New York home sales slip in January; CNY numbers mixed

New York realtors completed the sale of more than 6,300 previously owned homes in January, down nearly 11 percent from the more than 7,000 completed sales in January 2014.

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

The “harsh” winter weather across New York this January “undoubtedly” had an impact on housing sales, Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, contended in the report.

“Another factor impacting sales volume is that the number of homes listed for sale is at a nine-year low,” said MacKenzie.

Despite the “slower than hoped for” start, Realtor.com chief economist Jonathan Smoke recently forecasted 10-percent annual growth in sales for New York in 2015, MacKenzie noted.

“His forecast is based partly on the belief that 2015 projects to be a year when a large number of Millennials will make the transition from renting to owning,” he added.

The statewide median sales price in January was $240,000, up more than 2 percent from the January 2014 median of $235,000.

The number of pending home sales increased nearly 3 percent from a year ago to reach 6,758, NYSAR said.

The inventory of homes for sale dropped more than 8 percent at the end of January to 7.8 months of supply. It stood at 8.5 months at the end of January 2014, according to NYSAR figures.

NYSAR considers a 6 month to 6.5 month supply a balanced market. Inventory stood at 72,791 homes in January, down 6.6 percent from a year prior.

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

Central New York data

Realtors in Broome County sold 77 existing homes in January, down more than 6 percent from 82 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price fell 7.8 percent to $77,250 from $83,750 a year ago.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 56 homes in January, up more than 36 percent from 41 a year prior, but the median sales price slipped nearly 8 percent to $153,000 from $166,000.

NYSAR reports that realtors sold 79 homes in Oneida County last month, down almost 27 percent from 108 in January 2014. The median sales price climbed more than 9 percent to $121,000 from $110,500.

Existing-homes sales fell more than 20 percent to 221 in Onondaga County in January from 278 a year earlier, and the median sales price increased 2.1 percent to $130,425 from $127,750, 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.