Ithaca (Watertown, Dryden, Accord: middle-class, real estate market, condo)

[Kathealy]

I have been perusing the yahoo online real estate ads for homes in Ithaca (and surrounding locales).

While I understand we are in a depressed market here in NY (I am currently on Long Island), I found it curious that many of the same homes have been on the market since August. And, of those homes -- not many have reduced their price.

Would anyone know why this is? Thanks in advance!

[vicarian]

Something that might factor into that is that Ithaca's housing demand tends to be more inelastic; having two good-sized colleges in the area means there's always some form of a housing demand for their faculty and staff.

According to Forbes, home prices are still rising in Ithaca.
Best Middle-Class Housing Markets - Forbes.com

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by vicarian

Something that might factor into that is that Ithaca's housing demand tends to be more inelastic; having two good-sized colleges in the area means there's always some form of a housing demand for their faculty and staff.

According to Forbes, home prices are still rising in Ithaca.
Best Middle-Class Housing Markets - Forbes.com

As well as a community college in nearby Dryden.

[Kathealy]

Thanks for both of your posts. But if the real estate market is inelastic / in demand, how does this explain a house on the market for a solid 6 months?


And, I did read that article from Forbes. I was left wanting more depth of information; it left me intrigued!

[davidmil]

Ithaca area did not feel the crunch as soon as the rest of rural NY. The prices have held and building/growth continued when other areas became depressed. I think you'll see a slow down in that area soon. My buddy moved from Watertown to the area. He has one of the better established builders building him a very nice upscale home there. His builder has been in business for 30 years. He says this is the first time in 30 years he hasn't had another house to start. Another builder in the neighborhood said the same basic thing. Prices in Ithaca have been much higher than most of rural NY. It was voted one of the top cities to live in in the US recently.

[havoc315]

The mere fact that a house has been sitting on the market since August without price reductions could mean many things. Yes, it could mean the house is overpriced.

But it could also mean:
-- The seller does not really have to sell, unless they get the price they want.
-- Seller had offer(s) that fell through, possibly because the buyers couldn't qualify for a mortgage.
-- Seller wasn't ready to accept particular offers.

Furthermore, the spring generally has the reputation of being the hottest time for the real estate market. So if they have only been on the market since the late summer, they might be waiting to test the spring housing market before making a price reduction.

And even if a seller hasn't reduced their official listing price, it doesn't mean they won't entertain offers that are significantly short of the asking price. If you're interested, it doesn't hurt to make the low offer.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by havoc315

The mere fact that a house has been sitting on the market since August without price reductions could mean many things. Yes, it could mean the house is overpriced.

But it could also mean:
-- The seller does not really have to sell, unless they get the price they want.
-- Seller had offer(s) that fell through, possibly because the buyers couldn't qualify for a mortgage.
-- Seller wasn't ready to accept particular offers.

Furthermore, the spring generally has the reputation of being the hottest time for the real estate market. So if they have only been on the market since the late summer, they might be waiting to test the spring housing market before making a price reduction.

And even if a seller hasn't reduced their official listing price, it doesn't mean they won't entertain offers that are significantly short of the asking price. If you're interested, it doesn't hurt to make the low offer.

All very good points. In that area, I wouldn't think many people would move there in the winter, considering it is a college town.

[Kathealy]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all of the responses.

[tchemgrrl]

Agreed with all of this. There's a lot of places around town that are selling fast (I'd just made an appointment to look at a place that ended up being on the market for *one day*). They're reasonably priced and in good condition, and people are happy to snap them up.

There are a relatively few places, on the other hand, that stay on the market for a long time, and this time of year they stick out more because there aren't many new houses coming up. Mostly they're just overpriced, even for the market as it was a year ago (my impression is that the market here is pretty stable, which was mentioned upthread as well). I've looked at a couple of those houses, hoping there was something redeeming in them, but I haven't bought a house yet, so you can tell what I thought of them.

In some cases, they're being rented indefinitely, so what's the rush? In other cases, I suspect that people don't actually want to sell the house, for sentimental reasons. One or two would be easily worth the price if it weren't for a bad location or some environmental hazard scaring off buyers, and I could easily picture sellers comparing their house to a place a few blocks away and insisting they're worth the same.

I think that houses like that exist everywhere. There was a condo just down the street from me when I lived in Wisconsin that was on the market for a year--great location, good size for someone starting out, but priced just a bit higher than similar places, so it sat. It's the same case here.

[Kathealy]

Thanks so much for the information.