The Rochester Real Estate Market

We're asked all of the time....is it a good time to buy or sell? The simple answer is yes, especially in the Greater Rochester area! The 2009 year end statistics released for last week show that home sales were down only 1.38% from 2008 and median price remains stable in the region. If you follow the national housing market, you know that sales have been down double digit percentage points in many other parts of the country. The Rochester (and typically other upstate NY) market has been much more sheltered than other cities -- while we didn't see the dramatic appreciation experienced elsewhere, we also didn't see the dramatic decline either.

While many people would guess that the best time to buy was during the "peak" of the housing market a few years ago, with the extension of the tax credit for first-time buyers and now the expansion to include repeat buyers, coupled with low interest rates, there has never been a better time to buy real estate in recent history than today.

From the seller's perspective, it's still a great time to sell as Rochester's average price has also remained fairly stable over the past several years. For Monroe County towns, in 2007, the median sale price was $135,000; in 2008, the median was $131,000; for 2009, the median was $130,850, according to the local MLS. In the City of Rochester, the median sale price has actually been increasing -- $56,000 in 2007; $57,000 in 2008; and, $65,000 in 2009. With the increase in buyers in the market due to the tax credit incentive, if your house is priced right and marketed properly, you should have no problem selling your house in today's real estate climate.

It is highly unlikely that the tax credit will be extended beyond April 30, 2010, and many analysts are predicting that interest rates will top 6% by the end of the year. Find out more about the opportunities in today's market by contacting a Nothnagle agent today!