Rockville Centre home market heats up

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After a long, hard winter, spring is finally here to thaw things out — including the local real estate market.

Home sales in Rockville Centre are increasing, more buyers are appearing and home values seem to be on the rise. “Things are picking up,” said Rich McQuillan, owner of EXIT Links Realty. “The market is very active. If things are priced right, you’re getting multiple offers. It’s definitely a good time to sell.”

Winter is usually a quiet time in the real estate world. People tend to take their homes off the market around the December holidays, and snow can deter buyers from going to open houses. But the drawn-out, snowy winter this year stunted the market even longer.

“It created a lot of deals going in contract in March, which is a little unusual,” said Judy Hart, a broker for Century 21 Sherlock Homes. “People were in their houses and nobody did too much. They came out as soon as there was a break [in the weather]. Now they’re making offers, [and] they’re being accepted.”

According to agents, this is a prime time for sellers. Inventory in the village is low, and buyers seem to know what they want.

“When the house is priced correctly, there’s a flurry of activity, and bidding wars are happening,” said Nancy Achstatter, owner of Home and Hearth Real Estate. “Pricing it correctly is the key.”

According to Scott Wallace, licensed real estate salesperson with Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, the latest trend in the village is first-time home buyers from Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan looking to Rockville Centre.

“They’re excited about the village, they’re excited about the restaurants,” Wallace said. “You have people who grew up in Rockville Centre who went into the city, got a job, moved to Brooklyn. They were fortunate enough to buy in Park Slope and places where they could turn a nice profit. Now they’re having families and coming back to Rockville Centre.”

The buyers these days are smart and well-educated on the market. They know what they want, what the homes in the area are worth and how much they’re willing to pay.

That’s why pricing a home correctly is so important: educated buyers know what similar homes in the area have sold for. If a seller is pricing a home too high, buyers will know, and are less likely to make a bid. The right price makes the house more attractive to buyers, which makes the seller more likely to get multiple offers.

“We had a couple [of homes] in past deals that have gone over asking price in March, which is a good sign,” said Hart. “We’re pricing them well, and because there’s so much activity, [buyers] are pretty competitive …”

Low mortgage rates are also driving buyers to the market. It is expected that, with the economy growing, the Federal Reserve will soon raise interest rates. Higher rates would mean that people would be paying more for their mortgages, and would get less house for their dollar.

“I think if interest rates stay below 6 percent, things will keep moving,” said Carol O’Leary, branch manager of Coach Realtors. “If they start to creep up, you’re going to have a flurry [of sales]. [Potential buyers] are going to pull the trigger, because they’ll be afraid they’ll miss the boat.”