The latest numbers on local home sales show a substantial drop in sales of existing homes for the 2nd quarter of this year compared to a year ago.
According to the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, sales dropped by 19.6 % compared to the same quarter in 2022.
The president of the association, Mike O’Connor, said that the main factor continues to be a lack of inventory.
And he also noted that the higher mortgage rates have had an impact as well, since a lot of homeowners may not want to sell their houses right now.
“Which is being compounded by the higher interest rates, which is causing many people that have a low rate of say, 3% or so to decide not to make a change, and potentially end up with an interest rate of 7%,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor said home prices continue to rise, with the median price of a home up 4.2% from a year ago. The median sale price was at $200,000.
O’Connor said that even with the lack of inventory, the demand for homes is strong.
“If you start off at a reasonable price, you’re more apt to get multiple offers going well above, but we’re still seeing properties go for, $30,000 or $50,000 or more over list price,” said O’Connor.
There is also pressure on the market locally for new homes. The CEO of the Rochester Home Builders Association, Rick Herman, said that there are a few factors impacting the supply of new homes.
“Our biggest one is lack of qualified workers in construction trades that are out there, there’s just not enough people,” and Herman added that, ”The second is that we still have some supply chain issues on certain things.”
Herman said another issue new homebuyers run into is the amount of time it takes for zoning changes for property to get through the municipal government process.
“Bringing it really to the local level, the town supervisors, and the planning board commissions and zoning officers that are out there and making them understand the big picture and how things funnel up from their desks,” said Herman.
Both O’Connor and Herman said their associations along with other stakeholders are in the process of looking for solutions to increase the amount of available housing.
