rSnapshotPhotos / Shutterstock.com
New York home sales heated up in January, with closed transactions jumping more than 13 percent compared to last year and 7,640 closings across the state, according to the New York Association of Realtors market report.
“A relatively mild winter statewide kept homebuyers from hibernating in January, extending the 2015 housing market growth trend into the new year,” said NYSAR CEO Duncan R. MacKenzie. “In fact, this is the strongest January in at least a decade. With pending sales also jumping by more than 15 percent, we are optimistic that the growth trend will continue.”
Pending sales in January 2016 certainly surged compared to January 2015, with agents and sellers achieving 7,879 potential closings across New York. While statewide closing and pending sales records impressed year-over-year, median sales prices remained at $235,000 — the same as early 2015.
A tighter market for buyers in NY?
Although sales amplified, months’ supply declined across The Empire State as compared to last year. In 2015, the months’ supply of homes for sale sat at 8.4 months. This January, stock dropped 17.9 percent to a 6.9-month reserve. For reference, NYSAR considers a balanced market to be a 6 to 6.5-month supply of homes.
Additionally, the number of homes for sale in January declined 6.6 percent year-over-year to reach 75,523 listings statewide.
Brooklyn and Queens: declining sales, rising values
Both Brooklyn and Queens shared similar monthly market trends, although the activity in Queens wasn’t quite as fast-paced as Kings County, the report says.
Brooklyn had 236 new listings in the month of January, a 9.6 percent decline from last year’s 261 new listings. The borough featured a 21.9 percent year-over-year drop in closed sales, which is a stark contrast from the state’s impressive monthly records.
Conversely, median sales price in Brooklyn increased 13.8 percent, from $395,000 to $449,500– playing along with the ever-increasing popularity in Brooklyn real estate and relocation.
Inventory in Brooklyn declined by 18.8 percent from January of last year, with number of listings dropping to 1,818 last month. Meanwhile, months’ supply declined 19.5 percent, hitting 10.7 months in early 2016 from a previous 13.3 months in early 2015.
Queens had a 12.5 percent drop in new listings, going from 1,122 last January to 982 this past month. Closed sales declined by a slight 1 percent to reach a total of 623 successful deals last month. Further, the median sales price in Queens increased 4.8 percent, from $420,000 last year to $440,000 in January 2016.
Number of homes for sale in Queens went from 5,155 to 5,061, a 1.8 percent drop year-over-year. Months’ supply also declined 5.8 percent, hitting 6.5 months for early 2016. Despite the drop in supply, Queens is still regarded as a proportional market, although teetering on the edge of unbalanced.
