Sarah and Chad Zingler have been looking for their dream home in the East Amherst/Williamsville area for about a month now. “We don't have a house yet. So, that's how it's going,” Sarah explained.
They're not alone. Real estate agents like Mary Certo with M.J. Peterson said lots of buyers are in the same boat. “We don't have enough inventory to support what the buyer's demand is.” “We are down 22%. Last year, we had 4.9 months of inventory. That's how we know, by how many months’ supply we have. Now we have 3.2,” added Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors President, Sharon Ciminelli.
That’s good news for sellers like Brian Zastemposki. He said he had three offers on his home in Clarence on the first day. Ultimately, he said it sold for over the listed price. “It was quick. It was very quick. We put it on the market, did an open house that first weekend, and it was sold that day.”
Experts said sellers are turning to open houses more and more; meaning if a potential buyer wants a private showing ahead of the open house, they're out of luck. Zastempowski said that's how his realtor handled his home sale and it created a frenzy. “I guess it was nuts according to the neighbors. It was just people coming in. There was a line out the front door.”
We no longer have that market where you can have two or three days to think about it. Now going in, you have to know that it fits your budget and if you love it, you have to do it today,” said Certo.
So, what's causing the craze? Experts said mortgage interest rates remain low. But that's only part of it. “I think with the resurgence of Buffalo, there's a lot of new jobs with the medical campus and all that,” said Keller Williams Realty Agent, Nicholas Cortese. “There's a lot of people either coming back to Buffalo or coming to Buffalo period.”
