May was another flattish month in the Dutchess County realty market, but one that revealed the usual seasonal upturn showed up on schedule, leaving the slump of a severe winter behind.

Sales were down 3 percent and price data were mixed, with a median sale price of $243,950 posting a 1.9 percent gain versus a year earlier and the average posting a 3.5 percent drop at $299,148.

The concern, however, is what the future may bring. The county's largest employer, IBM Corp., has been shipping employees north on a temporary assignment to work at a partner company, GlobalFoundries, that reports say is seriously considering buying part of IBM's semiconductor business.

Should that happen, the impact on the local home sales market will depend on exactly what the deal is.

But it's worry early and worry often for people in this real estate market.

One likely deal that was brewing in Matt Williams' office fell off the table when a worry about IBM pushed it. He said a buyer couple determined that one of them could not be sure of a continued job at IBM.

"We're concerned, like most people are, about the East Fishkill plant," said Williams, broker at Realty Executives Williams-Sykes Realty, Poughkeepsie. IBM hasn't commented and neither has GlobalFoundries, which has a growing plant in Saratoga County.

There were an average 3,675 employees at the East Fishkill plant in 2013, according to a document posted there by IBM as required by federal laws and reported by the Alliance@IBM, a workers group that's part of the Communications Workers of America. IBM stopped giving out plant populations years ago.

As for the sales in May, Williams said, "It's a flat market. Prices aren't doing anything." Other than modest ups and downs, "The numbers are the same numbers we've been looking at for the last two years."

Those numbers are issued monthly by the Mid-Hudson Multiple Listing Service.

"The Dutchess County real estate market continues to rebound," said Sandy Tambone, executive officer of the listing service.

Mid-Hudson Multiple Listing Service reported Wednesday that 130 single-family free-standing homes changed hands in May, which was four fewer than one year earlier. But it showed a jump from April, when 105 sales were completed.

The median sale price of $243,950 was a small increase over the median for all five months of 2014, which is now $240,000.

"The increase is modest but a positive indicator," Tambone said. The market continues to recover from an unusually severe winter that slowed activity, he said.

However, this year is no match for last year, when the 12-month median finished at $248,000. And, that number was $2,000 below the median for all of 2012 and 2011.

May's average price of $299,148 was down 2.3 percent for the five-month year-to-date comparison.

Prices firmed up, however, in the category of attached homes, which are townhouses, condos and co-ops. The 34 sales, five more than a year ago, showed a median price of $186,000, up 37.8 percent. The year-to-date median of $187,000 is up 18.4 percent.

Tambone said inventory of homes for sale is up by 11 percent versus last year, and at 1,875 listings for detached homes show a seasonal bump from April of about the same degree.

Williams said that also could mean "people are tired of waiting" to put their homes on the market and decided there was no reason to wait for better prices, or that they think the market got a little stronger and so it's a good time to list.

Craig Wolf: 845-437-4815; cwolf@poughkeepsie

journal.com; Twitter: @craigwolfPJ

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