Upstate New York Real Estate Trends Entering Spring

Upstate New York is largely considered everything north of the New York City metropolitan area, a large stretch of land encompassing the vast majority of the state’s area. It is a diverse and beautiful region known for natural scenery like the Adirondack and Catskill mountain ranges and cities like Buffalo and Rochester. While it may not have the frenzied real estate market New York City has, Upstate New York is also a significant source of buyer activity.

Winter is typically when the real estate market settles down, particularly in places like New York, where the snows are deep and the weather is frigid. But once the ice melts, buyer activity resumes its frenetic pace, and the cycle begins again. Let’s look at the current shape of Upstate New York’s real estate market as we move ahead towards spring.

Urban Trends

2021 was a big year for the New York real estate market, with a large increase in overall sales and pricing. Much of that can be traced to New York City, where 2021 was an absolute banner year. Let’s do a quick dive into how some of the urban markets outside of the Big Apple performed in 2021.

Buffalo is the second biggest city in the state and typically an extremely affordable market. 2021 marked a big year for Buffalo’s real estate market, which has continued in the early days of 2022. In January 2022, the median listing home price in Buffalo was $170,000, according to Realtor.com. This was a 17.2% increase year-over-year. Interestingly, even with that increase, homes sold for 2.72% above the asking price in January 2022 on average.

Rochester is another major market in Upstate New York experiencing significant growth. According to Roofstock, home values in Rochester rose 14.5% over the last year to a median listing price of $145,000. This marks sustained growth in the region, as home values in Rochester have risen by 48% over the past five years.

Albany is New York’s capital city, a growing town with an emerging real estate market. Prices have been steadily rising throughout 2021, and in January 2022, they reached an all-time high for the month, with a median sales price of $230,000, according to Redfin. This was an 8.5% increase year-over-year.

Across Upstate New York, secondary urban markets see their home values rise. This could be due to increased interest from buyers in getting out of big cities, a lack of housing supply across the country, or the growth of the cities themselves.

Rural Trends

One of the driving appeals of Upstate New York is the natural scenery. It is the perfect place for a summer vacation with deep forests and towering mountains. COVID-19 dramatically impacted people’s desire to be in a congested city, and that is part of the reason some rural markets in Upstate New York have found themselves experiencing a resurgence. Many residents of New York City are purchasing property in areas like the Catskills and Adirondack to have home options in a spacious, scenic environment.

Ulster County is a region that has many of the most beautiful outdoor landscapes in New York, with the Catskills, Hudson River, and numerous state parks. Their market has surged and continues to do so entering 2022. According to Rocket Homes, the median sales price of a home in Ulster County has reached $349,811, marking a massive 27.2% increase since January of 2021. While the number of homes sold was down, this has to do with the sparse inventory of the area being ill-equipped to keep up with high demand.

In a very similar situation is Sullivan County. Sullivan County is also in the Catskills and is becoming an exceedingly popular real estate market. According to a different report by Rocket Homes, the median sales price in Sullivan County was $250,028 in January, a 25.6% increase year over year. This comes at a time when the number of homes for sale has declined by 10%.

Upstate New York is a naturally gorgeous environment, and for people looking to escape the concrete jungle, it is a great option. While homes remain mostly affordable, prices across urban and rural Upstate New York are rising.