Siena survey proclaims ‘Real Estate is Back’

“Real Estate is Back.” That’s the headline on the latest survey report of consumer real-estate sentiment that the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) released Wednesday.

“For the first time in the nearly four years of Siena’s tracking New Yorkers’ view of the real estate market, every number — current and future, overall, buying and selling — is positive. New Yorkers say the real estate market is once again healthy” Donald Levy, SRI’s director, said in a news release.

The overall current real-estate sentiment score among New Yorkers in the second quarter of 2013 is 13.5, up 7.1 points from last quarter.

That 13.5 figure is above the point where equal percentages of citizens feel optimistic and pessimistic about the housing market, according to SRI.

The overall future real-estate sentiment score is 29.6, which is up from 26.7 last quarter and indicates that New Yorkers expect the overall real-estate market and the value of property to increase over the next year.

Consumers see now as an improved time to sell with a score above breakeven at 7.2 (up 12 points from last quarter) and as a very good time to buy with a high positive score of 20.1, according to SRI.

“Far more New Yorkers say the market has improved over the last year than the shrinking few that still see decline and when looking forward, a majority of both New York City and suburban residents and a large plurality of Upstaters predict improving conditions in the year ahead,” Levy said. “The once stacked deck enjoyed by the few buyers over then worried sellers has changed into an active marketplace in which the public see both buyers and sellers smiling at the closing table.”

A sentiment score of zero (0) in any category reflects a breakeven point at which the survey measured equal levels of optimism and pessimism among the population relative to the overall market, or buying or selling real estate, according to SRI.

Scores can range from an absolute low of -100 to a high of 100, but scores below -50 or above +50 are both rare and extreme, SRI said.

SRI conducted the survey of consumer real-estate sentiment throughout April, May, and June by random-telephone calls to 2,418 New York state residents age 18 or older. As the sentiment scores are developed through a series of calculations, “margin of error” does not apply, SRI says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com