If you've been watching headlines about a red-hot national housing market, our local numbers tell a different story. The Ithaca Board of REALTORS' June 2026 Monthly Indicators show a market that's quietly rebalancing — more choices for buyers, more patience required from sellers, and a few signals worth understanding before you list or make an … Continue reading From Seller’s Market to Balanced: What Tompkins County’s June 2026 Numbers Are Really Telling Us
If you're renting in Ithaca, please read this before you send anyone a dollar for a lease, a deposit, or a set of keys. I recently spotted another suspicious rental post on Nextdoor — the kind that's becoming all too common in our area. A property was listed "for rent" by someone claiming to represent … Continue reading Rental Scams Are Getting Smarter — And They’re Hitting Closer to Home
Pip: Lindsay Hart knows that buying a home in the Finger Lakes is exciting — and that "exciting" is doing a lot of heavy lifting once the utility bills arrive.Mara: Hart is Where Your Home is has been working through exactly that gap — the distance between what buyers expect and what ownership actually costs. … Continue reading Podcast Episode: Finger Lakes Home Buying Reality
Pip: Lindsay Hart knows the Finger Lakes the way a good contractor knows which walls are load-bearing — and today's posts are about what actually moves a home from listed to sold. Mara: Lindsay covers the full seller's journey here: what to fix before you list, what questions sellers are asking right now, and what … Continue reading Selling Homes With Strategy- a quick podcast
If you’re preparing to sell a home in the Finger Lakes, the question usually is not simply, “Should I renovate?” It is: Which improvements will help this particular home compete for its likely buyer—and which ones risk spending money you will not get back? The right answer depends on your home’s condition, price range, location, … Continue reading Should You Renovate Before Selling in the Finger Lakes?
Whether the Finger Lakes market is moving quickly, slowing down, or simply becoming more selective, sellers still have meaningful control over how their home competes. You cannot control interest rates, the number of competing listings, buyer confidence, or the weather on the weekend your home launches. But you can control the decisions that shape a … Continue reading What Sellers Control in Any Market
Pip: Lindsay Hart is a realtor who apparently decided that "here's a listing" wasn't enough — so she built a full research department instead. Mara: Lindsay has been digging into Tompkins County from two angles: what the market has actually done over the past seven years, and how to figure out which neighborhood you'd actually … Continue reading Podcast Episode: Tompkins County Housing Guide
I recently dug into... about seven years of regional real estate data across the Finger Lakes — not just one county and not just lakefront properties. This dataset includes residential homes, duplexes, and waterfront properties across fourteen counties. And when you look at the numbers together, a really clear story starts to emerge. YearMedian List … Continue reading The REAL Story of the FLX Real Estate Market
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make. Whether this is your first time or you've done this before, our job is to make sure you feel informed, supported, and never alone in the process. Our team has deep roots in the Finger Lakes and Tompkins County, and we … Continue reading Hart & Homes is a dedicated real estate team in the Finger Lakes
This guide for buyers in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes emphasizes the importance of understanding neighborhood characteristics, which can vary significantly even within short distances. It highlights factors such as school districts, tax differences, and property values to assist buyers in making informed decisions. The current real estate market shows stabilizing prices around $380K, with a shift towards more selective buyers. The guide also offers insights on different neighborhoods and advice for navigating the buying process, while providing a fair-value analysis service.
