PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
For additional information contact:
Laura Burns/Executive Officer
Greater Capital Association of REALTORS®
Ph: (518) 464-0191 x15
Capital Region’s Residential Real Estate Inventory Remains Low As the Summer Winds Down
There’s good news for sellers in the Capital Region: Homes are spending just 64 Days on Market Until Sale. That’s down nearly 12% from 73 days on Market in July 2015. Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® President Marie Bettini of Albany Realty Group said it makes for a competitive buying market. “This creates a situation where buyers need to move quickly in order to secure homes as prices are beginning to creep up as a result.” Ms. Bettini is right – the region’s median sale price increased by 1.5 percent to about $214,000 over July, 2015. The number of pending sales jumped 5 percent over July 2015 to 1,150.
Year to date new listings across the region dropped by 7 percent. Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® CEO, Laura Burns, weighed in stating that “While increasing prices generally coax more selling activity, there has been some hesitancy among potential sellers who worry that they will not be able to buy a desirable and reasonably priced home once they sell.” Burns said.
The Months Supply of Homes For Sale dropped 32 percent to 6.8 from 10 months in July 2015. Burns noted that low inventory numbers present a challenge to the market. “Year to Date Closed Sales are up by 14 percent which indicates demand. Without an increase in the supply of inventory, prices will definitely begin to bump up due to multiple offer situations.” Burns remarked.
Low housing supply has already prevented an outright national boon in sales activity, despite a continuation of near record-low mortgage rates and a national unemployment rate under 5.0 percent deep into 2016. “The issue is not purchasing power.” Bettini said, “Many areas in the country are falling behind last year’s closed sales totals simply because of lack of available inventory.”
As this continues, higher prices may put a deeper squeeze on the current buyer pool as sellers in the region receive 95.4 percent of original list price.