New York, Central New York home sales rise in December

New York realtors sold 11,126 previously owned homes in December, an increase of 3.3 percent from 10,768 homes sold in December 2018. For the full year, realtors statewide sold 131,656 existing homes, down 1.1 percent from 133,108 homes in 2018. That’s according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s December housing-market report issued […]

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New York realtors sold 11,126 previously owned homes in December, an increase of 3.3 percent from 10,768 homes sold in December 2018.

For the full year, realtors statewide sold 131,656 existing homes, down 1.1 percent from 133,108 homes in 2018.

That’s according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s December housing-market report issued on Jan. 22.

Nationwide, existing-home sales rose 3.6 percent in December, bouncing back after a slight fall in November, the National Association of Realtors reported on Jan. 22. Although the Midwest saw sales decline, the other three major U.S. regions reported meaningful growth in the final month of 2019.

Sales data

The December 2019 statewide median sales price was $290,000, up 7.4 percent from the December 2018 median of $270,000, according to the NYSAR data.

Pending sales totaled 8,119 in December, an increase of 7.2 percent from 7,572 in the same month in 2018.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of December stood at 4.9 months, down 12.5 percent from 5.6 months a year ago, per NYSAR’s report.

A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered to be a balanced market, the association says.

The number of homes for sale totaled 56,214 in December, down 8.4 percent from 61,352 a year prior.

Central New York data

Realtors in Onondaga County sold 424 previously owned homes in December, up more than 8 percent compared to the 391 sold in the same month in 2018. The median sales price rose about 9 percent to more than $159,000, up from over $146,000 a year earlier, according to the NYSAR report.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 169 homes in Oneida County in the final month of 2019, up nearly 10 percent from the 154 homes sold in December 2018. The median sales price rose about 9 percent to nearly $137,000 from more than $125,000 a year ago.

Realtors in Broome County sold 156 existing homes in December, up more than 7.5 percent from 145 a year prior, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price increased about 12 percent to nearly $115,000 from almost $103,000 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 83 homes in December, up nearly 8 percent from 77 a year before, and the median sales price of nearly $159,000 is up about 19 percent from $134,000 a year ago, according to the NYSAR data.

All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York state and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

Eric Reinhardt: