Like it or not, the presidential election sparked a flurry of home-sale activity across New York State. Maybe it’s because he’s of a different political party, or better yet, maybe President Trump’s real estate prowess is behind the uptick. Whatever the cause, the surge continues for New York’s housing landscape.
Until last November, home sales remained steady throughout most of 2016. Then, after the election, homebuyers and investors took to the streets swiping up properties at a record pace. With an economic surge, a presidential election, and a fear of interest rate hikes, savvy investors look forward to riding New York’s housing wave.
Below is an in-depth look at New York’s home sales.
Home Sales Year Over Year
According to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR), 2016 elevated home sales 10 percent above the previous year. Since 2013, the state’s home sales climbed an average of 8.3 percent, thanks to big growth after the 2012 and 2016 elections. Last year, more than 130,000 homes sold, up almost 12,000 from 2015 and more than 35,000 compared to 2012.
What’s more, median sale prices continue trending in the right direction. Last year closed with the median sales price at $235,000, up 2.2 percent from 2015. Average sale prices also peaked last year at $328,406, up from $322,941 in 2015, $317,609 in 2014, and $311,696 in 2013. More encouraging news for investors: sellers received, on average, over 96% of the actual list price of the home, which has trended up almost .5 percent over the past four years.
Additionally, the numbers show a desire for multi-bedroom homes. Year over year, 5.7 percent more homes with two bedrooms or less sold, while nearly 12 percent more three-bedroom homes sold in 2016. Last year, over 10 percent more homes with four or more bedrooms sold compared to 2015. The areas that sold the most four-or-more bedroom homes include Nassau, Suffolk, Tompkins, Onondaga, Tioga, Madison, and Chemung.
New York State Housing Inventory Dwindling
With higher demand and a lower supply, expect home prices and sales to continue to climb. At the end of 2012, over 80,000 homes were available for sale. That number remained sturdy, hovering around the 78,000 mark, in subsequent years. By the end of 2016, however, home inventory plummeted 20 percent to 60,869.
Thanks to low inventory numbers, realtors in some locales have less than a 90-day supply of homes to sell. This is great news for investors. Residential properties are hard to come by but Sharestates provides investors a reliable avenue into the housing boom.
Housing Market Starting Strong in 2017
The New York State housing market sale numbers continue their ascent in 2017. Over 25,000 homes sold in the first three months of this year, which is an increase of 2.7 percent compared to the first quarter of last year. Properties sell after an average of 96 days on the market, compared to 105 days last year.
The median sales price also remains strong at $245,000, up over 4 percent since the start of the year, and 6.5 percent compared to 2016’s quarter one. Following suit, the inventory remains low at 61,857 homes for sale. That’s 20 percent less than the first quarter of last year.
