Median home sales price goes to $168K

FINGER LAKES--The median price of a home sold in Yates County is up 8.3 percent for the first 6 months of the year vs. the same time period last year.
The greater Rochester multiple listing service reports the median sales price for a Yates home between Jan. 18 and July 19 of this year was $168,000. Last year between Jan. 18 and July 20, the median price was $155,000. This is an increase of 8.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of homes sold in Yates County during the first half of the year stayed nearly the same. There were 109 closed sales during the six month period this year and 107 last year, up 1.8 percent.
Jim Moon, an owner and broker for Howard Hanna Lake Group, said buyers are looking at fewer homes before making purchase offers. He explained this is in part of because people have access to more information online about the houses that are for sale. With the additional property information, some decisions are made before the houses are viewed.
"They're offering closer to the asking price," said Moon. "More than we've seen ever."
"This summer there has been a lot of extra traffic," said Moon about interested home buyers. "They're coming from out of state, across the country."
Moon added he is starting to see more cash purchase offers and potential buyers asking for fewer contingencies to finalize a sale. He said this has already been a trend in larger markets such as Rochester.
"When homes hit the market, they tend to go relatively quickly," added Stacey Parrish, owner and broker of Cabins to Castles Real Estate in Schuyler County. "It's beneficial if someone is looking to sell."
She explained it is not uncommon for sellers to receive multiple purchase offers as soon as a home is listed for sale. Having several potential buyers, Parrish explained it is more important than ever to be pre-approved for a mortgage.
Home sales in Schuyler County are down 38.3 percent for the first half of 2018, while the median price experienced little change.
Lori Shaylor, executive officer for the Elmira-Corning Regional Association of Realtors, said there were 37 single family homes sold in Schuyler County from January to June of 2018. During the same time last year, Shaylor said 60 home sales were reported, which is down 38.3 percent.
The median sales price fluctuated nearly a single percentage point. The Elmira-Corning association reported the median price in Schuyler County for the first half of this year was $134,000. In 2017, the price was $135,300, down .9 percent.
"Keep in mind that a drop in median price doesn't mean that property values decreased," Shaylor explained. "The median price simply indicates what price the 'middle' sale in that time period happened to be."