By Anja Wright, NYS Licensed Real Estate Broker, Co-founder
At the start of the year Realtor.com said the Buffalo Niagara real estate market will dominate 2023.
Now that the first quarter is over, let’s see how that prediction is holding up.
For the Buffalo-Niagara Region, Realtor.com projected sales growth of 6.3%, meaning that 6.3% more homes will be listed for sale on the market.
And they projected home prices to go up by 6%.
In 2022, in the first quarter there were 635 single family homes for sale in Erie and Niagara counties combined.
In the first quarter of 2023 the number of single family homes available has finally increased!
By March’s end there were 774 homes for sale in Erie and Niagara counties altogether.
This is a big 18% jump year over year, compared to the smaller 6.3% projected by Realtor.com.
The 2022 Q1 median sale price was $205,000 and the average sale price was $238,108.
The median sale price of a single family home so far in 2023 is $208,775 and the average sale price is $245,086.
Keep in mind that real estate sales that are reported may have contracts that were signed 3 or more months ago so the price figures might be lagging.
So far the median price of Erie and Niagara county single family only went up by 1.8% and the average price went up by 2.85%, much lower than the projected 6% by Realtor.com
Homeowners are still seeing their prices and equity go up.
But the silver lining here is for homebuyers since prices only went up slightly and there seems to be more homes on the way.
But that’s not the full picture!
How are higher interest rates affecting affordability in the Buffalo Niagara market?
According to Bank Rate, interest rates for New York on a 30 year fixed mortgage are around 6.46% APR.
So, let’s factor the median home price of $208,775 as our target sale price.
We’ll say you’re going to make a 5% down payment and the yearly taxes will be around $4,500.
So your monthly payment would be around $1,828.92.
When searching for homes keep in mind how comfortable the monthly mortgage payment is for you.
But also, if you’re a home seller thinking about what price you should list your home at, keep in mind affordability. It does impact the price you can get for your home.
Days on market is another important factor to consider.
In 2022, the median days on market of sold homes was 10 days
In 2023 the median days on market in the first quarter was 15 days
So what does this mean overall?
If you’re a home buyer, look for the homes that are sitting on the market longer, those will be the ones that you will have the best chances to negotiate a lower price.
And if you’re a seller, remember to always pay attention to your competition as home inventory goes up.
Homes sitting for longer periods of time means buyers can be more picky, especially if there are more houses to choose from and you don’t have multiple offers.
Even within the Erie Niagara market, remember that every house is unique.
Thank you for reading till the end.
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