The trend of sharply rising home prices in the Mid-Hudson Valley driven by urban residents fleeing the misery of lockdown apartment life that began nearly a year ago is continuing into the 2021, according to data provided by the Ulster County Board of Realtors.
The average selling price for Ulster County homes jumped 44 percent from January 2020 to 2021, from $270,842 to $390,581.
In addition, more homes were sold — 186 in January 2021 vs 112 in January 2020 — and homes for sale spent less time on the market, declining from an average of 90 days in January 2020 to 52 days in January 2021.
The recent increases come as home prices were already on the rise. From 2013 to 2019, the average sale price of a single-family home increased by 17 percent in Ulster County, according to the Ulster County Housing Action Plan, released last week. That plan also emphasized the issue of affordability, noting that incomes in the county had remained stagnant over the last decade for all but the highest earners, and that approximately 13 percent of owners and 30 percent of renters in Ulster County spend more than half of their income on housing costs, an amount that makes them considered “severely cost burdened.”