How will residential real estate trend for the rest of 2018? According to economic analysts  – real estate will trend upward. This prediction is based on the latest housing statistics from September.

In September, 1,487 new listings were posted spending an average of only 59 days on market. Listings for new construction also rose – which added to the available inventory. 232 new construction homes were listed in September  – which is a 6 percent increase from last September. Sales of new construction were also up 7 percent, and a median sale price of $373,000.

Existing home prices were also up – increasing 6 percent from last year to $215,000.

Analysts are predicting that prices are likely to continue to rise due to buyer demand. Inventory levels market-wide decreased 9 percent to 5,436 units. Overall months’ supply of inventory was down 10 percent to 5.4 months.

Even though real estate is trending upward, we are seeing a challenge for first time homebuyers in regards to inventory cost.  Laura Burns, CEO of GCAR said, “New York State’s closing costs are some of the most expensive in the country. On a $225,000 home, a first-time homebuyer can expect to be presented with closing costs of about $5,500. Coupled with the strong lack of entry-level inventory available, particularly in new construction, some potential homebuyers may be forced to remain renters or in their parents’ basements.”