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NYSAR: NEW YORK HOME SALES DECLINE IN MAY, CNY NUMBERS ALSO DOWN
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold more than 10,300 previously-owned homes in May, a decrease of 8.6 percent compared to the more than 11,300 homes sold in May 2017.
The May closed sales represent the “second highest sales total for the month,” the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) said in releasing its latest housing-market report on Wednesday.
"Robust” buyer demand continues to keep homes across the Empire State selling at a “brisk pace,” despite the lower number of homes listed for sale, Duncan MacKenzie, CEO of NYSAR, said in the news release.
“Newly listed homes are selling more quickly than a year ago as buyers faced with fewer options are eager to get to the closing table. We believe that without the headwind of lower inventory sales would be near the record-setting levels of a year ago,” said MacKenzie. “While growing sales prices may entice current owners to bring greatly needed inventory to the market, the combination of higher prices and growing mortgage rates will begin to erode affordability, potentially dampening buyer enthusiasm.”
Sales data
The May 2018 statewide median sales price was $262,000, an increase of nearly 12 percent from the May 2017 median of $235,000, according to the NYSAR data.
Pending sales totaled more than 13,600 in May, a decrease of 4.3 percent compared to the same month in 2017.
The months supply of homes for sale dropped 7.8 percent at the end of May to a 5.9 months supply. It was at 6.4 months at the end of May 2017.
A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market.
The number of homes for sale totaled 66,682 in May, a decrease of 6.7 percent compared to May 2017.
Central New York data
Realtors in Broome County sold 136 existing homes in May, down nearly 5 percent from 143 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price increased nearly 8 percent to more than $115,000 from $107,000 a year ago.
Jefferson County, realtors closed on 104 homes in May, down more than 6 percent from 111 a year ago, and the median sales price decreased about 6 percent to nearly $133,000 from $142,000 in May 2017, according to the NYSAR data.
NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 152 homes in Oneida County last month, down about 13 percent compared to the 176 sold during May 2017. The median sales price rose about 6 percent to more than $124,000 from $117,000 a year ago.
Realtors in Onondaga County sold 432 previously owned homes in May, a sales decrease of about 15 percent compared to the May 2017 total of 511. The median sales price rose 10 percent to $150,000, up from nearly $136,000 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report.
All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York state and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.
GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES SUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO EXTEND IN-STATE TUITION FOR STUDENTS DISPLACED BY HURRICANES MARIA AND IRMA
In-State Tuition to be Offered to Students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Supports the Governor’s NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the State University of New York Board of Trustees has extended the authorization for its state-operated colleges and universities to offer in-state tuition for the 2018-19 academic year to students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have been displaced by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. SUNY’s Board of Trustees also encouraged the boards of trustees of its 30 community colleges and the boards of trustees of the statutory colleges at Cornell University and Alfred Ceramics to take similar action.
“The promise of quality, affordable higher education can lay the foundation for a lasting difference in the many lives upended during last year’s catastrophic hurricane season,” Governor Cuomo said.“With this extension, New York continues to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters whose suffering is being neglected and ignored by Washington to this day.”
Approximately 35 students applied to SUNY under the in-state tuition policy in the fall 2017 academic term and fifty students did so in spring 2018. A copy of the resolution adopted by the SUNY Board is available online.
SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall said, “Governor Cuomo’s focus on the people of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands is significant on many levels, and at SUNY we are proud to continue his directive to provide in-state tuition rates as a way to help so many students still displaced by the devastation left by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. It is important that these students know they can continue their education and we will help support them to that end.”
SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson said, “The outpouring of support within SUNY for our fellow American citizens is heartfelt and unwavering. Today, our board of trustees honors our commitment to educate students displaced by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. In just a few days, 100 of our students and faculty will join the people of Puerto Rico in their rebuilding efforts at home. It is truly our pleasure to provide this necessary public service and remind our students of the value of supporting each other in times of need.”
New York’s Efforts in Puerto Rico
Since Hurricane Maria’s landfall in September 2017, Governor Cuomo has traveled to Puerto Rico four times and has continuously directed critical resources to communities in need. In the immediate aftermath, New York established the Empire State Relief and Recovery Effort, ultimately distributing at least 4,400 pallets of supplies collected from 13 donations sites across the state. New York State also deployed more than 1,000 personnel, including hundreds of utility workers and power experts to help with power restoration and grid stabilization.
This month, the Governor announced the first deployment of volunteers for the summer-long NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative will depart on June 17. The volunteers will work with the non-profit rebuilding organizations All Hands and Hearts, Heart 9/11, and NECHAMA to clean, restore, and rebuild homes.
