ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold 11,310 previously owned homes in August, down 18.8 percent from the 13,922 existing homes sold in August 2022. Pending sales also fell more than 11 percent, pointing to further declines in closed home sales in the next couple months. That’s according to the August monthly housing report that […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold 11,310 previously owned homes in August, down 18.8 percent from the 13,922 existing homes sold in August 2022.
Pending sales also fell more than 11 percent, pointing to further declines in closed home sales in the next couple months.
That’s according to the August monthly housing report that the New York Association of Realtors (NYSAR) issued on Sept. 21.
“Inventory of homes available across New York State shrunk once again as mortgage rates surged to a two-decade high in August,” NYSAR said to open its housing report.
NYSAR cited Freddie Mac as indicating interest rates hit their highest point in more than 20 years. The monthly average on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose from 6.84 percent in July to 7.07 percent in August. It represents the highest monthly average since December 2001, when the monthly average was also 7.07 percent. Freddie Mac is the more common way of referring to the Virginia–based Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
New York sales data
Pending sales totaled 10,826 in August, down 11.4 percent from the 12,218 pending sales in the same month in 2022, according to the NYSAR data.
As inventory continued falling, home prices continued to rise. The August 2023 statewide median sales price was $411,500, up 4.8 percent from the August 2022 median sales price of $392,620.
The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of August stood at 3.0 months, down 9 percent from the 3.3 months of supply at the end of August 2022, per NYSAR’s report. A 6 month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, the association says.
The inventory of homes for sale totaled 27,686 in August, down nearly 27 percent from 37,865 in August 2022. It marks 46 straight months in which the number of homes available has declined in year-over-year comparisons, NYSAR said.
New listings of homes for sale fell 10.3 percent to 13,331 this August from 14,863 in the year-ago month.
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.