3 days ago
Cutthroat housing market in lakeside city sees it bursting with bargains - and an average home is just $225K
Rochester, New York, is one of America's most cutthroat city for house prices and while it remains affordable, sales are as competitive as ever.
While the city ranks well for affordability, Rochester's home sales are a flurry of bidding wars while real estate agents prepare their clients for auction-like sales with properties often selling for way above asking price.
For Rochester realtor Jeff Scofield, the market has seen prices dramatically rise by around 60 percent in the last five years.
'We were slow and steady for most of my career, [it] was a very balanced market and it would take anywhere from a month to a year to sell a house sometimes,' Scofield told
While prices have remained affordable, houses are still selling for more than they are listed for.
Scofield pointed out that the lack of supply has changed how buyers and sellers are approaching home sales.
'The lack of inventory is the one thing that's been helping prolong us having any sort of slowdown... because there's just so few homes on the market,' he said.
'The buyers all descend on the property and if they like it and it's priced reasonably then they put in offers and it's gone in a week.'
Talha Shahid, a realtor based in the area told Yahoo that for example, a home listed at $300,000 will likely sell for $350,000.
'After one or two offers, [clients] kind of get the hang of it, and then they listen to my advice,' Shahid continued.
The median house price in the metro area reached just $225,000 at the end of March, according to the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors.
While the median rose by 12.5 percent from last year, it remains one of the more affordable cities in America with the median household income sitting at around $67,000 in 2022.
'We're catching up with the rest of the country,' Jonathan long, a mortgage loan consultant in Rochester, also told Yahoo.
'The housing market is a little tough, and mortgage payments are a little tough right now, but all in all, I would still say it's a super affordable place to live... but there's just not enough inventory.'
According to the Realtors association, the area had just 913 homes for sale at the end of March which is down 8.1 percent from last year.
On average, homes spend just eight days on the market.
Due to the lack of homes on the market, Scofield told he has seen buyers list of demands diminish significantly in order to secure a home.
'It used to be that buyers had their list of demands, like we want you to leave the dining room set, the washer, the dryer,' he said.
'Now they go, well, what do you want to take? You know, we'll take whatever you want to leave. You don't even have to clean out the junk in the basement.
'Buyers are being very gracious because they need a place to live and they've lost out on, say, five homes.'
Many homeowners have been resistant to selling, especially with heightened uncertainty and climbing mortgage rates.
'If you're sitting on a two and a half percent mortgage interest rate, you're not going to move right now. You're going to sit tight,' Scofield added.
Currently, Zillow has 37 homes listed for sale between $200,000 and $250,000.
One home, listed for $224,900, has spent five days on Zillow and features two bedrooms and three bathrooms on 1,765 square feet.
A $239,900 listed property has spent four days on the site with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on 1,821 square feet.
Another three bedroom property, listed for $250,000, has spent seven days on Zillow with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on 1,853 square feet.
But Scofield pointed out that despite affordable home prices, taxes in the area have held a significant weight in house listing prices.
'Our taxes are high. You know, New York's got high property taxes, so historically we'd have people coming in from California or out of state and they'd look at a house and go, 'this is only $500,000. This would cost a million where I'm from.''
He said that often, despite the low listing prices, the taxes stun prospective buyers.
'So that's the downside. Our prices are good, but the taxes are high.'
Yet, house prices are increasing across the country and Rochester remains relatively affordable.
'You know, average sales price has gone up to probably around three hundred right now for the average in our area,' he said. 'Which is still less than what it is in New York City.'
