New York home sales rise in August; CNY numbers mixed

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors completed the sale of more than 12,000 previously owned homes in August, up more than 4 percent from the same month in 2014.

That’s according to the housing-market report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) issued Monday.

As the calendar approaches the close of the “typically active” summer season, New York’s housing market “continued to grow at a strong pace compared to last year,” Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in the report.

“With nearly three-quarters of the year in the books, home sales are up more than 6 percent compared to 2014. The potential for mortgage rates to increase before the year’s end may help propel a strong market into the fall as buyers hope to capitalize on the lower rates still available,” said MacKenzie.

The August 2015 sales total of more than 12,000 homes sold was 4.3 percent higher than the August 2014 mark of more than 11,500. The year-to-date (Jan. 1 through Aug. 31) sales total of more than 72,000 homes sold is 6.6 percent above the same period in 2014.

Home prices jumped in the latest month with the median sales price rising 7.4 percent to $252,500, from the August 2014 median of $235,000. The year-to-date (Jan. 1 through Aug. 31) median sales price of $231,500 was nearly 3 percent higher than in the same period in 2014.

August 2015 pending sales increased nearly 11 percent from a year prior to reach 11,518.

The months supply of inventory dropped nearly 15 percent at the end of August to 9.3 months supply. It was at 10.9 months at the end of August 2014.

NYSAR considers a 6 month to 6.5 month supply a “balanced market.” The number of homes for sale totaled 93,575, a decrease of about 5 percent compared to August 2014.

Central New York data

Realtors in Broome County sold 157 existing homes in August, up more than 15 percent from 136 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price rose more than 6 percent to $120,000 from $113,000 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 88 homes in August, down 21 percent from 112 year ago, and the median sales price fell more than 2 percent to $154,000 from $158,000 in August 2014.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 171 homes in Oneida County last month, up 3 percent from 166 in August 2014. The median sales price climbed more than 12 percent to $135,000 from nearly $120,000 a year ago.

Sales of previously owned homes declined nearly 2 percent to 498 in Onondaga County in August from 507 a year earlier, and the median sales price decreased more than 2 percent to nearly $141,000 from $144,000 a year prior, 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