Well, with only 9 weeks left (!) in the year and lots of talk recently about real estate and affordable housing I thought this would be a good time to take a look at the overall residential market here in Ithaca and Tompkins County to see where we stand compared to last year and the years prior. We live in a highly insulated area, where the economy is strong and real estate values are a reflection of that.
There are some conclusions that can be formed from the following stats courtesy of the Ithaca Board of REALTORS mls. (multiple listing service)
First we’ll take a look at the overall market. The Ithaca Board of REALTORs MLS covers Tompkins and the surrounding 6 counties and the following residential sold stats include all of them.
For the past 4-5 years, the Ithaca Board of REALTORS multiple listing services reports that approx 1000 residential units sell. And the values in our area rise steadily and evenly, there are no huge price swings either way. The average and median prices indicate that… if there were a huge disparity between median and average then that would indicate severe prices.
Currently, the average house sells for about $200,000 and YTD 859 residences sold. There are 138 residential properties under contract waiting to close. If those properties close within the calendar year, then we’ll see 997 residential properties sell. That’s less than the last 4 years. This could mean one of two things… 1. Inventory is low and the houses are just not there to buy. 2. Increasing prices and lack of quality houses have kept buyers out of the market. There are stats to prove that inventory is low.
Drilling down further, we’ll take a look at Tompkins County ONLY residential sales.
Again, year over year, prices increase steadily… VALUES increase steadily, making the home you own valuable and that’s a good thing! Your home, your property is an asset. In Tompkins County, the average sale price is $259,700. The median or middle is $231,000. That is not a huge difference so that tells me the most homes are selling in that range and there aren’t crazy high or low prices skewing the average from the median.
Right now there are 48 properties in Tompkins county specifically, under contract, waiting to close. If they close by year end, that only brings us to 623 residences sold; well under the previous 6 years. That is indicative of a lack of inventory.
Buyer and consumer confidence is up, employment is steady, buyers have down payments and they are taking this opportunity to “move up” into a larger home or a higher tier of home prices. I have seen many of those this year and more homes in the $200-$250,000 range sell this year than last. Tompkins County provides value and its reflected in the area’s housing values and in the demand to be in the area.
Drilling down even further into the City of Ithaca real estate market…
Again, the trend of values increasing and number of homes sold decreasing. The average sold price of $264,800 is not far off from the median sold price of $254,500. That indicates the largest number of homes is sold within that price range. There are currently 7 properties sale pending. If closed before the new year, that puts the total residential properties sold within the City limits at 101.
Are you curious how the lake market is doing? The lake draws a lot of folks to this area and a lot of long time residents are fulfilling a dream of owning a lake home on Cayuga Lake. The following are residential sales for Cayuga Lake properties. 
The year isn’t over yet so we could see that average sold price rise before 2018.
If you are curious about how your property compares or maybe you’ve been thinking about selling but aren’t sure, send me an email Lindsay@HartandHomes.com or give me a call (607) 227-5990 and I’d be more than happy to talk to you about the local real estate market, your house, and the process.
When you love what you do, it’s not a job.
