Year-over-year price declines were most severe in Westchester and Putnam counties, while Rockland prices turned negative again after producing year-over-year gains in February. Sales were also down in all three counties, according to numbers released yesterday by the New York State Association of Realtors.

Westchester’s median sales price tumbled to $508,900, down 17.1 percent from $613,750 in March 2008. Sales fell 30.7 percent. Though the year-over-year comparisons are weak, the sales decline was an improvement over February’s year-over-year decline of 41.8 percent.

Putnam’s median also plunged, down 20.2 percent to $318,000 as sales dropped 18.2 percent.

Rockland’s median fell the least, down 5.5 percent to $437,000 in March, an improvement over a year-over-year price decline of 13.2 percent in February. The county’s sales were down 13.9 percent, more than reversing a 7.3 percent gain in sales a month earlier.

Across New York, sales of existing homes were up in 11 of 59 counties reporting results. Median sales prices rose year-over-year in 23 counties.

The state’s median sales price of $225,000 was up 10 percent from March 2008, though sales were down 25.3 percent. The statewide numbers include partial data from three counties in the state.

Complete data is unavailable for — Bronx, Hamilton and New York — in the Realtors’ survey.

In the Lower Hudson Valley, the overall numbers showed continued weakness, though sales gained in Rockland and the median sales price rose in Putnam, according to the Realtors’ report released today.

Putnam’s median was $380,000, up 1.1 percent in December from a year earlier, despite a 32.8 percent drop in sales.

Rockland’s median sales price was $425,000, down 13.3 percent, though sales rose 6.9 percent.

Westchester’s median was $562,500, a decline of 7.8 percent, as sales fell 27.8 percent.

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Lower Hudson Valley existing home sales mixed in December

In the Lower Hudson Valley, sales were down by double-digits, though the median sales price rose in Putnam County, according to data provided today by the New York State Association of Realtors.

Putnam’s median price increased 2.6 percent to $418,000 in August from $407,500 a year earlier. Sales fell, however, 19.5 percent based on unit sales of 66.

Westchester County’s median was down just 1.4 percent to $720,000 despite a 27.3 percent plunge in sales, while Rockland County’s median fell 13.1 percent to $461,750. Sales were down 15.7 percent in Rockland.

Across New York, the median sales price of $225,000 was down 10 percent from August 2007. Sales of 8,418 units were down 20.1 percent.

Sales were down in 49 counties and up in eighth among the counties reporting. Median prices fell in 35 and rose in 22.

Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the Realtors’ survey. August 2008 figures were also unavailable from Greene County.
The latest month’s results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

In the Lower Hudson Valley, sales were down by double-digits, though the median sales price rose in Putnam County, according to data provided today by the New York State Association of Realtors.

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In the Lower Hudson Valley, the median sales price was unchanged at $730,000 in Westchester County despite an 18 percent decline in sales over July 2007, according the New York State Association of Realtors. Last month, the Realtors reported Westchester’s median at $675,000, down 12.2 percent from June 2007.

Rockland County’s median fell 7.4 percent to $480,000 as sales dropped 27.4 percent.

Putnam County’s median was down 10.5 percent to $394,000 as sales tumbled 22.4 percent.

Across New York, the median sales price of $229,000 was down 7.3 percent from July 2007. Sales of 8,262 units were down 14.5 percent.

Sales were down in 47 counties and up in 10 among the counties reporting.

Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the Realtors’ survey. July 2008 figures were also unavailable from Greene County.

The latest month’s results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

The regional downturn in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties was worse than the decline in New York state overall.
The median sales price statewide was down 10.6 percent to $219,000 from $245,000 in June 2007.

Locally, the median dropped the most in Putnam, where it was down 18.2 percent to $347,500 as sales fell 28.6 percent.

Westchester’s median was lower by 12.2 percent to $675,000 in June as sales plunged 30.7 percent. Despite the decline, Westchester still had the highest median sales price among 58 counties reporting results to the New York State Association of Realtors.

Rockland’s median fell 13.6 percent to $445,000 as sales were off by 28.8 percent the pace from a year earlier.

Sales were down in 49 counties and up in 8 and unchanged in one among the counties reporting.

Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the Realtors’ survey. June 2008 figures were also unavailable from Greene County.

The June 2008 results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

Sales were down in 41 counties and up in 16 and unchanged in one among 58 counties that have Multiple Listing Services reporting to the state association of Realtors.

Median sales prices also declined, pushing the residential real estate economy more firmly into a market favoring buyers. Prices fell in 36 counties and rose in 22.

In April, prices were up in slightly more than half of the counties.

Sales statewide fell 17.1 percent to 6,590 units, while the median price declined 8.7 percent to $210,000 from $230,000.

The balance between buyers and sellers was less apparent in much of the Lower Hudson Valley. Sales were down across the region, but prices rose in Westchester and Putnam counties.

Putnam’s median rose the most — 17.9 percent to $470,000, despite a sales plunge of 44.4 percent in May from a year earlier. Unit sales dropped to 50 from 90 in May 2007.

Westchester’s median rose 4.1 percent to $702,500, though sales fell 21.8 percent.

In Rockland County, the median sales price of $476,500 was down 5.6 percent as sales declined 20.7 percent.

Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the Realtors’ survey.

The May 2008 results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

Steep sales declines of 22.2 percent in Putnam and 20.7 percent in Rockland coincided with decreases in median sales prices in both counties.

Putnam’s median fell 2.7 percent to $403,950 in November from $415,000 a year earlier. Rockland’s median tumbled 6.6 percent to $449,950 from $482,000.

Westchester County’s sales were also down — 3.1 percent in November, but its median sales price rose 7.6 percent to $640,000, up from $595,000. Westchester’s median was New York state’s highest among 57 of 62 counties reporting, according to the New York State Association of Realtors.

Schoharie County in central New York state, west of Albany, was the month’s hottest market with the biggest increase in sales and median sales price. The county’s median sales price surged 135.8 percent to $359,125 from $152,300 as sales jumped 66.7 percent.

Schuyler County in western New York had the state’s biggest decline, where the median fell 37.4 percent to $87,000 from $139,000.

The median sales price statewide was down 11.2 percent to $215,000 from $242,100 in November 2006 as sales declined 15.6 percent.

The data are collected from local Multiple Listing Services by the state Realtors association. Four counties — Bronx, Franklin, Hamilton and New York — do not participate in the survey, and November 2007 results were unavailable from Greene County.

The November 2007 results are reported as preliminary, though the Realtors rarely note revisions in subsequent months.

Both actions, announced this morning from Knoxville, Tenn., where IBM’s holdings its annual shareholders’ meeting, will increase the company’s earnings per share by 12 percent to 14 percent, the company estimated. The predicted gains exclude one-time gains from the sale of IBM’s printer business.

The new dividend will be paid June 9 to shareholders of record as of May 10.

Armonk-based IBM also reported that it still has $1.4 billion previously authorized by its board under an earlier share-buyback program bringing the total authorized for buybacks to $16.4 billion.

IBM shares closed yesterday at $95.21, up 63 cents, or 0.7 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.