth bidding war on a property is discouraging,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. “Part of this is consumers being fatigued with the process, and having other options in life these days, like vacations and travel.”

Low mortgage rates (thanks Powell) and remote-working lifestyles sparked a surge in demand for spacious homes with backyards across NYC’s suburbs. Over the last year, home sales in Greenwich, Westchester, and Long Island have been on fire since the pandemic and social unrest across the metro but have slowed in June. 

Bloomberg, who first cited the Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman Real Estate report, said Long Island contracts to purchase single-family homes were up 14% in June from a year earlier. However, that’s down from May and April, when deals jumped 160% versus the same periods a year ago. 

In Westchester County, sales were up 20% in June compared with the same month last year, though the annual sales rate has been fizzling out since May after soaring 81%. In Greenwich, Connecticut, June’s 50% jump in sales was the smallest yearly increase dating back to last July. 

“You know what happened? We ran out of inventory,” said Scott Durkin, president of Douglas Elliman, who was referring to the latest drop in listings for single-family homes that fell 45% in Westchester, and 3% in Long Island, and 11% in Greenwich last month. 

The suburban buying frenzy may not be over, but certainly, low inventory is slowing down sales. The question now is how long will the surge in demand last as urban exiles continue hunting for homes in rural areas, or perhaps they may broaden their search to other rural communities further from the Big Apple. 

Here are other places where Manhattanites have fled over the past year.