Spring is often a time when home sales surge. A shortage of properties for sale in the Syracuse area, say local Real Estate officials, is leading to a sellers' market.
Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors President Dave Manzano Senior said home listings total just over 7650 in the region as of the end of March. That’s well below the 8500 or more just after the COVID pandemic. Competition for desirable properties has meant real estate agents are still seeing bidding wars at times.
Manzano has found aggressive buyers trying to tip things in their favor.
“I'm finding that the cash buyers are still paying at or over the list price on the ones that are the cuties that are going within that 7-to-10-day window. However, there are sellers out there that are willing to take the risk if the finance buyer is respectively higher than the cash buyer,” said Manzano.
In some cases, prospective buyers make offers over the appraised value of what a bank will finance. But Manzano said that is not deterring buyers who will cover that gap out of pocket. Many offers include escalator clauses that help one buyer outbid another.
He suggested it’s a good time to list a property for anyone wanting to sell, with homes averaging only 24 days on the market. Median prices are currently around $255,000 up from $193,000 at the beginning of 2023, an increase of more than 34% over three years.
Despite the brisk pace of sales and rising prices, “we are (seeing) some of the homes stay on the market that were priced a little too high,” said Manzano. Some took cues from the market shortly after the COVID pandemic. “Those are the ones that are making adjustments if they're pushing too high.”
Still Manzano said he wants to encourage those house-hunting, “Well, the best advice I would say to buyers, go out, take your time, be patient.” He also knows some shoppers will not want to compete in bidding wars, “you may not want to jump at the first thing that comes to market right away. But I can tell you, the (properties) that are around a little longer, those are the ones that may be a little more negotiable.”
As for the impact of the Micron plant, Manzano indicated realtors are seeing some impact in northern areas with escalating prices. But he expects the influx of employees in 8 to 12 months to further push prices higher.
Manzano said in his 37 years, this is the longest ‘sellers’ market’ stretch he can remember.
