Real Estate

The residential real estate market in the first six months of the year for the three counties where Main Street Magazine is circulated, Dutchess and Columba in New York and Litchfield in Connecticut, posted mixed results in a year to year 2025 to 2024 comparison. Twelve-month median prices at the end of June 2025 were unchanged in Litchfield county but increased 14% in Columbia County and declined 3% in Dutchess. 

Plenty of buyers are still looking and competing for homes although bidding wars are becoming less common except for HDTV-perfect homes in great locations. “It’s still very much a seller’s market,” according to Paul Breunich, the CEO of William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. “Our markets are defying the national cooling trends.”

The outlook for our regional real estate markets in this turbulent time remains uncertain. The stock market has reached new highs, but falling consumer confidence and rising unemployment and inflation may affect demand, while a reduction in mortgage rates could make homes more affordable. Realtors consulted agreed that homes above $2 million take longer to sell but that the overall real estate market remains active with properties selling quickly close to listing prices.

Dutchess County

Dutchess County, with its historic Hudson River towns, working farms, and estates with horse fences had a 12-month median selling price of $489,000, a decrease of 3% compared to 2024. The average price of $568,178 remained stable, reflecting greater relative strength at the higher end of the market. However, there were sizable differences between towns. Rhinebeck was the priciest at $750,000, a median price increase of 20% compared to last year, and Washington, aka Millbrook, was a close second at $728,000, up 48% over last year. Despite the success of the Silo Ridge development, the town of Amenia had the lowest median price in Dutchess County at $320,000, a 21% decrease in price compared to last year – also the largest decrease in value among all Dutchess towns. (Note that these numbers do not include the multi-million-dollar sales at Silo Ridge, which are not listed publicly.) But Amenia also had the highest sale in the first half of the year – the Greek Revival-style home of noted traditionalist architect Gil Schafer on Route 83 on 45 acres, which closed at $6,180,000, well over its listing price of $3,500,000.

In addition to Amenia, the median purchase price decreased in only four other towns – Clinton, Dover, Pine Plains, and Red Hook. Not surprisingly the highest number of homes were sold in Poughkeepsie, where the median price rose 10% to $419,000, well below the county’s median of $489,000.

Columbia County

A longer drive from New York City, less densely populated Columbia County with Hudson as its only city, saw a 14% increase in 12-month median selling price to $546,000, higher than Dutchess County with 24% fewer houses sold. The average price for the same period was $748,829, a hefty increase of 24% due to sales of more expensive homes, often on large pieces of land.

Thin markets with single-digit sales create wide swings in median closed sales prices year to year. For example, the 107% median price increase in New Lebanon from $329,000 to $680,000 in June of 2025 included only five sales in two years. Clermont, on the southwest edge of Dutchess County with Hudson River views, had the highest median price in the county in each of the last two years – $749,00 in 2024 and $972,000 in 2025, but this is based on only four sales in two years! Kinderhook had the highest number of sales and a median price of $456,000. Consistently in the last two years the towns of Greenport, Livingston, and Stockport also have recorded below median price levels. 

The sale of an over 8,000-square-foot home on 133 acres in Copake for $5,600,000 in May was one of the high sales in Columbia County. 

Litchfield County

Litchfield County, recently dubbed “the in-the-know alternative to the Hamptons” by the London Times, has a real estate market that is four times the size of Columbia County’s, with a median 12-month selling point of $500,000, the same as a year ago. Homes in three towns sold for a median price over $1,000,000 with Salisbury rising 26% to join the traditionally primo towns of Washington and Roxbury. What drives these high prices? Elyse Harney Morris of Elyse Harney Real Estate explained Salisbury’s increasing appeal as “a combination of Salisbury’s natural beauty, vibrant four-season lifestyle, an outstanding school system, and the unmatched character of our community. Buyers are drawn to the balance Salisbury offers – peaceful country living paired with cultural and recreational opportunities that make life here so rich.” 

Very low property taxes may also play a role in many buyers’ decision to purchase in Salisbury. Lenore Mallett, an agent with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty pointed out another un-Hamptons reason for Litchfield County’s increasing popularity: “People are craving quiet, peace, and solitude, making Litchfield County the premiere destination for the wealthy to privately retreat. They can stay in their garden clothes and go to lunch, and the paparazzi can’t be bothered to make the drive-up Route 22.” Lakefront properties in both Washington and Salisbury are in high demand and drive prices at the upper end. The highest sale in the first half of the year in Litchfield County was a classic lakefront property in the Twin Lakes area of Salisbury for $5,250,000.

This over-8,000-square-foot Copake lodge with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms on 133 acres sold for $5,600,000 in May. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Capala, William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.