Ithaca-NY real estate filter

April 2, 2007 9:09 AM

Can anyone characterize the current real estate market in Ithaca, NY as "buyer's market", "seller's market", soft, vigorous, etc? and/or back up with 'days on market' type stats?

I am trying to help friends find a home to buy in Ithaca during grad school and seem able only to access ancient data or the self-serving, intentionally obfuscating crap realtors post to lure in the unsuspecting. (Sometimes, google seems worse than useless!)

I am seeking very recent experience in home buying in Ithaca (close to Cornell, if possible) and a sense of the general single family home market there. Any mefites buy/sell a home in Ithaca recently? (Additional info: 150-200K price range, first time buyers).

More to the point... where is info like this generally available to the non-realtor? Certainly, it's public domain to some degree, and perhaps it's just my limited imagination at work, but I can't envision any source other than realtors to whom it would be worth compiling it AND making it publically available in a real-time manner. Am I overlooking something obvious?

posted by FauxScot to home & garden (11 comments total)

You could try Zillow.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 9:46 AM on April 2, 2007

How much info do you want? You can find all county tax assessment data here . Assessment is 90% of fair market value.
That's a lot of info to go through though.
posted by cushie at 10:23 AM on April 2, 2007

It's a sellers market for one reason and one reason only - college students.

A lot of these single family homes are being purchased and converted into rental units. Since these homes are seen as money makers, you're going to have to pay slightly more for them than other housing. You're not going to pay insane prices but you are going to poor more for a home near Cornell than something further down 13 or near the lake.

Also, homes in outlying towns on the way to cortland or elmira have great homes for great prices if you don't mind the drive to Ithaca.
posted by Stynxno at 10:58 AM on April 2, 2007

Are you really sure grad school is the time to be buying a first home? I'm not saying these folks should put their lives on hold, but it would be difficult to recover the closing and selling costs in the relatively short time frame they'd be living there. Any potential for appreciation will be tempered by Ithaca's 4%/year property taxes (source).
posted by backupjesus at 11:48 AM on April 2, 2007

I've got a couple of friends who've had some recent Ithaca house transactions -- I think I might be able dig up some of the specific information you're asking for.

I haven't actually bought a house in Ithaca, but I have been window shopping for a while. Based on the homes that I've seen for sale, I think your friends can probably get something quite nice in their price range. They'll do better to look in the non-student neighborhoods: Belle Sherman, Fall Creek, Northside, Downtown/Central, and Southside (a guide to Ithaca neighborhoods).

Stynxno is right that the houses are much cheaper if you go out of town. Because it's a college town, Ithaca is more affluent (and expensive) then the surrounding area. But remember, this is upstate New York -- lovely, scenic, but severely economically depressed. Drive 20-45 minutes out of town in any direction, and you're going to see some pretty bad rural poverty. Of course, if your friends want a little social isolation (all the better to work on the dissertation?) or a few acres of land, it might be worthwhile to live out in the sticks.

Anyway, let me ask around and get back to you ...
posted by ourobouros at 1:12 PM on April 2, 2007

If they'll be there for PhDs (5+ yrs) it would almost certainly be worth it. Rents in Ithaca (for reasonably nice places) are higher than they should be as compared to the price of buying.

Houses in Ithaca proper, especially Fall Creek, Belle Sherman, and other neighborhoods with good schools, will almost always be saleable because there's such high turnover in the area (exactly because of grad students and new faculty). Though, be aware that the property assessments have been going up a lot in the last 10 years there.

IMO, they shouldn't buy right next to the university (eg just uphill of College Ave) since they'll pay a huge premium. Buying downtown or in another area accessible by a 10 minute bus ride would probably make more sense.

Incidentally, CFCU credit union would be the first place I would to look for a loan.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:17 PM on April 2, 2007

Thanks, all..

She's a PhD student... for the next 5 years. He's a highly portable IT pro. Worst case scenario is loss minimization, with either break-even or any profit being better than rent.

The 4% property tax rate is a hefty hit, though, and great info to have.

I'm directing them here for the great answers and suggestions.
posted by FauxScot at 2:53 PM on April 2, 2007

I was recently visiting a friend there, and I used to live there, too. Anecdotally (as in, I have no numbers to back this up whatsoever, but my friend had been looking at houses and told me so), prices remain high, and houses are selling fast, at least in neighborhoods like Fall Creek and Belle Sherman.

The further out you go, the cheaper prices get, but at the same time the commute in the winter can be pretty miserable, and Cornell charges an arm and a leg for parking permits. (According to the Cornell parking webpage, an annual parking permit is currently $644.10.)

Utilities are also really expensive, and a lot of older houses are poorly insulated and drafty. So the winter heating oil bills can be a huge shock to people used to warmer climates and cheaper utilities. Not all houses in all neighborhoods come with off-street parking, and Ithaca has funny parking rules (at least in the winter, you have to move your car from one side of the street to the other every day; in big snow storms some streets become no-parking because of snow plows, etc).

In some neighborhoods many houses have (legal and/or illegal) "mother in law" apartments that can be rented to students, which makes a big difference in paying the mortgage. Also keep in mind that Ithaca has had some big swings in housing prices over the past few decades, and riding out the big dips takes time.
posted by Forktine at 5:04 PM on April 2, 2007

Former Cornell undergrad here, graduated in '06.

First of all, if you're going to far off-campus, try to find a house on a bus route. Last year I lived in a rental property on the 50 route and that worked very well for me.

A good grad-student friend of mine just sold a condo in that formerly-hippie-commune condo development off of 366 (I forget the name, but it's on the east side of town and has street names like "Lois Lane." Common Land maybe?) I'm not in regular contact with her at this point, but I can definitely ask her for details on her experience selling and report back.
posted by Alterscape at 5:50 PM on April 2, 2007

I'd love as much info as anyone can dig up. This is great intelligence and very useful. Thanks alterscape, if you can get more info, and likewise, ourobouros.
posted by FauxScot at 7:39 PM on April 2, 2007

Ok, I'm back with some more info from my friend (who apparently follows Ithaca real estate as a hobby). She says:

"Since 9/11 the price of houses in general went up and up (maybe 30-40% higher than pre 9/11 depending on the neighborhood and other factors). Prices were at an all time peak about two years ago and there was clearly an under supply. There were bidding wars on any decent house and they flew off the market. Recently the price has come down (I would say 20% from two years ago), but houses still move fairly quickly ...

"Also, you can look up what all houses are assessed for & sold for in any neighborhood and for any year in the assessment office. It's great!"

After this, she started giving me some hot tips on specific houses she knows that the owners are eager to sell. If you want more info, email me -- info in the profile.
posted by ourobouros at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2007