Real estate market strong

CAPITAL REGION >> The local real estate market is going strong, compared to the rest of the nation.

With the summer selling season wrapping up, the housing market cooled for much of the country, but not in the Capital Region.

Last month, closed sales jumped four percent to 1,183 houses sold in the region during August 2016.

Pending sales increased 18 percent from August 2015 to 1,191 for the month.

The number of homes for sale was down compared to this time last year. Inventory levels market-wide decreased 24.7 percent to 6,554 units.

However, demand is showing no signs of changing as inventory continues to decline.

New listings dropped three percent from August 2015 to 1,652 homes placed on the market last month.

While there were more sales, the average residential sale price in the Capital Region for August 2016 was about $225,000, which is down three percent from last August.

In Rensselaer County, residential sales were up by more than 30 percent since last year, at about 300 pending and closed sales total for the month of August. The average price was $197,541.

In Saratoga County, the average residential sale was nearly $300,000, down slightly from last August. There were less new listings than in August last year, and a 1 percent decrease in closings. However, pending sales increased by 5 percent. Overall, about 600 residential properties had a pending or closed sale this August throughout the county.

Capital Region sellers are receiving 95.2 percent of their original listing price, with homes spending an average of 63 days on the market until a sale.

Greater Capital Association of Realtors president Marie Bettini of Albany Realty Group said now is the time to sell. “As inventory continues to drop, the contradictions in this market are evident,” Bettini said in a press release. “Sellers should feel confident enough to list homes at fair prices and receive meaningful offers in a healthy residential real estate and overall positive economic environment.”

From August 2015 to August 2016, the state’s private sector job count increased by 120,400. Locally, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.3 percent in August 2015 to 4 percent in August 2016.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says recent job growth is not yielding higher home sales.

“Healthy labor markets in most of the country should be creating a sustained demand for home purchases,” he said in the release. “However, there’s no question that after peaking in June, sales in a majority of the country have inched backwards because inventory isn’t picking up to tame price growth and replace what’s being quickly sold.”

Greater Capital Association of Realtors CEO Laura Burns is optimistic that the market will remain healthy into the last quarter of 2016. “On a brighter note, building permits are trending upward,” she said in the release. “Demand is certainly present and has created competitive situations that have kept prices up.”