ALBANY — Realtors in New York state sold 7,625 previously owned homes in January, up 3.1 percent from the 7,395 existing homes they sold in January 2024. However, pending sales fell almost 5 percent in the first month of the year, foreshadowing declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months, the New […]
ALBANY — Realtors in New York state sold 7,625 previously owned homes in January, up 3.1 percent from the 7,395 existing homes they sold in January 2024.
However, pending sales fell almost 5 percent in the first month of the year, foreshadowing declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months, the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) said in its January housing report issued on Feb. 21.
“Housing sales improved for the second consecutive month despite interest rates continuing to hover near seven percent,” NYSAR said to open its report.
NYSAR cites Freddie Mac as indicating interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage have hovered between 6 percent and 7 percent for most of the last two-and-a-half years. In January, rates settled in at 6.96 percent, on average. By comparison, a year ago at this time, the average interest rate stood at 6.64 percent, NYSAR said. Freddie Mac is the more common way of referring to the Virginia–based Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
New York sales data
The inventory of homes for sale in New York state totaled 22,876 in January, down 3.2 percent from the January 2024 figure of 23,640.
The months supply of homes for sale at the end of January stood at 2.6 months, unchanged compared to the year-prior month, per NYSAR. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, the association says.
New listings in New York rose 0.5 percent to 9,125 in January from 9,078 in the year-earlier period.
Pending home sales in the Empire State totaled 6,520 in January, a drop of 4.9 percent from the 6,855 pending sales in the same month in 2024, according to the NYSAR data.
Amid continued tight home supply, home prices in the state continued to rise in the latest month. The January 2025 statewide median sales price was $425,000, up 6.25 percent from the January 2024 median price of $400,000.
All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York, and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.
