VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Onondaga County residents experience high housing prices
Jackson Cowen: According to Zillow, the average sale price of a house in Onondaga County is just under $255,000. A 30-year homeowner, Mike Moran, says young people should start saving now.
Mike Moran: Save for that down payment. That’s the killer. My sons have bought houses recently, and the down payment was the hurdle to get over.
Cowen: Moran, who lives in the town of Geddes, says he bought his first house over 30 years ago, for $44,000. Now however, high prices nationwide have increased the median age of first time homebuyers. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median age of first-time homebuyers is at an all-time high. This year it rose to 38, after being just 35 years old last year.
Cowen: Central New York real estate broker Ben Gray says part of the reason for high prices is a supply and demand issue in the region.
Ben Gray: The number of homes that are being listed has continued to decrease, and the number of buyers has continued to increase. So the supply and demand is really off right now. The shortage of homes is significant.
Cowen: Zillow says the median sale price in Onondaga County is $100,000 less than the national average. Moran says he hopes this can help people to find a way to buy houses in the region.
Moran: It’s hard to save up that kind of money. I just wish people good luck, and we need them to buy houses and stay in Syracuse.
Cowen: In Syracuse, Jackson Cowen, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Onondaga County residents are finding higher listing prices for homes. The trend of increased home buying costs has gone up nationally.
The median cost of a home is just under $250,000, according to Zillow. That price number increased 10% in the last year.
One longtime Geddes resident, Mike Moran, said young people should start saving as soon as possible.
“Save for that down payment. That’s the killer,” Moran said. “My sons have bought houses recently, and the down payment was the hurdle to get over.”
Moran said he bought his first house for $45,000. A stark contrast from the median cost in Onondaga County now.
High home prices mixed with limited demand has made it hard for people to buy homes in Onondaga County. Ben Gray, a real estate broker, said there is not enough supply to go around.
“The number of homes that are being listed has continued to decrease, and the number of buyers has continued to increase,” Gray said. “So the supply and demand is really off right now. The shortage of homes is significant.”
Gray said the cost of the housing market is hard to access for many families in Onondaga County.
“There is a good chance that if people have two car payments and student loans, their debt is more than $1,500 a month, so people are renting longer because they simply can’t afford it with the income debt ratios that exist right now,” Gray said.
He used $1,500 as a reference point for the average expenses for a couple who live together.
Despite the increased costs in the county, the national median is over $100,000 higher than the median in Onondaga County.
A recent report from the National Association of Realtors said the median age of first-time homebuyers is at an all-time high. That age is 38.
Moran said he hopes people can find ways to buy homes and stay in the region.
“It’s hard to save up that kind of money. I just wish people good luck, and we need them to buy houses and stay in Syracuse,” Moran said.