Rochester realtors release 2Q report

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — So, how’s the housing market compared to this time last year? 

“It has become more competitive,” Michael O’Connor, current president of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors.

O’Connor said fewer homes are coming on the market, and more buyers are entering. 

“What’s been happening is we’re still seeing fewer listings… and more buyers entering the market,” he said.

In a nutshell, homes for sale are down, new listings are down, with median sale prices up, and the house affordability index up —all of this leading to higher costs for prospective buyers. 

“Which of course is driving up home prices to a level that we’ve never seen before,” he said.

And the forecast doesn’t look good. “We don’t see any downturn ahead. The interest rates have gone up considerably,” said O’Connor.

That is a big factor in folks deciding to not buy a home in this market. 

“It’s ridiculous,” said Jessica. She said she might be able to afford one —someday. 

“I can see myself buying a home. But I see myself being completely stressed out the entire time,”

Prices are up all over the economy, which affects the cost of upkeep. It’s why forever renter Wade Richards says he’s not changing. 

“It just seems so far off the mark of like (financially) that I could even put a down payment down,” said Richards.

O’Connor says one upside to this: It’s a great time to sell your home. “Your house will sell, and you’ll probably get above what it’s priced. Average people are getting about 115 percent of their list price,” he said.

For buyers, O’Connor does say to not give up. Be patient. If there’s one thing he knows it’s that your realtor will not give up on you. So hang in there. Chris Collura did. He said he and his family just got lucky on a new home. 

“I ended up putting an offer in below asking and we were able to come up with a deal,” he said.