New York State housing market continues to show strong gains in October

From NYSAR

Albany, NY – November 20, 2013 – The New York State housing market continued to impress by showing gains in closed sales, pending sales and median sales price in October compared to the same time last year. According to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS, closed sales were up 17.1 percent, pending sales rose 23.9 percent, and median sales price was up 12.3 percent compared to October 2012.

“The October numbers continue to show that consumers still see the many quality of life benefits to home ownership,” said Duncan R. MacKenzie, NYSAR CEO. “This is particularly encouraging since interest rates have slowly increased throughout the year without appreciable impact on sales.”

“Sellers are receiving the highest percentage of their list price since 2007, which may bring more homes into the market at a time when inventory is lacking,” said MacKenzie. “Averaging 109 days on market, homes are selling at a brisk pace and keeping New York’s REALTORSbusy this fall.” 

The October market posted 9,881 closed sales, up 17.1 percent from the October 2012 total of 8,440. Year-to-date (Jan. 1 to Oct. 31) closed sales reached 89,154 at the end of October, an increase of 12.8 percent from last year.

The statewide median sales price reached $230,276, an increase of 12.3 percent compared to the October 2012 median of $205,000. This marks 17 consecutive months of year-over-year median price gains. The year-to-date (Jan. 1 to Oct. 31) median of $226,600 was 6.4 percent above the $213,000 median in 2012.

Pending sales jumped 23.9 percent to 9,960 in October 2013 compared to 8,036 in October 2012. The year-to-date (Jan. 1 to Oct. 31) pending sales total of 98,386 is 14 percent higher than the 86,285 pending sales during the same period last year.

The months supply of inventory fell 20.2 percent in October to 9.5 months supply. It was at 11.9 months in October 2012. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market. Inventory stood at 87,747 units in October 2013, a decrease of 10.8 percent compared to October 2012.