The Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® Releases 4th Quarter 2013 Residential Housing Statistics

ROCHESTER, NY - January 17, 2014 - Fourth Quarter 2013 statistics were released today by the Genesee Region Real Estate Information Services (GENRIS), the information subsidiary of the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® (GRAR).

The momentum from the three earlier quarters offset a sluggish fourth, ending 2013 with solid gains overall.  The Greater Rochester Multiple Listing Service (MLS) saw a 4.7% increase in the number of homes, condos and townhouses sold to 11,267 units as compared to 10,765 the previous year.  Pending sales also grew by 4.1% year-over-year to 11,350, up from 10,904 in 2012.
Area homes steadily continued to gain value, indicated by a modest 1.8% climb to $127,200 overall.  Median home prices in the City of Rochester specifically posted a 5.3% gain to $78,900.  Neighboring counties generally followed suit, with Wyoming and Steuben outpacing the norm, reporting sales increases of 21.1% and 16.7% respectively.
According to GRAR President, Andy Burke, the biggest factor driving the success of 2013 was continued historic low interest rates and the surprising lack of inventory of homes for sale. "Homeowners continue to delay any moves to downsize or upsize their lifestyles.  This hesitation to sell created low inventory and helped to drive up home prices, with multiple offers very common in 2013," he said.
The region closed out 2013 with a slow final quarter, posting 2583 homes sold, a 3.7% decline as compared to the previous year's same period. The number of homes on the market dropped 10% in the fourth quarter to 4,406, continuing the trend of low inventory.
"The last three months of the year typically ushers in the real estate off-season in our market.  That, coupled with the aftermath of the government shutdown in October and early periods of severe winter, helps to explain the lackluster end to the year, Burke remarked."
"Industry experts are predicting more slow but steady growth for this year, citing a decent job market and continued improvement of the economy overall, spurring consumer confidence, GRAR CEO, Jim Yockel says, "but they caution that factors such as higher mortgage interest rates, new lending rules and major federal housing legislation in the pipeline will affect the real estate industry, but how remains to be seen, he continued."