Local realtors say people are fleeing New York City in droves, and looking for new homes in the Hudson Valley. But what does it mean for the local industry?

One home builder in Sullivan County said he’s witnessing the mass exodus himself, a decision he made some 19 years ago after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“People are contemplating now that New York City may never look like, again, what they know it as,” said Catskill Farms owner Chuck Petersheim. “And if it’s not what it was, what’s the point of being there?”

Catskill Farms specializes in building second homes in the Hudson Valley. Petersheim says interest is now higher than it’s been in a long time, describing it as a “blown-off-the-hinges, super-robust seller’s market. Whatever word you’re using doesn’t quite describe the amount of people looking to buy homes in the Hudson Valley right now, all from the metropolitan area.”

The figures he gave are startling: six house deals at an average price of approximately $600,000 in the last five weeks. Petersheim says it’s about a third of his business’ yearly volume.

Not only are people actively signing, but the process is also moving relatively quickly.

“They wanna talk about what’s possible in the quickest possible time,” Petersheim said. “The last thing they’re talking about is what it costs.”

Gail Fattizzi, the president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, says an inventory shortage, even before the coronavirus pandemic, is to blame.

“There's gonna be a lot of pressure, of course, for the builders and developers,” Fattizzi said. “They were shut down as well over the last few months, so they haven't been able to build new housing.”

However, she says now is the best time to purchase that “dream home” in the Hudson Valley.

“If somebody can purchase now, they're going to get a 30-year fixed housing payment, which is going to be priceless down the road when interest rates do start to increase,” Fattizzi said.