Heavy demand for homes in the Empire State is stoking its real estate sector, according to the New York State Association of Realtors [1] (NYSAR) housing market report. The state’s housing market recorded a robust first half of 2018, with 60,043 closed sales. That figure lags just 3.8 percent behind last year’s record-setting sales pace, the report says. Statewide median sales prices also continued their upward motion through the first six months of 2018, rising 8.9 percent from the first half of 2017 to hit $262,500, it notes.
“The storyline at the midpoint of this year is sellers doing well in a tight inventory market that also has eager buyers ready to close,” said Duncan R. MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR. “With the ongoing growth in selling prices, it is a great time for wavering sellers to come off the sidelines. If we see an uptick in seller activity and any meaningful growth in new residential construction, the housing market could make a run at last year’s sales record.”
Sales posted in this year’s second-quarter slumped by 5.5 percent compared with Q2 2017 to wrap up at 31,952. This June’s closed sales total of 12,234 is a 10 percent drop from June 2017, says the NYSAR report, which looks at data compiled from that state’s MLS and includes townhomes, condominiums, and existing single-family homes.
In terms of median sales price, the $266,500 figure reported for Q2 is an 11 percent leap from the second-quarter 2017 median of $240,100. The June 2018 median price of $280,000 represents a 9.8 percent increase compared with the same month last year, the report continues.
Pending sales slid 2 percent to 68,974 through the first six months of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017. Second-quarter 2018 pending sales stood at 39,894—1.5 percent below Q2 2017. In addition, this June’s pending sales (13,421) dipped 3.5 percent compared with June 2017.
As for months’ supply of inventory, that fell off 6.1 percent at the close of Q2 to 6.2 months supply. That compares with 6.6 months at the end Q2 2017. (By the way, a six- to 6.5-month supply is thought to be a balanced market.) Finally, inventory stacked up to 70,038, a decrease of 5.3 percent compared with second-quarter 2017, NYSAR says.