New York State Home Sales Slip 3.9% in 2011, Median Price Holds Steady

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According to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR), home sales in New York State rebounded in the fourth quarter to finish the full year of 2011 only 3.9 percent behind the federal tax credit-driven 2010 market. The statewide median sales price remained stable through the year and remained on par with 2010 at year's end.

"The housing market sales comeback in the fourth quarter builds hope for an improving 2012 market," said Duncan R. MacKenzie, NYSAR chief executive officer. "The continued stabilization of the statewide median sales price is a positive sign for homeowners, and a signal for would-be buyers that it's time to focus on advantages such as record-low mortgage rates and solid affordability factors rather than price declines."

"The upward sales swing seems to contradict the low consumer confidence in the housing market as reported in the recent NYSAR/Siena Research Institute Consumer Real Estate Sentiment Survey," said MacKenzie. "The statewide housing market continues to be unpredictable, punctuated by upswings that have yet to emerge as an ongoing trend."

New York Realtors sold 72,058 existing single-family homes in 2011, a decrease of 3.9 percent from the 74,970 sold in 2010. There were 18,345 sales of existing single-family homes in the 2011 fourth quarter, an increase of 4.2 percent from 17,607 sales in the 2010 fourth quarter. The 6,405 sales in December 2011 represent an increase of 2.4 percent from December 2010 and a 10.7-percent increase from November 2011.

The 2011 statewide annual median sales price was $212,500, down 0.7 percent from $214,000 median in 2010.The fourth quarter 2011 median was $205,000, a decrease of 5.1 percent from the fourth quarter 2010 median of $216,000. The December 2011 median sales price was $202,000, a decrease of 8.2 percent from the December 2010 median of $220,000.