Home sales in region buck trend statewide

ALBANY — Sales of existing single-family houses in New York declined markedly in February over sales recorded two years ago. So says a report released Thursday by the New York State Association of Realtors.

The median selling price of such houses also sank against month-ago and year-ago numbers across the state.

But some of the numbers in the north country bucked the statewide trends.

In Jefferson County, 62 single-family houses changed hands in February, compared with 88 in January, 59 in February 2007 and 54 in February 2006.

The median sale price also slid slightly month-over-month, to $126,500 in February from $131,000 in January, but remained above the $116,850 and $105,000 median sale prices for February 2007 and February 2006, respectively.

Six of Lewis County's single-family houses were sold in February, versus 14 in January, two in February 2007 and four in February 2006. The county's median sale price jumped to $144,350 in February from $73,000 in January, $51,500 in February 2007 and $100,250 in February 2006. Because there are so few sales in the county, establishing median price trends is difficult on a month-by-month basis.

In St. Lawrence County, 38 single-family houses were sold in February. This compares with 37 in January, 35 in February 2007 and 37 in February 2006. The median sale price of such homes in the county also rose to $78,250 in February. This compares with $67,000 in January, $60,000 in February 2007 and $70,000 in February 2006.

Statewide, 4,528 single-family dwellings changed hands in February, a decline of 21 percent since 5,734 such houses were sold in February 2006. In January, 5,178 houses were sold, as were 5,588 in February 2007, showing a pattern of continued decline.

The statewide median sale price for all transactions also continued to decline. It was $230,000 in February, versus $235,000 in January, $260,000 in February 2007 and $270,000 in February 2006. The median, which represents the number midway between the high and low, dropped 14.8 percent in two years.

"The winter months are historically low in terms of sales and this month's total is reminiscent of a typical February," said Duncan R. MacKenzie, the association's chief executive officer. "Based on historical trends, we anticipate sales will increase as we move closer to the spring and summer months, especially as buyers take advantage of historically low mortgage finance rates and increasing inventory levels. The recent actions by the federal government intended to assist the housing market should also bring improvement in the coming months."