Local home sales plummet 30% in May - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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region plummeted 30 percent in May despite indications more potential buyersx are being drawn into the real estate market by low interest ratez and a federal tax incentivefor first-time A total of 554 new and existing single-family homez and condominiums sold in the month, compared to 790 a year ago, baser on preliminary figures released toda by the . The overallp median sale price fell 2 to $191,900, although prices were flat or rose in four of the six countiesw where most of the sales The median price fell 7 percentg in Rensselaer County ($170,000) and 4 percen t in Saratoga County ($238,800).
The median price was unchangesd in AlbanyCounty ($205,000) and increased 6 perceny in Schenectady County ($160,000), 13 percenty in Schoharie County ($148,500) and 39 percent in Montgomeryt County ($106,700). The media n is the point at which half of the price s were more and halfwere less, which is considerec a better gauge of the sales marketf than the average. The averags price in May fell 3 percent, to $213,820. The May resulta don’t necessarily reflect the activity in the marke today since it takes two to three months for a purchase contract to proceedr to afinal closing.
“I will tell you it has been my experiencr that open housesare active, phonr calls and Internet leads are GCAR President Sandra Nardoci said. “Ths feeling is that when buyers become confident that theie jobs are secure our market will pickup rapidly.” GCAR Chieff Executive Officer James Ader has said the sales report that’s compiled in July and releases to the news media in August will provide a good readinh on how the spring market There is one potentially telling sign of a possiblse turnaround: the overall median sale price has increase steadily since January, rising from $171,700 to $191,9090 in May.
When only existing homes are counted, totap sales in May fell 26 That compares witha 3.6 percent decline in existing-homs sales nationally compared to a year ago. The median sale priced for existing homes in the Albany region increasedx2 percent, to $185,000. Nationally, the medianb sale price was $173,000, down 16.8 percent, accordinb to the . Albanhy County: 151 closed sales, down 16 percent Rensselaerr County: 53 closed sales, down 55 percent Saratog County: 163 closed sales, down 34 percent Schenectady 93closed sales, down 11 percent Schoharie 14 closed sales, down 22 percent Montgomery 20 closed sales, no change