Report: New real estate listings down

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. » Residential real estate activity has been relatively slow in the first quarter of 2018, yet housing is proving its resiliency in a consistently improving economy, according to a recent report from the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.

While a majority of the country continues to experience reductions in closed sales and inventory compared to last year at this time, the report said Capital Region fared better, but only slightly.

Pending and closed sales struggled to stay steady reporting in at 1,094 pending sales in March 2018 against 1,092 last year and 870 closed sales against 856 in 2017.

The number of new listings was down by 11 percent to 1,310 as compared to 1,473 in March 2017.

Buyer demand has remained strong enough to keep prices on the rise, which is expected to con- tinue throughout 2018.

The result is a median sale price increase of 14 percent to $205,000 with sellers receiving 94.4 percent of the original list price. Time spent on the market continues to hover at 2.5 months.

Higher- end homes, more than $400,000, reported the strongest price range sales numbers in the first quarter of 2018 with townhomes experiencing a 17 percent increase over last year.

New construction starts increased by eight percent, a news release said.

Rising wages and a low regional unemployment rate are expected to continue challenging the market inventory, the release said. Though rising, mortgage rates remain very low for those seeking to buy a home, which may impact sales prices throughout the remainder of the year.

The average Capital Region residential home sold for $223,425 in March, up slightly from last year’s $215,975.

In Saratoga County the average was $308,182, also up slightly from the year before. Here resi- dential listings were down from last year, but the number of closed sales stayed the same.

In Rensselaer County, listings and closings were both down but the average residential house price grew 13 percent from $184,797 in March 2017 to $208,167 in March 2018.

Across the river in Albany County, the average residential sale stayed the same at about $229,000. While residential listings were down by seven percent here, closed sales increased slightly.