New York state home sales slip in May; CNY numbers mixed

New York state realtors completed the sale of 7,848 previously owned homes in May, down more than 14 percent from 9,170 homes sold in the year-ago period.

However, the state median home sales price increased by 1.3 percent to $219,900 last month from $217,000 in May 2013, according to the latest housing-market report released today by the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR).

Through the first five months of 2014, closed home sales in the Empire State were down more than 5 percent to 34,009 from 35,864 in the same period in 2013.

“Pending and closed sales lagged in May compared to the very strong May 2013 market,” Duncan MacKenzie, NYSAR CEO, said in a news release,  adding that the sales pipeline may still be suffering the effects of the weather-related market slowdown to start the year.

He added that, “despite slightly weaker buyer demand, sellers are still closing sales [at] more than 95 percent of their asking price.”

Pending home sales also declined 6.7 percent to 11,140 in May compared to 11,945 in the year-ago period.

The months’ supply of inventory in New York dropped more than 8 percent at the end of May to 10 months supply from 10.9 months a year earlier. A 6 month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, NYSAR contends.

Inventory stood at 90,164 homes, a decrease of 4 percent compared to May 2013. The realtor group’s home-affordability index dipped 3.2 percent to 150 in May from 155 a year ago.

Central New York data
Realtors in Broome County sold 124 homes in May, up nearly 14 percent from 109 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price fell 3.5 percent to $106,000 from $109,900.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 73 homes in May, up 28 percent from 57 a year prior, but the median sales price slipped 13 percent to $132,750 from $153,000.

NYSAR reports that 113 homes were sold in Oneida County last month, down almost 9 percent from 124 in May 2013. The median sales price dipped more than 1 percent to $110,650 from $112,000.

Homes sales fell 13 percent to 344 in Onondaga County in May from 396 a year earlier, and the median sales price declined 4.6 percent to $127,360 from $133,560, 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 Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com