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Latest home sales numbers: sales dip as inventory remains low

The latest numbers from the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors show a decline in home sales, but an increase in home prices.

That has been a recent trend, with not enough homes available to meet demand.  Home sales in the third quarter fell about 12 percent compared to a year ago, and median home prices were up just over seven percent.

The president of the realtors association, Linda Wilson, says there's a lot of demand for homes in Rochester, just not a lot of inventory, and that's a situation going on across the country.

“We’re following the national trend, our inventory is low, but then, so is everybody else and our houses are still affordable," Wilson told WXXI News.

Wilson says if you want to buy a house, make sure you have a realtor who is going to be very pro-active.

“(Home buyers) need to have a realtor that’s going to be out there in the market and know the things as they come up, like yesterday, there were 8 realtors, I think the house was only on the market for like three or four hours, and we’re willing to jump and try to find something for the people."

Wilson says relatively low mortgage rates also add to the housing demand.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.