Sales of existing single-family homes in Westchester County rose in May from April”™s volume and the median sales price of a home rose at an even higher rate, according to the New York State Association of Realtors. While the median price in May was higher too than a year ago, the number of sales dropped nearly 22 percent from May of last year.
The 8.9 percent increase in sales volume in Westchester, from 280 homes in April to 305 in May, was lower than the statewide increase in single-family home sales, which rose 11.8 percent from April to May, when sales gains were reported in 47 counties. Westchester”™s drop in sales volume from May 2007 was greater than the statewide decline in May sales, which was down 16.8 percent from a year ago, Realtors reported in their monthly housing survey.
The median price of a Westchester home was $702,500 in May, up 10.6 percent from April and a 4.1 percent increase from May 2007. Rockland County had the second highest median sale price in the state in May, at $476,500, followed by Putnam County, where the median price of $470,000 was a 16 percent increase from April and a nearly 18 percent jump from May 2007.
The statewide median sales price stayed at of $210,000 in May. That was an 8.7 percent decrease from the May 2007 median of $230,000.
The state housing market in May performed better than the national market, which saw a 1.6 percent increase in sales from April, according to the National Association of Realtors. New York state”™s drop in May sales from a year ago, however, was steeper than the nationwide decrease of 14.5 percent.
Nationally, the median price for an existing single-family home was $206,700, a 3.6 percent increase from April but a 6.8 percent drop from May 2007.
“When compared to the national numbers, New York state”™s housing market is faring better, which is encouraging to see as we head into the summer months,” said New York State Association of Realtors CEO Duncan R. MacKenzie.
In the Hudson Valley region, Realtors in Dutchess County reported 170 sales of existing single-family homes in May, down 4 percent from April and an 18.7 percent drop from May 2007. The county”™s median sales price was $325,000 in May, up 4.8 percent from April but down 6.1 percent from May 2007.
In Orange County, sales volume in May was up 15.2 percent from April but down nearly 25 percent from May a year ago. The May median sales price in the county was $304,962, up 1.7 percent from April and slightly down from May 2007.
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In Ulster County, house sales were up 12.3 percent in May compared to April, but down more than 21 percent from May 2007. The median sales price in the county was $258,750, up 4.4 percent from April and slightly down from May 2007.
Putnam County”™s double-digit rise in median sales price for an existing home was accompanied by a 44.4 percent plunge in May sales compared to a year ago. May sales volume in the county, however, was up 6.4 percent from April.
May home sales in Rockland County were up 14.3 percent from April but down nearly 21 percent from May 2007.
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