The deployment follows the first phase of the initiative launched on April 29, in which the Governor deployed a Tactical Assessment Team to develop a comprehensive rebuilding plan for the island. The Assessment Team’s findings will guide the deployment of approximately 500 SUNY and CUNY students, as well as skilled workers from the building and construction trades, throughout the summer.
In response to the recently released Harvard School of Public Health’s analysis estimating that the death toll of Hurricane Maria could be 70 times higher than the current official estimate, Governor Cuomo joined Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez’s demand for a commission to immediately investigate the federal response, death toll and any negligence or failure to appropriately respond, as well as disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Congresswoman Velázquez is preparing legislation to establish the Commission.
Governor Cuomo and the New York Congressional Delegation continue to advocate for Puerto Rico to get the federal aid they need and deserve. In December, Governors Cuomo and Rosselló, and members of the New York Congressional Delegation released a Build Back Better Assessment Report that called for a $94.4 billion federal aid package to help Puerto Rico build back stronger. The plan identified specific sectors needing investments, including housing, power grid and resiliency, agriculture and others. Together with $487 million for public safety and first response and $9 billion for long-term recovery management, the total funding need is $94.4 billion.
In addition, in an effort led by SUNY Maritime in late May, more than 500 SUNY Maritime College cadets and approximately 50 students from University at Albany and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry volunteered with local non-profit rebuilding organizations, removing debris and preparing roofs for construction in the greater San Juan area.
The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school, and business in the state. As of Fall 2017, more than 430,000 students were enrolled in a degree program at a SUNY campus. In total, SUNY served nearly 1.4 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs in the 2016-17 academic year. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in $1 billion of externally sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit SUNY - The State University of New York.
Seneca Foods to close a can-making plant in Wayne County
Seneca Foods will be closing a plant in Marion, Wayne County which employs 45 people.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Tim Benjamin, says that the reason is due to the fact that canned vegetables have been in steady decline in terms of consumption in recent years, so the demand for producing those cans has dropped.
He says besides any severance package for the affected employees, Seneca Foods will work to see if it can place some of those workers in other positions.
The cans being made in Marion will now be manufacturing at the company’s plant in Wisconsin.
Seneca Foods continues other operations in the Finger Lakes including its headquarters in Marion which employs about 75 people. It also has facilities in Geneva and in Leicester.
American Packaging starts operations at new Chili facility
Operations are now up and running at American Packaging Corporation’s new 215,000 square foot facility in the Town of Chili.
The company has already hired 70 new employees, of which 40 are working at the new site. American Packaging also has about 200 employees working at its long-established plant on Driving Park Avenue in Rochester.
The company plans to create up to 260 jobs over the next five years in this area.
As first announced a year ago, Empire State Development offered $7.7 million in Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative grants and $7 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits.
Monroe County also provided incentives for the project.
TEXAS–BASED POWER COMPANY LOOKS TO INSTALL 33 WIND TURBINES IN BROOME COUNTY
SANFORD, N.Y. — Bluestone Wind, a subsidiary of Calpine, is applying to build a 124-megawatt wind farm in Sanford and Windsor, in eastern Broome County.
According to documents filed with the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, the wind farm will include up to 33 wind turbines along with weather towers, buried power lines, access roads, a maintenance building and a substation that includes battery storage.
Houston, Texas—based Calpine first notified the state of its interest in building the Bluestone Wind Farm project in 2016.
Calpine had been a publicly held company until March of this year when a group of investors took the company private. It has 80 power plants in 18 states and Canada. According to the company, Bluestone would be the business’s first wind-power farm.
STATE DEC KILLS PLAN FOR LPG STORAGE IN FINGER LAKES
ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has denied an application for an underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility near the shores of Seneca Lake.
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos issued the decision Thursday on the grounds that, “the facility would have a significant adverse impact on community character in the local area and the Finger Lakes region,” according to a release.
Plans from Finger Lakes LPG Storage called for storing millions of gallons of liquefied petroleum gas in salt caverns in the Town of Reading, near Watkins Glen. Opposition to the plan was widespread in the area with opponents claiming the development threatened public safety, the environment, and the area’s growing wine industry.
“The Commissioner determined that the record supported denying the project at this stage of the administrative process and noted four issues that raised significant concerns that would have otherwise required further adjudication — the proposed facility brine pond, integrity of caverns at the site, public safety preparedness, and availability of alternative sites, including the proposed volume of storage capacity, as well as the need for the facility,” the release said.
According to the DEC, no further action is required following the denial.
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