The local housing market is... something
Median sale prices. Just a reminder: it's one month of data, so take it with a grain of salt.
The number of closed home sales was down 38 percent in July compared the same period last year, according to Greater Capital Association of Realtors.* But get this: the median sale price was up five percent -- to $199,000 (year to date prices are up slightly, too).
The steep drop in the number of sales probably is a result of the federal tax credit that ended earlier this year -- a lot of house buying was probably crammed in before the deadline.
There are still a lot of houses out there, though. GCAR reports the market has 12.5 "months supply of inventory." And the number of days on the market for the average house is 86 -- that's up about five percent over last year.
By the way: If you already own a house -- and think you'll be there for at least a few years -- it might be a good idea to look a refinancing. Rates are extraordinarily low right (you can get a 15 year mortgage for around 4 percent). Refinancing could save you a lot of money in the long run (even with New York's high closing costs).
*The numbers that GCAR distributes to the media and the numbers they post on their website appear to differ slightly. We're not sure why this is (they could represent different data sets). We're going to try to figure out why.
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The Saratoga increase makes sense because its probably due to a lot of Downstaters buying vacay homes; the Rens. county decrease makes sense because we are in a f***ing recession.
The rest of it is nonsense.
... said Ike on Aug 25, 2010 at 11:31 AM | link
> if you already own a house -- and think you'll be there for at least
> a few years -- it might be a good idea to look a refinancing.
My case. If somebody has experience with that process, or pointers, I'd really would like to hear about it. Thanks.
... said -S on Aug 25, 2010 at 11:41 AM | link