New York home sales decline in March and first quarter

Sales of previously owned homes in New York state declined more than 8 percent in March compared to a year ago, as adverse weather conditions took a toll. Sales for the first quarter also fell nearly 2 percent compared to the same period in 2013.

The figures are part of a monthly housing-market report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) released on April 22.

Realtors across the state closed more than 6,200 sales in March, down 8.3 percent from the March 2013 total of nearly 6,800, NYSAR said in the news release. 

In the first quarter, New York realtors closed nearly 18,800 sales, down 1.8 percent from the 2013 first quarter total of more than 19,100, the association added.However, the statewide median sales price of $217,500 in March was up 1.2 percent compared to the March 2013 median of $215,000, NYSAR said.

For the full first quarter, the statewide median sales price rose 5.1 percent to $227,000 from $216,000 in the first quarter of 2013, according to the NYSAR data. 

Pending sales totaled more than 9,000 in March, down 4.5 percent compared to the March 2013 total of more than 9,500 pending transactions.

Pending sales declined 5.6 percent to more than 22,500 during the year’s first three months, compared to nearly 23,900 in the 2013 first quarter. 

The months’ supply of inventory dropped 16 percent at the end of the first quarter to an 8.4 months’ supply, according to the NYSAR data. 

The figure stood at 10 months at the end of the 2013 first quarter. 

A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered a balanced market, NYSAR said. Inventory totaled nearly 77,400, a decrease of 7.6 percent compared the 2013 first quarter, the trade association said. 

“Sellers seemed most affected by the severe winter weather as indicated by the 7.6 percent inventory reduction,” Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said. 

New listings also fell 7.5 percent to 45,537 statewide in the first quarter of 2014.

But, realtors are expecting listings to rebound along with the mercury.

“New York’s realtors expect market activity to rise along with the temperature as continued buyer demand and sales-price gains entice sellers to list their homes,” MacKenzie said.

CNY county sales
In Broome County, realtors closed 81 home sales in March, up more than 5 percent from 77 a year ago. The median sales price fell nearly 24 percent to more than $92,000, compared to $121,000 in March 2013.

In Onondaga County, realtors closed 251 home sales in March, down more than 7 percent from 272 in the year-earlier period. The median sales price fell more than 2 percent to nearly $127,000, compared to $130,000 in March 2013.

In Oneida County, closed home sales remained unchanged at 84 in March, compared to the same month in 2013. The median sales price fell more than 10 percent to more than $94,000.

NYSAR also provided similar county-by-county data for the year’s first quarter.

In Broome County, realtors closed 228 home sales in the first quarter, down nearly 2 percent from 232 a year ago. The median sales price declined 8 percent to nearly $98,000, compared to more than $106,000 in the first quarter of 2013.

In Onondaga County, realtors closed 745 home sales in the first quarter, up more than 1 percent from 737 in the year-earlier period. The median sales price fell 1 percent to nearly $125,000, compared to more than $126,000 in the year-earlier period.

In Oneida County, closed home sales rose nearly 7 percent to 271 in the first quarter, from 254 in the same period in 2013. The median sales price inched up 0.5 percent to $106,000 in the first quarter, compared to $105,500 in the same period a year ago.

For the full 16-county Central New York area, closed home sales fell 2.1 percent to 2,285 in the first quarter of 2014 from 2,334 deals in the year-earlier quarter.

Albany–based NYSAR is a nonprofit trade organization representing more than 47,000 New York state realtors.       

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com