Yates real estate sales consistent with 2018

TRI-COUNTY AREA--The real estate market throughout the Finger Lakes remained stable in 2019 compared to 2018. And many industry executives expect more of the same for 2020. According to statistics compiled by the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, Yates County, sales in 2019 were 260, the same as 2018 while median housing prices were down less than 1 percent from $169,900 in 2018 to $169,000 in 2019. New listings in Yates County increased 3.8 percent to 414 compared to 399 for 2018.
"The market in Yates has been pretty stable, and I think the new listings are a positive indicator for the housing market," said Julie Franzese, director of communications and marketing for the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors.
Stan Olevnik, licensed real estate agent for Howard Hanna Lake Group, said that not only are his sales on the lake tourism based, but many off the lake are as well.
"I think Yates is one of the stronger players in the tourism industry whether through the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council, the Chamber of Commerce and more. We have a lot of components from our area driving tourism including the wineries and the breweries and increasing craft food industry," Olevnik said.
Without manufacturing jobs in Yates, Olevnik said that tourism is the main driver for the real estate market.
"Our farms are pretty much set in place with no new farms really coming. We are limited to what we do have but we do have a tremendous travel industry that brings people and makes them want to stay," Olevnik said.
"There aren't a lot of houses out there and unfortunately that translates to the seller thinking that they should be getting a premium for their home. It will always play out to the fact that good houses are going to sell and houses that have deferred maintenance are going to struggle to sell and that isn't going to change regardless of the market," said Olevnik.
In order for the real estate market to grow Olevnik said that new housing developments need to be constructed as buyers are interested in new homes.
For 2020, Olevnik said he expects another strong year.
"There are plenty of people looking to buy in this area, options will continue to be limited due to slow supply but that won't slow the buyers down," Olevnik said.
In Hammondsport, the median price of homes sold in 2019 increased 11.65 percent compared to 2018 with the same number of closed sales. There were 10.22 percent fewer houses for sale according to statistics compiled by the Elmira Corning Real Estate Board.
"It's a small nice village with nice period homes that are well maintained with very high property taxes and a nice small school that is very popular," said Vikki Schamel, licensed real estate agent for Keller Williams Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.
Schamel added she expects more of the same for Hammondsport in 2020 due to its tourism appeal but cautioned that property taxes should be closely monitored.
For 2019 the median sale price in Hammondsport totaled $182,000 compared to $163,000 for the prior year. The number of homes sold remained static at 35 despite only 79 houses being available for sale compared to the 88 available in 2018.
"Hammondsport has a great little village culture and attracts tourists while providing a good quality of life for the people that live there," Schamel said.
Compared to 2018 the Schuyler County real estate market was up 10.18 percent and the median price of homes sold increased 4.3 percent. There was an 8 percent drop in inventory of available homes according to statistics compiled by the Elmira Corning Real Estate Board. Despite the increase the market is considered in a moment of stability, and expectations for 2020 fall in line with the numbers for 2019.
"We are very happy with last year, it was a small increase but it was stable. It doesn't take much to see a change in a small market and we did not see a large increase or decrease," said Lisa Lilley, president of the Corning Elmira Board Association of Realtors.
For 2019, Schuyler County had 264 homes for sale with 119 closed sales at a median price of $145,000. In 2018, there were 287 homes for sale with 108 closed sales for a median price of $139,000.