New York is more than just a city. Indeed, per the 2020 Census, it’s the fourth-most populous state in the nation, with nearly half of its 20.2 million residents filling out New York’s upstate regions, both metropolitan and rural.
The state capital, Albany, may not have quite the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, but it still ranks as a “very competitive” real estate market, per data tracked by Redfin. Homes spend an average of 11 days on the market with median prices up 8.6% year-over-year (translating to $240,000). The number of Albany homes sold is roughly contiguous with 2021, with only a 1.1% drop.
According to data from Zillow, the top 25 cities/towns in the Albany metropolitan area all experienced a greater than 10% increase in home prices year-over-year from 2021 to 2022. Highest on the list was the hamlet Slingerlands, which saw a 16.8% YoY increase (or $65,281) in home prices.
Suzanne Prezio, an agent based out of Albany, described her local market as “a bubble.” Prezio noted that the high diversity of economic sectors in the Albany area such as healthcare and public employees act as a bulwark against the effects of market shifts.
Not all cities are seeing the bright side of this competition, however. In February 2022, Rochester, New York, was ranked by realtor.com® as the No. 1 most difficult market for homebuyers to find housing. With only two listings per every 1,000 households, this difficulty was attributed in part to expats from areas such as New York City and Boston.
Halfway between Albany and Rochester in Ithaca, local agent Alanie Woodin has noted a stall: “A lot of houses sitting on the market, a lot of price reduction, interest rates playing an effect in that…houses are still selling, but not getting as many multiple offers on properties. It’s slowed down for me personally.”
Indeed, as far back as April 2022, home prices in Ithaca were reported as falling (per local newspaper The Ithaca Journal). In April, the median home price was $375,000, while the current median home price is $360,000 (according to market trends research by Coldwell Banker), with 191 properties currently listed.
While Ithaca is a college town, home to both Cornell University and the eponymous Ithaca college, Woodin says the colleges’ presence has not created greater popularity toward younger buyers, noting that “ very diverse between the young and the old.”
That leads to Buffalo, Upstate New York’s most densely populated city, one that is seeing sustained interest from younger homebuyers.
Judy Russo, an agent with the Buffalo Metro office of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, commented, “The city of Buffalo has become very popular, a lot of development, young people coming back, Buffalo the lowest taxes in probably a 50-mile radius, young people wanna be back in the city.”
Russo points to one traditional challenge upstate New York homebuyers have faced: the region has high property taxes. Throughout New York state, property taxes are levied at the local level and used to fund public necessities from schools to fire departments.
Research by ATTOM Data found that 2021 property tax rates throughout Upstate New York were high compared to the national average; the highest were in Allegany (3.11%) and Monroe (2.53%) counties. Erie county, home of Buffalo, had a lower rate of 1.53%. Ironically, a higher population density means a higher property tax rate isn’t needed.
That doesn’t mean that the Buffalo market is without challenges. “ our suburbs in all of western New York, everything is very competitive,” Russo elaborated. “The inventory is very low, and even with mortgage rates going up, if you have a house that’s well cared for, there’s still multiple offers…still very competitive.”
32 Denishire Dr, Rochester, New York 14624
