New York home sales decline nearly 7 percent in February; CNY numbers mixed

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors completed the sale of 7,391 previously owned homes in February, down 6.7 percent from 7,925 in the year-ago month, the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) reported Wednesday.

“In February, both the number of homes for sale and the number of new listings declined. As we move closer to the typically active spring and summer months, low inventory may apply a braking action to an otherwise strong housing market,” Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in a news release.

The February statewide median sales price was $242,000, up 4.3 percent from the February 2016 median of $232,000, NYSAR said.

Pending sales from the year’s second month increased 3 percent from a year ago to 9,410.

The months’ supply of homes for sale dropped 23.9 percent at the end of February to 5.4 months’ supply. It stood at 7.1 months at the end of February 2016.

A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market. Inventory stood at 60,570, a decrease of nearly 19 percent compared to February 2016.

Central New York data

Realtors in Broome County sold 85 existing homes in February, down more than 10 percent from 95 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price fell more than 3 percent to nearly $99,000 from $102,500 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 51 homes in February, up more than 41 percent from 36 a year ago, and the median sales price fell nearly 3 percent to more than $116,000 from $120,000 in February 2016, according to the NYSAR data.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 115 homes in Oneida County last month, compared to 116 in February 2016. The median sales price rose more than 12 percent to more than $116,000 from nearly $104,000 a year ago.

Onondaga County’s sales of previously owned homes rose more than 7 percent to 287 in February from 268 a year earlier, and the median sales price fell nearly 8 percent to nearly than $120,000 from $130,000 a year ago, per 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