ALBANY – A New York State Association of Realtors housing report states that pending sales rose in November while sales prices have escalated now for 19 consecutive months across the Empire State.
New York State Realtors said pending sales climbed 11.6 percent from 11,462 units this time last year to 12,614 homes in November 2021. Closed sales dropped to 12,614 sales last month – a 8.3 percent decrease from the 13,758 sales recorded in November 2020. For the year, closed sales are still up 21.1 percent in year-to-date comparisons. New listings were down 7.7 percent from 12,798 homes last November to just 11,811 units in November 2021.
The median sales price jumped to $370,000 last month. This represents a 12.1 percent increase over the median price of $330,000 in November 2020. Mortgage interest rates continued to be competitive in November. According to Freddie Mac, the monthly average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in November remained at 3.07 percent.
Inventory of homes for sale plummeted to just 36,822 homes in November 2021. This marks a 26.9 percent drop over the 50,355 homes on the market in November 2020. Months supply of inventory fell to 2.8 months in November 2021 – a 34.9 percent drop from the 4.3 months of supply in November 2020. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered to be a balanced market.
Market analysts point to an overall housing shortage that contributes to rising home prices. Realtor.com estimates a 5.2 million single-family home shortage across the nation. A strong demand from young Millennial families see a dearth in affordable homes.
Analysts point to years of underbuilding since the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The slow construction of new houses has contributed to the low inventory, and hasn’t been able to catch up to demand.
Supply chain issues aren’t hampering construction efforts, but rising costs are driving prices up.
The price of lumber skyrocketed to a peak of $1,686 per thousand board feet in May, and has widely fluctuated since. For example, prices plummeted over the summer to a low of $454.20 in August but prices have since jumped more than 122 percent.
