Is the Finger Lakes housing market cooling off? Real estate brokers explain (video)

Realtor Larry Salvato is showing a property on Parish Road in Honeoye Falls.  Salvato is a sales manager with the ReMax Plus RPP Sold team.

He says the Finger Lakes housing market is still hot, despite rising interest rates and other economic woes.

“If you’re talking about Canandaigua Lake, you have a certain buyer who can afford the taxes and things like that,” Salvato said. “Now anything from 500 and below, for example in Canandaigua, that goes quick.  There’s nothing that’s sitting on past delayed negotiations.  They’re gone.”

Real estate brokers say FLX housing market is balancing out (video)

Fewer offers are coming in on houses

Broker associate Robert Piazza Palotto explains his perception of where the housing market is right now.

“Even though it’s still a seller’s market we may not have as many offers,” said Piazza Palotto. “So rather than having twenty or fifteen, we’re probably having eight to twelve.”

He says this ties into increased interest rates. 

“They’ve gone for 3.25 to almost 5.25 to almost 5, and now they’re back down a little bit,” he said. “When you look at interest rates, the buying power it’s really on the buying power what a buyer can actually purchase today.  Typically your 250k buyer is now like a 180k buyer.”

More: RENT TRENDS: High mortgage rates could mean fewer homebuyers, more renters and steeper costs

Buyers have been discouraged

Piazza Palotto provides one reason we could see a change in the market.  

“Less affordability,” he said.  “Those buyers that were able to buy in that 200k-300k or whatever price range they were at, are seeing that maybe they’re not so much and some people are getting discouraged in regards to that.”

Education is key when buying a home

At the end of the day, they urge buyers to have real conversations with their agents and brokers.

“Inventory is starting to climb a little bit, however the demand for buyers wanting these homes is still much higher so it goes back again to educating the client, have them understand what the market really is, and how to get them in there and having them be able to put their best offer first,” Piazza Palotto said.

More: Housing Market: Where are housing prices expected to drop in the next year?

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