New York closed home sales rise nearly 17% in October

Pending sales jump almost 39 percent  

ALBANY — The New York state residential real-estate market roared in October as realtors sold 14,981 previously-owned homes in in the month, up 16.6 percent from more 12,853 homes sold in the year-ago month.

Future closed home sales are poised to rise even more as pending sales jumped nearly 39 percent in October. That’s according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s October housing-market report issued Nov. 19.

“As the weather gets colder, the New York housing market continues to heat up. Sales remained at higher than normal levels amid continued low inventory across the Empire State,” NYSAR said in its housing-market report.

Sales data

Pending sales totaled 16,333 homes in October, up 38.8 percent from 11,766 pending sales in the same month in 2019, according to the NYSAR data.

With housing sales rising amid limited inventory, the prices of homes jumped. The October 2020 statewide median sales price was $340,000, up 24.5 percent from $273,000 in October 2019.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of October stood at 4.3 months, down more than 23 percent from 5.6 months a year earlier, per the report. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market. 

The number of homes for sale in the Empire State totaled 51,351 in October, a decrease of 20.9 percent from 64,930 homes in the year-prior period.

Central New York data

Realtors in Onondaga County sold 560 previously owned homes in October, up 5 percent from 532 in the same month in 2019. The median sales price rose about 12 percent to $175,000 from more than $155,000 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 203 homes in Oneida County in October, down about 8 percent from the 220 sold during October 2019. The median sales price increased about 9 percent to $161,000 from $148,000 a year prior.

Realtors in Broome County sold 197 existing homes in October, up about 19 percent from 166 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price rose about 29 percent to nearly $145,000 from $112,000 a year before.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 157 homes in October, up about 31 percent from 120 a year ago, and the median sales price of more than $203,000 was up about 11 percent from more than $182,000 a year earlier, 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.