New York home sales rise in February; CNY numbers mixed

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors completed the sale of more than 5,900 previously owned homes in February, up more than 2 percent from the more than 5,700 completed sales in February 2014.

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

“New York’s homebuyers would not allow February’s exceptionally miserable weather and marginally higher prices to keep them from their closings or from inking a contract on their new home,” Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in the organization’s news release.

Besides the increase in closed sales, MacKenzie also noted that pending sales jumped 13 percent to more than 7,400, compared to last February.

“We will be carefully watching to see if inventory levels, now at a nine-year low, can rebound to meet the increased high demand that typically accompanies the spring and summer markets,” said MacKenzie.

The statewide median sales price in February was $230,000, up about 1 percent from the February 2014 median of $227,000, according to the NYSAR data.

The inventory of homes available for sale dropped nearly 12 percent at the end of February to 7.6 months of supply. It stood at 8.6 months at the end of February 2014.

NYSAR considers a 6 month to 6.5 month supply of homes “a balanced market.”

Inventory stood at more than 71,700, a decrease of 8 percent compared to February 2014, said NYSAR.

MacKenzie also noted that a recent National Association of Realtors study found that Millennials — who the Pew Foundation claims will overtake the Baby Boomers this year as the “largest living generation” — are positioned to enter the real-estate market and “value” home ownership.

“This could be a year that is defined in part by Millennials driving sales activity,” he added.

Central New York data

Realtors in Broome County sold 83 existing homes in February, up more than 27 percent from 65 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price fell nearly 25 percent to $90,000 from $119,900 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 35 homes in February, down more than 31 percent from 51 a year ago, but the median sales price slipped nearly 2 percent to $140,500 from nearly $143,000 in February 2014.

NYSAR reports that realtors sold 99 homes in Oneida County last month, up almost 14 percent from 87 in February 2014. The median sales price slid more than 1 percent to more than $111,000 from $112,600 a year ago.

Sales of previously owned homes fell nearly 9 percent to 205 in Onondaga County in February from 225 a year earlier, and the median sales price increased nearly 3 percent to $122,450 from $119,000, 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