New York home sales decline in April, CNY numbers mixed

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold more than 8,600 previously-owned homes in April, down 2.6 percent from more than 8,800 homes sold in April 2017.

Sales totals were hurt by a decline in the number of people putting their homes up for sale, the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) said in releasing its latest housing-market report Thursday.

“Home sales remain constrained by the continued decline in homes listed for sale and the inability of new home construction to fill the gap,” Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in its report. “However, strong buyer demand pushed April closed sales to the third-highest level on record for the month.”

MacKenzie went on to say that NYSAR will be keeping a “close eye on affordability conditions” as the combination of buyer competition driving up sales prices and mortgage-rate increases may “create an additional market headwind.”

Sales data

The April 2018 statewide median sales price was $260,000, up nearly 12 percent from the April 2017 median of more than $232,000, according to the NYSAR data.

Pending sales totaled nearly 12,700 in April, up 2.8 percent from the same month in 2017.

The months’ supply of homes for sale dropped 11.5 percent at the end of April to 5.4 months of supply. It stood at 6.1 months at the end of April 2017.

A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market.

The number of homes for sale totaled 61,331 in April, down 9.1 percent from April 2017.

Central New York data

Realtors in Broome County sold 135 existing homes in April, up nearly 20 percent from 113 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price decreased more than 6 percent to more than $104,000 from $111,000 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 74 homes in April, up nearly 14 percent from 65 a year prior, and the median sales price decreased about 2 percent to $132,000 from nearly $135,000 in April 2017, according to the NYSAR data.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 130 homes in Oneida County last month, up about 11 percent compared to the 117 sold during April 2017. The median sales price rose about 12 percent to more than $119,000 from over $106,000 a year ago.

Realtors in Onondaga County sold 346 previously owned homes in April, a sales decline of about 10 percent compared to the April 2017 total of 383. The median sales price rose 10 percent to $143,000 from nearly $130,000 a year before, according to the NYSAR report.

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.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com