New York's Home Sales Slow 8% Statewide in November

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According to the New York Association of Realtors (NYSAR), New York State home sales continued to slow in November, falling by more than 8 percent from October and by nearly 32 percent from the November 2009 sales pace. The statewide median sales price continued to rebound from a year ago.

"The slowing sales trend is typical and expected for the seasonal housing market in New York State at this time of year," said Duncan R. MacKenzie, NYSAR chief executive officer. "Home sales tend to slow during the holiday season and are expected to continue to do so through the early part of the New Year. Those buyers who remain active during the winter months, however, will benefit from continuing favorable affordability conditions and still-low mortgage rates."

"The good news in November is for sellers as monthly median sales prices continued to show year-over-year growth," said MacKenzie.  "We continue to see a trend of increased activity across a broader price spectrum as buyers are returning to higher priced segments of local markets as opposed to earlier in the year when most of the tax-credit generated activity was focused on the entry-level homes."

New York Realtors sold 5,260 existing single-family homes in New York State during November 2010, an 8.3-percent decrease compared to the October 2010 sales total of 5,735. The October 2010 sales total was 31.7-percent below the November 2009 total of 7,705.The November 2010 median sales price in New York State of $225,000 represents an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the October 2010 median of $215,000 and an increase of 12.5 percent from the November 2009 median of $200,000.

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