With a continued lack of inventory and Interest rates starting to rise once again, closed sales dropped to their lowest point in nearly a decade, according to the housing report released in late March by the New York State Association of Realtors.
Closed sales plummeted 34.3 percent, from 9,351 sales in February 2022 to only 6,147 units in February of 2023. This marks the lowest number of closed sales in month-over-month comparisons since February 2014 when there were just 5,700 units sold, according to the report.
New listings were down as well, from 11,760 listings in February 2022 to 9,905 in
February 2023 representing a 15.8 percent decline. Pending sales also fell 8.1 percent from 9,350 homes last year to 8,593 sales pending in February 2023.
In Warren County, data showed that new listings equal from January through March 22 (totaling 59), but closed sales were down 25.5 percent. The median sales price of $247,500 was up about 7.6 percent. The inventory of homes for sale was down about 1 percent.
Numbers for Washington County were not listed.
In Saratoga County, Saratoga County, new listings during that period were down 28.6 percent and closed sales were down 35.3 percent. The median sales price of $320,500 was up m18.1 percent. The inventory of homes for sale was up about 10 percent.
According to Freddie Mac, interest rates escalated every week during the month of February. The monthly rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage started the month at 6.09 percent but ended February at 6.50 percent.
Inventory of homes also fell in year-over-year comparisons. The 30,308 homes available in February 2023 marked an 8.2 percent decline in the 33,031 units available in February 2022. This is the 40th consecutive month that the housing inventory has fallen in year-over-year comparisons.
Median sales prices of homes dipped moderately from $400,000 in February 2022 to $375,000 just last month. This represents a decline of 6.3 percent.
Additional data is available at www.nysar.com/industry-resources/market-data.
All data is compiled from multiple listing services in the state of New York and the data include townhomes, condominiums and existing single-family homes.
The New York State Association of Realtors is a nonprofit trade organization representing more than 60,000 of the state’s real estate professionals.