Realtors Group Says Lack of Inventory A Factor In Low Number Of Closed Sales

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 Saratoga Springs, data showed that new listings were down about 45 percent from January through March 22, but closed sales were up 4.5 percent. The median sales price os $557,500 was down about 22 percent. The inventory of homes for sale was up 2.3 percent.

dian 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 singlefamily homes.

number of professionals needed to facilitate them. LoanDepot, Wells Fargo and of course Better.com (whose CEO went viral for how not to lay off workers) together account for thousands of reductions in head count, largely attributed to a slowing real estate market.

Let’s now touch on prices. While stocks have taken a beating, bond portfolios have been whacked (hello Silicon Valley Bank) and crypto currencies appear to have gone the way of Beanie Babies. Real estate values, on the other hand, have held up relatively well.

On a national level, the median existinghome sale price retreated 0.2 percent last month compared to the same time in 2022 according to NAR. Looking into the future, a panel of experts recently convened by Forbes expects housing prices to climb 3.5 percent annually from 2024-2027. Th is would be on par with standard price appreciation seen prior to the pandemic fueled buying spree of 2020-22.

Locally, things have fared even better, with values increasing 3 percent year over year as reported by GCAR.

I’ll wrap up today with some strategies you can consider implementing to increase your chances of success. While variable rate mortgages were a bit of a dirty word following the Great Financial Crisis, these days they are very much back in vogue. Depending on the product, you may fi nd this avenue saves you a full percentage point versus its fi xed rate counterpart.

Are you in a position to pay cash? One-third of buyers do not rely on fi nancing, and sellers traditionally prefer offers with as few contingencies as possible. For those willing to put in some leg work, loan assumptions can be extremely powerful. Consult with your attorney and agent, however taking over the current owner’s mortgage versus obtaining a new one

In Saratoga County, Saratoga County, new listings during that period were down 28.6 percent and closed sales were down 35.3 percent. The me- could you

The New York State Association of Realtors is a nonprofit trade organization representing more than 60,000 of the state’s real estate professionals.

Time is the great healer of confl ict. Th is holds true for professional wrestling grudges of the 1980s, and for real estate markets of the 2020s. But just like any good storyline, the time frame future events are to transpire over remains unknown.

645 so many possibilities for this lot!