Consumer Alert: We’re number one! It takes longer to sell a house in New York than any other states

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — In consumer news, we’re number one! But we’re not celebrating topping this dubious list. It takes longer to sell a house in New York than any state in the union. The online bank Tangerine crunched numbers from Zillow. And here’s the skinny.

The data included the average number of days to pending, then the average number of days to closing. The data shows that houses in New York sit on the market for about 71 days before getting an acceptable offer. Then it takes another 59 days to close. That means it takes on average 130 days to sell a house in The Empire State.

Here are the top five states where it takes the longest to sell your house.

1. New York — 130 days
2. Hawaii — 119 days
3. New Jersey — 117 days
4. West Virginia — 113 days
5. North Dakota — 113 days

This all comes at a time when the housing market is slowing across the country—21 percent since January. According to Google, searches for "sell my house" exploded in July by 147 percent. This follows two big rate hikes by the fed. The average mortgage rate today is 5.5 percent, double the rate this time last year of 2.8 percent.

So are we heading for a housing crash like in 2008 or something a bit easier like a correction?

"When we’ve had real problems in the housing market when we had this surfeit of housing, homes everywhere that were vacant. That’s not the case today," said Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics. “That’s a really fundamental reason why this market will correct. It’s going to feel uncomfortable, particularly the reseller, but it’s not going to crash."

That’s a bit of good news. But if you’re trying to buy right now, it pays to be strategic. Here’s Deanna’s do list for buyers:

• Create a budget using a mortgage calculator. My favorite is at mortgage calculator.org. It allows you to add property taxes, which in our area can double your monthly mortgage.
• Find a trusted local agent who knows your market best.
• Use technology to your advantage by browsing virtual 3-D home tours to save time in person.

• Be flexible. Can you live with one fewer bathroom if you have a bigger backyard for your kids? Be willing to make trade-offs to stay within your budget.