Central New Yorkers are grappling with higher prices across the board.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Rent prices in Syracuse have grown faster than those in New York City over the past two years, according to new data from Zillow. That’s an increase of over 26% since July 2020. For comparison, New York City’s rents have grown just 21% since then. Syracuse’s rate of rent growth has also outpaced the national average since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keif Timmins, an agent at Warren Real Estate’s Ithaca office, says Syracuse has always been an undervalued market, but more people are investing in property than ever before.
“With the rise of COVID, people wanted to put their money into something besides the dollar and invest in real estate more. With that being said, supply and demand means a lot of people are investing more in Syracuse and that causes the prices to go up,” Timmins said.
Dating back to January 2014, Zillow has used listed rents and proprietary techniques to create a rent index for larger U.S. metro areas. Looking back at the company’s initial data, rents in Syracuse have soared 57% since 2014, compared to 39.8% in New York City.
“Syracuse historically has been an undervalued market and has been cheap compared to other places in New York,” Timmins added. “Some higher rent prices also come from the landowners matching other higher prices around them or even offloading increased utility and operating costs to the renter.”
The country’s inflation rate of 8.3% means prices are up across the board. Gas, groceries, baby formula, and, of course, rent, are costing Central New Yorkers more.
Carly Verrette, a Syracuse resident, says it’s been difficult to grapple with inflation, even though she would consider herself financially stable.
“Inflation is still affecting me. It’s hard to get basic things…and I end up spending more on those basic things,” she said.
Chris Benson, a FedEx package handler, says increased prices for his commute and groceries are stretching him thin, but there’s nothing he can do about it.
According to the latest government report, food prices are up 13.1% from this time last year.
However, as steep as rent and price hikes in Syracuse have been, the region is still nowhere near the top of the list nationwide.