Hot Housing Market Holds Steady

As the pandemic restrictions lifted, the region’s housing market has shown little signs of cooling – even on the face of rising inflation. Throughout the Capital Region, sales numbers and prices pointed up. New listings increased by 26.5 percent last month with 1,765 hitting the market. Closed sales followed closely with an increase of 22 percent in a May over May comparison. Realtors® were kept busy as indicated by the 32,000 showings and a 15 percent increase in pending sales. 

New construction added 156 new homes to the tight inventory reporting a 38 percent increase in pendings from 65 in May 2020 to 90 last month. Median price of new construction held steady at $366,114 while sellers of existing homes realized an increase of 9 percent over sales in May 2020 which grew from $231,640 to a May 2021 median sales price of $252,175. 

But inventory remains an issue, and sales prices are surging as a result. In May, inventory levels market-wide decreased 40.2 percent to 2,434 units compared to last year. The decrease in inventory has more to do with an active sales environment than disinterested sellers. 

“The pandemic caused sellers to delay putting their houses on the market but many are making a move now. A 27 percent increase in new listings has helped put pressure on the inventory remains a challenge,” said Greater Capital Association of Realtors® president, Jeffrey Decatur with Re/Max Capital. 

GCAR CEO, Laura Burns, commented that “The strong demand and low inventory continue to keep the region’s real estate market very active with sellers now obtaining 99.9 percent of their original list price or better for their homes in just over a month or so on market.” 

Despite rising sales prices and lack of inventory, buyers continued to keep the market active and competitive throughout May. The reopening of the economy should draw more sellers to the market with a favorable impact on affordability. 

Click here to view the complete May market stats.