BUFFALO, N.Y. — Those that live in the City of Good Neighbors, know what a great place it is to live. But, did you know that Buffalo is also considered a top city to buy an affordable home?
Forbes put out their list of 10 best cites to buy an affordable home and Buffalo ranked in their top 10. Even with interest rates and home prices still high, you can still buy an affordable home, the article stated.
2 On Your Side spoke with two prominent real estate professionals from Western New York who are really not surprised.
Vienna Laurendi, who is the President of the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors, told us, "Zillow had publicized that Buffalo, New York was at the time expected to be one of the hottest housing markets in the entire country for 2024 based on multiple factors — affordability, job creation new home construction, our medical campus of course."
Peter Hunt, President and CEO of Hunt Real Estate Corporation, added, "I think it's something we should be proud of that we have a product here that is less expensive than for a similar product in many other places — almost any other place in the country."
He added that with lower prices, "If I'm a homeowner, I might say, 'Well, gee, I'm getting cheated by owning a home here as opposed to owning a home, you know, in central Florida, or the coast of Florida, or something like that, so it's a double-edged sword. But I think long story short, it's good to know that we're a place where maybe a young person has a chance to buy a home where that's simply not the case in so many cities across the country."
The list was configured by several metrics including, median sale prices, homeowners costs, crime rate, dining and drink options, entertainment, homes for sales per 100,000 households, and new listings per 100,000 households.
The City of Buffalo ranked third on Forbes' list. It said Buffalo is one of the cheapest places to purchase a home and ranks eighth lowest in the analysis.
The article also highlights education, being a hub for foodies, and proximity to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Hunt said the old phrase location, location, location really applies to our Great Lakes setting.
"Our water asset is completely undervalued by us as citizens, but really valued by those that come into town. Some people say we have as much as 90 miles of undeveloped waterfront," Hunt said.
Both Hunt and Laurendi do note that higher property taxes can be a negative factor for the Buffalo area.
They also share the concern that there is a definite shortage of homes available to purchase in this area.
"We are still in that crunch of an inventory crisis," Laurendi said.
Hunt added: "Affordability, we're doing pretty well on. Availability is still going to be a problem, and I think that we as a community need to address."
Here's the full list of 10 best cities to buy an affordable home:
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Buffalo
- Huntsville, Ala.
- Oklahoma City
- Indianapolis
- El Paso, Texas
- Lexington, Ky.
- Louisville, Ky.
- Omaha, Neb.
You can read the full article here.