There’s mounting evidence around the region that buying a home is really difficult right now.
There are a few factors at play- which real estate watchers say is making this happen. There’s not a lot of housing stock available, homes are not being built at a fast-enough rate, and ultimately, interest rates are low enough that it’s keeping buyers entering the market.
The New York State Association of Realtors says it’s mostly due to supply and demand. The number of homes for sale from 2020 is down around 30%. Yet the number of closed sales and median sale prices are both up more than 23%.
Here’s the data NYSAR released on county-by-county data comparing Q1 of 2021 to that of last year:
Cayuga: New listings are down 14.5%. Closed sales are up 1.6% and the average sale price is up 26.5% or $33,000. Meanwhile, the overall stock of homes for sale is down 45%.
Livingston: New listings are down 31%. Closed sales are down 2%, but median sale price is up 6.3%. The overall number of homes for sale is down 58.9%.
Ontario: New listings are down 26.1%, while closed sales are down 5.9%. Median sale price is also up significantly- at 14.5%. There’s 40% fewer homes on the market, too.
Schuyler: New listings are down 14.6%. Closed sales are up 62.5% with median sale price skyrocketing 39.2% or $47,000. The overall number of homes available is also down 57.8%.
Seneca: New listings are down 37.3% with a 12% increase in closed sales. Median sale price has increased by 31.5% or around $33,000. The number of homes for sale has also plummeted with 63% fewer properties on the market.
Steuben: New listings are down 8.6% with closed sales spiking by 17.6%. Median sale price has jumped here, too, by 24.8%, with 53% fewer homes on the market.
Wayne: New listings are down 14% with closed sales being up by the same margin. The median sale price has climbed over 24% with 56.6% fewer homes on the market.
Yates: There are 10.9% fewer new listings this year with closed sales significantly growing to 40% over last year’s data. The median sale price has also skyrocketed by the largest margin in the region- with the average sale sitting at $228,000 compared to $135,000 at the same time last year. Like other counties, there is significantly less stock overall, with 59% fewer homes on the market.
Josh is the president and publisher of FingerLakes1.com. Have a question? Send them to [email protected].