Melanie Lekocevic reports for Columbia-Greene Media that houses cost more and sold less in the first quarter of 2019 in Greene and Columbia counties, according to the New York State Association of Realtors. In Columbia County, there were 322 listings, up slightly from 309 last year, but only 137 houses there closed, compared to 161 last year. Median sale prices were up slightly, from $250,000 compared to $246,212 in 2018. Rudy Huston, of Tri-Hudson Realty in Hudson, pointed out with numbers that small, their could be statistical blips. “The general trend I am seeing is that there is a big rush in people looking since Christmastime and you should see a lot of closings in the next quarter. I think that overall there will be a lift in the coming quarter," Huston said. In Greene County there were only 127 sales, compared to 156 the year before, but median sale prices went up from $175,000 to $217,500. “The market is down because the inventory is low, which forces prices to go up,” JoAnne Adamo-Conway, owner of Heart Land Realty in Coxsackie, said. “Many times, when there are multiple offers on a property it creates competition — when there is less inventory on the market, prices are driven up because people are making offers on the same house.” Huston said many new homeowners continue to come from downstate. “Hudson had a lot of sales in the last three years so a lot of houses turned over, so there is less [houses] coming on the market,” he said. “There have also been some big closings as well, and we should see more of those — it’s the whole ‘let’s leave the Hamptons and come to Columbia County and the countryside.’” Wayne West, owner of Century 21 New West in Catskill, agreed saying, "Catskill and the village of Athens in particular are bringing in the New York City crowd." Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.