It is no secret that Westchester County has always been the suburban destination for many former New York City residents. And much has been written over the last six months about the effects the COVID-19 pandemic have had on real estate in Westchester. One definitive measure has been the County collection rates for mortgage tax. Mortgage tax is often considered a constant reflection of the real estate sales as the tax rate remains constant and the collection rates go up and down with the market.
The previous three quarters of 2020-21 have shown a stunning increase in collections, according to Timothy Idoni, Westchester County Clerk, who is charged with collecting the tax. In the first three months of 2021 alone, the County collected $ 7,028,710.69, an annualized rate of $ 28,114,842.76. That would be the highest collection since the record of $ 39,436,895 in 2005, at the height of the real estate bubble. Even more impressive is that the first quarter of the year has traditionally been the slowest quarter for collections.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Jan | 1,045,675.26 | 1,188,739.07 | 1,543,742.92 | 1,577,055.57 | 1,364,567.43 | 1,723,173.43 | 2,445,385.50 |
| Feb | 983,735.40 | 1,379,299.35 | 1,159,503.55 | 1,300,589.29 | 1,060,878.94 | 1,332,211.51 | 2,137,035.88 |
| March | 1,315,011.96 | 2,683,743.58 | 1,707,108.73 | 1,249,188.24 | 1,295,294.00 | 1,206,602.67 | 2,446,289.31 |
| Annual | 18,396,877.74 | 19,733,880.20 | 20,141,855.97 | 18,414,552.96 | 20,135,933.66 | 21,763,718.89 |
County Clerk Idoni said, “Our monthly mortgage tax collections have exceeded $ 2,000,000 for the past nine months. The last time we saw a streak like this was during the bubble when many bad mortgages were written.” The State and banking industry have implemented more stringent borrowing policies to keep such bad loans from being reissued. This makes the strength of these numbers even more impressive. Real estate values are definitely climbing in Westchester.
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many New York City residents leaving the city for the less dense Westchester County communities. Westchester offers more open spaces, homes with yards, and schools with smaller average class sizes, all things that became appealing to young families during the pandemic. There are no indications of these trends slowing down in the near future.
For more information about the County Clerk’s office, please view www.WestchesterClerk.com or call (914) 995-3080.
