Albany NY Real Estate Statistics

If you know me you know I like looking at data to spot trends. My MBA Research paper was on the Albany housing market. I spentliterally hundreds of hours on regression analysis of Albany housing data trying to predict housing demand and price movements. The bottom line, predicting housing prices and demand is very, very, difficult. It can be done with about the same certaintyy as predicting mortgage rates moves or the stock market. However, when Albany housing statistics are evaluated it always involves the number of homes sold and the year over year sale price. I have said before, as a certified appraiser I prefer to use "paired sales" to measure price movements not median prices, but that is another issue for another time. I think the one thing often missed by housing statistics is a measure of housing affordability. I have never seen the Times Union mention affordability in a housing article. Yet it is a critical measure of the market. One firm that does an excellent job of reporting affordability is John Burns Consulting. They measure home affordability for many, many metropolitan areas. The following statistics came from the November John Burns Consulting survey.

The main measure of housing affordability is the ratio of the percentage of median income required to purchase a median priced home. The latest data released by John Burns Consulting shows that in the Albany Market roughly 34% of the median household income is required to buy a median priced home. This will have dropped in the past week with the drop in mortgage interest rates. What does this mean?

Well for comparison NYC requires 78% of the median income to purchase a median priced home. In Buffalo, NY it would take just 21% of the median household income to make payments on a median priced home. At 34% Albany is just about fairly priced. Its not a bargain but we aren't yet priced out of the market. The Albany areas housing barometer rating is 5.3. The closer to 10 on the scale the more overpriced your market is. The closer the 0 the more affordable the market is.

Presently we are roughly in balance. The recent drop in interest rates has helped as well. So to anyone that says Albany is overpriced, look at the numbers! Have questions Visit me online at Clancy Real Estate Albany NY Real Estate

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank You!

Sincerely,

Kevin Clancy

518-861-7016
kevin@clancyrealestate.com
http://www.clancyrealestate.com

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