New York closed home sales dive 28 percent in March

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold 7,633 previously owned homes in March, a 28.4 percent decline from 10,664 homes sold in the year-earlier month.

Pending sales also declined more than 11 percent, foreshadowing further drops in closed home sales in the next couple of months.

That’s according to the March monthly housing report that the New York Association of Realtors (NYSAR) issued on April 20. 

For the 41st straight month in year-over-year comparisons, housing inventory dropped across the Empire State, further hampering house sales, NYSAR said in its report.

New York’s new listings fell 22.9 percent to 13,228 in March from 17,166 in March 2022. Pending sales totaled 11,118 in March, a drop of 11.2 percent from 12,519 pending sales in the same month in 2022, according to the NYSAR data.

The recent trend of declining home prices continued in the third month of this year. The March statewide median sales price was $377,000, down 6.1 percent from the March 2022 median sales price of $401,500.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of March stood at 2.9 months, up 3.6 percent from 2.8 months a year prior, per NYSAR’s report. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered to be a balanced market, the association said. 

The inventory of homes for sale totaled 30,298 in March, off 12.4 percent from the March 2022 figure of 34,605.

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