ALBANY — New York state realtors completed the sale of more than 7,200 previously owned homes in April, up more than 1 percent from the same month in 2014. But, in the 16-county Central New York area, sales jumped more than 10 percent to 962 homes sold in April from 874 in the year-ago […]
ALBANY — New York state realtors completed the sale of more than 7,200 previously owned homes in April, up more than 1 percent from the same month in 2014.
But, in the 16-county Central New York area, sales jumped more than 10 percent to 962 homes sold in April from 874 in the year-ago period.
That’s according to the housing-market report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) issued May 21.
The rise in activity among both homebuyers and sellers is a “sure” sign that Spring has arrived, Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in the news release.
“Not only was there an uptick in April sales compared to a year ago, but also healthy increases in forward-looking market indicators such as pending sales and new listings,” said MacKenzie.
He noted that April pending sales were up more than 10 percent statewide from a year ago and there was a 6.6 percent increase in newly listed homes.
“The increase in new listings begins to address the low inventory challenge experienced in many of the state’s housing markets, which has consistently caused a
significant drag on closed sales,” said MacKenzie. “Viewed in a historical context, inventory levels still remain well below normal and far from the market peak.”
April 2015 pending sales in the state increased more than 10 percent from a year ago to reach 11,421.
The months supply of inventory dropped 12.4 percent at the end of April to 8.5 months supply. It was at 9.7 months at the end of April 2014.
Realtors consider a 6 month to 6.5 month supply “a balanced market,” according to the news release.
Inventory stood at 81,181, a decrease of 6.7 percent compared to April 2014.
The year-to-date (Jan.1 through April 30) sales total of more than 27,300 represents a 2.7 percent increase from the same period in 2014.
The year-to-date (Jan.1 through April 30) statewide median sales price of $225,500 is up 1.8 percent from the first four months of 2014.
Central New York county data
Realtors in Broome County sold 113 existing homes in April, up nearly 19 percent from 95 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. However, the median sales price fell nearly 13 percent to $94,500 from $108,450 a year ago.
In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 45 homes in April, down 10 percent from 50 a year ago, but the median sales price climbed more than 12 percent to $160,000 from more than $142,000 in April 2014.
NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 109 homes in Oneida County last month, up nearly 30 percent from 84 in April 2014. But, the median sales price slipped more than 6 percent to more than $111,000 from $119,000 a year ago.
Sales of previously owned homes rose nearly 15 percent to 318 in Onondaga County in April from 277 a year earlier, and the median sales price increased more than 3 percent to $134,000 from nearly $130,000, 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.
