The Rochester housing market is still seeing strong demand, but fulfilling that demand is still a big challenge.
That was one of the main takeaways from an "economic forecast forum" sponsored by the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors on Wednesday. It brought hundreds of Realtors and those in related fields to the forum in Henrietta.
Jim Yockel, the CEO of the association, noted that it’s difficult to find a home, even in the $100,000 to $275,000 price range.
“And if you heard from some of the builders on the panel, it’s impossible to build a kind of normal, standard housing, like we’ve been, in that price range,” Yockel said. “And so we’re going to have to find ways to be creative to fill the need that is out there, because we can’t do what we’ve always been doing.”
Jim Barbato, the president of Pride Mark Homes, a local developer, said the local housing market is strong, in terms of demand for new homes.
“And that demand is still holding up, so as long as there’s demand there, we’ll find a way to meet it,” Barbato said. “But in today’s environment, the challenges of inflation have been significant, and fortunately the inflation has slowed down, so now the prices are high, but at least they’re predictable.”
Barbato said that besides the rising cost of materials, new home construction is hampered by a lack of available skilled workers.
Barbato added that another element that could speed construction of somewhat smaller, more affordable homes, is working with local municipalities to get changes in zoning in some communities.
The lack of enough homes at various price points can also be an impediment in trying to attract new businesses to move to the region, according to Matt Hurlbutt, president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise.
“We’ve got jobs available in the community right now," Hurlbutt said, "and we need more housing, from rental through ownership of all scales, so that we can have people working at the companies that we’re talking to.”
New data released by the Realtors Association shows that last year, sales of existing homes in the 11-county local housing market fell 16.5% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Mike O'Connor, the president of the Greater Rochester Realtors Association, said that a lack of inventory continues to be a drag on local housing sales. He expects those conditions to improve slightly later this year, but he is not looking for any bigger improvement until sometime in 2025.
But the median sales price continues to rise — it was up 10%, to $220,000 in 2023.
