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CNY housing market dips but a boost may be on the horizon

House for sale Syracuse, NY Feb. 28 (photo by Max Mimaroglu)
Maxwell Mimaroglu
House for sale Syracuse, NY Feb. 28 (photo by Max Mimaroglu)

The CNY housing marking is off to a slow start this new year. Demand dropped 3% in January, with the median price hitting its lowest level since last May at $172,000.

But Lynnore Fetyko of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors said that’s not too worrisome as sales typically ramp up again around March.

“Folks are out there looking and there’s multiple offers on homes, some homes. And they’ve just decided to maybe take a pause, especially during the winter, to see maybe what’s coming on in the spring,” she said.

That’s a change from the record-high costs and demand seen amid the pandemic. Back then some buyers even waived home inspections just to get a leg up with multiple competing offers.

Fetyko said this may be signaling a return to more standard conditions in the market. Generally, more homes are listed in the spring and sold as summer approaches. However, since the start of the pandemic, the housing market has found itself in uncharted territory.

"This whole market phase that we've been going through is something we've never seen before, so to predict going forward is very difficult," she said.

While demand has still been high even as inventory is low, the median sales price has been dropping since last August before hitting January's low.