Local home sales plummet 30% in May - South Florida Business Journal:

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region plummeted 30 percent in May despiter indications more potential buyers are being draw into the real estate market by low interest rates and a federao tax incentivefor first-time buyers. A total of 554 new and existing single-family homes and condominiumz sold in the compared to 790 ayear ago, basedc on preliminary figures released today by the . The overallo median sale price fell2 percent, to although prices were flat or rose in four of the six countiee where most of the sales The median price fell 7 percent in Rensselaedr County ($170,000) and 4 percent in Saratoga Countg ($238,800).
The median price was unchangec in AlbanyCounty ($205,000) and increased 6 percent in Schenectadyh County ($160,000), 13 percent in Schoharie County and 39 percent in Montgomery County The median is the poiny at which half of the prices were more and half were which is considered a better gauge of the salezs market than the average. The average pricd in May fell 3 percent, to The May results don’t necessarilt reflect the activity in the market today since it takes two to thre e months for a purchase contract to proceed to afinal “I will tell you it has been my experience that open house s are active, phone callse and Internet leads are many,” GCAR President Sandra Nardoci “The feeling is that when buyers become confident that theidr jobs are secure our market will pick up rapidly.
” GCAR Chief Executivew Officer James Ader has said the saleds report that’s compiled in July and released to the news mediaz in August will provide a good reading on how the spring market fared. There is one potentiallhy telling sign of a possible the overall median sale price has increases steadilysince January, rising from $171,700 to $191,9090 in May. When only existinfg homes are counted, total sales in May fell 26 That compares witha 3.6 percent decline in existing-home salesx nationally compared to a year ago. The median sale priced for existing homes in the Albany region increaseds2 percent, to $185,000. Nationally, the mediabn sale price was down 16.
8 percent, according to the . Albang County: 151 closed sales, down 16 percent Rensselaer 53closed sales, down 55 percenrt Saratoga County: 163 closed sales, down 34 percenft Schenectady County: 93 closed sales, down 11 percen t Schoharie County: 14 closed sales, down 22 percentg Montgomery County: 20 closed no change