Home prices were higher and supply tighter last year in the Albany, N.Y., region, but real estate brokers are waiting to see what impact federal tax changes will have in 2018.
"Right now, we're in a state of flux," said Susan Sommers, president of the Greater Capital Association of Realtors. "No one knows how this will play out."
Caps were placed on mortgage interest deductions, while state and local property and income tax deductions were capped at $10,000. The Realtors trade association had pushed to maintain the deductibility of local and property taxes, said Sommers. The Trump administration had sought to eliminate the deduction for local and property taxes entirely.
"So far, our market's pretty strong," Sommers said. The average price of a Capital Region home climbed 4% in 2017 to $230,992, the real estate association reported, with the median price up 3% to $200,000. The number of homes sold, meanwhile, was flat. In the 11-county region, 11,878 single-family homes were sold in 2017, compared to 11,908 in 2016.
In December, sales fell 6% while the average price surged 12% to $245,378. Prices have risen as supply tightened. The number of new listings was down 13% in December from a year earlier. Overall inventory of homes for sale tumbled 23%.
Pending sales in December were up 3%.
The average home spent 67 days on the market, down by 10.5% from a year ago. Sellers received on average 94 percent of the original listing price.
Albany County sales were down 1% in December while the median sale price rose 2% to $205,000. Pending sales jump 28%, but new listings fell by 20% from December 2016.
Rensselaer County sales jumped 25% with the median sale price up 4% to $179,440 in December. Pending sales were up 7% and new listings fell 19%.
Saratoga County sales fell 11% in December while the median price rose 2% to $280,101. Pending sales surged 23% but new listings fell 11%.
Schenectady County sales also fell 11% last month, while the median sale price was flat at $159,900, compared to $159,750 a year earlier. Pending sales were up 1%, while new listings climbed 11%.
Sommers remains optimistic about housing sales.
"The buyers are out there in force," she said. "We're seeing multiple offers" on many properties.
