ALBANY, N.Y., March 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Depsite the beginning of COVID-19 around the country, home sales in New York State rose in February in year-over-year comparisons, while inventory continued to drop according to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS^®.

Closed sales inched upwards 1.7-percent to 7,563 from 7,437 units compared to this time last year. Pending sales jumped 12.8-percent in year-over-year comparisons, soaring to 9,964 homes from 8,836 units in February 2019. New listings escalated to 14,498 homes - rising 5.6-percent from last year’s mark of 13,728 units.

Median sales prices appreciated once again, climbing over the $300,000 mark to $301,000. This is a 9.1-percent increase over February 2019’s price of $276,000.

The number of homes available continued to be an ongoing issue as inventory dropped 8.9-percent from 62,318 homes a year ago in February to 56,747 last month.

Commitment rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage continued to entice homebuyers, falling to 3.47-percent in February, according to Freddie Mac. This is the lowest fixed mortgage rate since October 2016.

Additional data is available at http://www.nysar.com/industry-resources/market-data.

Editor’s Note: All data is compiled from multiple listing services in the state of New York and the data include townhomes, condominiums and existing single-family homes.

The New York State Association of REALTORS^® is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 59,000 of New York State’s real estate professionals. The term REALTOR^® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS^®. These REALTORS^® are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS^® as well as their local board or association of REALTORS^®.

Scott Morlock
Director of Communications
518-463-0300 x 208
smorlock@nysar.com

An Infographic accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/daaec7e2-b1b4-4012-9e2f-732af59c7a57