The Rochester real estate market saw its best fourth quarter since the end of the recession, according to numbers released Thursday morning.
In the three months ending in December, real estate closings were up 3.2 percent compared to the same time last year.
Andy Burke is president of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors. He says the continued decline in interest rates is probably the reason for the increase.
"The Rochester and Finger Lakes region continues to see a steady recovery. In the five years since the recession ended, we have seen a consistent increase in all of our sales indicators." There were 11,402 closed sales in 2014, down half a percent from 2013, but the second highest annual total since 2008.
Burke is mostly optimistic about 2015.
"People are more comfortable in their jobs. The stock market has built wealth up again. The economy market is certainly improving and looks good. Interest rates have been at historic lows yet again, but we all know with the Federal Reserve easing up on their intervention, we'll probably see people worried about interest rates in 2015."
The median home price in the Rochester area was $125,000 in the fourth quarter. The inventory of homes on the market was down 15% in 2014 compared to 2013.
Burke believes this national trend can be attributed, in part, to a sense of economic uncertainty among homebuyers “but also the decline in interest rates led a lot of people to refinance their homes,” Burke said. “So, many people feel that they have a better interest rate now than if they were to buy a new house."
