Rochester is #4 for Best Recovering Housing Market

Slow and Steady Wins the Race for Rochester's Housing Market

Rochester has seen major changes within the last few decades through its previous mega companies that are not once they what were. However, Rochester has recently seen an emergence in newer companies that have really taken off in the area.

The current unemployment rate in Rochester is 8.1%, which is well below the national average of 9.6%. Rochester home prices never bubbled during the boom, but they have enjoyed slow, steady growth during the bust, gaining 5.2% over the past three years. Since many of the area's jobs pay reasonably well (the median household income is $63,000, which is above the national median), the relatively affordable housing market has been open to most of the population. The prices also meant few homebuyers resorted to toxic mortgages, and New York's strong consumer protection laws tended to discourage predatory lending. As a consequence, Rochester has been less burdened by foreclosures than most big markets. Only one property for every 276 had a foreclosure filing against it during the first six months of 2009, about a third the national rate.