This Month in Queens Real Estate: JUN 2015

QUEENS, N.Y. - June 18, 2015 - PRLog -- JUNE 2015 QUEENS REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE

The pace of existing home sales increased slightly from April to May according to the latest report released by the Long island Board of Realtors. This is likely related to slow growth in inventory that has failed to keep pace with this year’s pickup in demand. This has also led to an acceleration in price growth over the last 12 months. As interest rates remain low, it’s likely that demand will remain strong as we move into the summer and peak season for the Queens real estate market. Overall, we’re still experiencing the tight inventory levels, but now that June has hit, we are finally seen more homes hit the market. Sales in May were below that last year levels, but prices continued to increase as they have all year.

Month’s Supply: 6.9 Months
Last Month: 6.7 Months

Last year: 8.7 Months

*Month’s supply over 6 months is said to favor buyers, month’s supply below 6 months is said to favor sellers, and month’s supply of 5-6 months is said to be a balanced market.

INTEREST RATES

30-year interest rates remain below 4% but have begun to move up slightly. Currently, Freddie Mac reports the following figures: 30-year fixed rate, 3.84%; 15-year fixed rate, 3.05%; 5/1-year adjustable rate, 2.88%.

QUEENS HOME SALES

Queens Homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 602 homes in May based on the report released by LIBOR. This was 5.6% higher than April’s sales pace but still 8.4% below May of last year. The pace of home sales has been hampered by tight inventory levels across the county. If more Queens home owners decide to sell this summer and inventory eases, we could see sales begin to increase again. Specifically, Residential home sales are down 5.5%, Condo sales are down 13.8%, and Coop sales are down 10.9% from May of last year.

QUEENS HOME PRICES

Strong demand for Queens homes combined with tight inventory levels led to significant price gains in May, as the median sales price reached $404,375. This is up 1.2% from April and 9.3% above the same month last year. As long as inventory remains in the low 6-7 months range, we are likely to continue seeing price gains in the 7%–9% range. Specifically, Residential Queens home prices are up 5.1%, Condo prices are up 20%, and Coop prices are up 9.4% from May of last year.

QUEENS HOUSING INVENTORY

There were roughly 24.6% fewer homes available for sale in May compared to the same month last year. This translated to 6.9 months of supply. Inventory grew slightly compared to the previous month as we move into the peak season. There has recently been some positive signs for new home construction and potential sellers; however, construction continues to lag behind expectations for the year amid concerns about the overall economy in the first quarter.

Courtesy of George & Abigail Herrera w/the Queens Home Team at Keller Williams Realty Landmark II.

BUY: www.exclusivequeenshomes.com | SELL: www.queenshomeselling.com