The second quarter of 2016 helped the New York state housing market move up, with year-to-date sales up 15.4 percent from 2015, according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR). The association expects New York home sales to hit 100,000 for the second year in a row.
“Realtors across the state are reporting robust buyer activity as confident consumers are taking advantage of favorable market conditions, including mortgage rates hovering near historic lows,” NYSAR CEO Duncan R. MacKenzie said in a statement.
Median price increased by 2.2 percent compared to last year’s halfway point, says the report, which tracked activity from January 1 through June 30. MacKenzie says New York is in 17 consecutive months of sales growth, a trend NYSAR anticipates will continue past summer.
Demand is also on the up, according to NYSAR, which means monitoring inventory and months supply are pertinent to determining the health of the market moving forward.
Months supply took a 27.3 percent dip year-over-year in the second quarter. At the end of Q2 last year, it was at 9.9 months. With New York home sales increasing, it’s now at 7.2 months. NYSAR says 6 to 6.5 months supply is considered a healthy market.
A glance at New York home sales
From the start of 2016 through the end of June, 55,543 homes sold across the Empire State. Closed sales increased 12.1 percent from the 27,678 closings in the same period last year. The statewide median price reached $230,000 in the first half, up 2.2 percent from last year’s mid-way point and 2.4 percent from last year’s second quarter.
Inventory dropped 17 percent year-over-year across the state, now sitting just under 80,000 homes for sale. In June, the median sales price reached $248,500, up 8 percent from last June’s median of $230,000.
Closed sales in June alone showed a 9.6 percent year-over-year increase, reaching 12,176.
Brooklyn and Queens
Kings County (Brooklyn) had a 21.5 percent jump in median price last month. from $377,000 to $458,000. Inventory and closed sales dropped annually by 17 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.
Queens also saw a big year-over-year boost (19.7 percent) in median price, reaching $470,000 in June. Like Brooklyn, Queens saw drops in inventory (down 14 percent) and closings (8.3 percent) compared to last June.
