Lack of inventory continues to hamper area housing market

ALBANY, N.Y. >> The limited inventory of homes for sale continued to be a challenge for the Capital Region housing market in February.

Although new listings increased by 8 percent from February 2016, the number of homes for sale across the region dropped by 19 percent, to 5,061, over that same period, according to the latest monthly report from the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.

As a result, homes are spending less time on the market — an average of 78 days in February, as opposed to 84 days in February 2016 and 100 days in February 2015 — and sellers are getting a larger percentage of their original list price — 93.9 percent, compared to 92.1 percent in February 2016.

“Realtors are reporting stronger foot traffic from a year ago, but low supply in the affordable price range continues to be the pest that’s pushing up price growth and pressuring the budgets of prospective buyers,” Lawrence Yun, chief economnist for the National Association of Realtors, observed in a news release from the local group. “Newly listed properties are being snatched up quickly so far this year and leaving behind minimal choices for buyers trying to reach the market.”

Despite the shortage of available homes, pending sales across the Capital Region increased 8 percent year over year, to 860 in February, signaling the continuation of a healthy market in the first quarter of 2017. That trend was not seen locally, however, as the number of pending sales in Albany and Rensselaer counties in February was down nearly 6 percent from the previous February, at 306, and the number of new listings climbed from 426 to 448 over the same period.

That shortage may be having an affect on sale prices, however, with the median price for a single- family home in the region up 4 percent from February 2016 at $189,740. That number dropped by 9 percent in Rensselaer County over the same period, however, though it was up by 1 percent across the river in Albany County.

“Sellers are getting a generous number of offers in this market,” said Joel Koval, president of the local Realtors group. “The worry for sellers then becomes that there will not be a generous number of homes to choose from when they become buyers.”