By Aaron Gifford
In Skaneateles, a four-bedroom waterfront home is priced at $5.9 million. In Cazenovia, a sale contract for $1.19 million is pending on a six-bedroom Greek-revival style house surrounded by eight acres of rolling hills with views of Cazenovia Lake.
Both properties, though listed by local real estate agents, can also be viewed on the website for Sotheby’s International luxury real estate and homes, along with a number of homes from the Manlius and DeWitt areas that are priced between $500,000 and $1 million.
While it’s no surprise that the more expensive listings can be found in the most traditionally affluent Central New York communities in the four-county area, homes from many other communities of the region recently made it past Sotheby’s velvet rope.
In Auburn, for example, a nine-bedroom house in the city’s historic district is listed on the site for $584,900. In the city of Syracuse, two homes noted on the site are priced at more than $1 million. And in Scriba, Oswego County, a somewhat modest three-bedroom home on a .39-acre plot at the shore of Lake Ontario was recently listed for $999,999.
“Some have sold for even more than that, for over $1 million,” said William Galloway of Galloway Century 21 in Oswego. “In Scriba, it’s shocking at how beautiful and expensive waterfront homes can be.”
Mark Re, vice president and regional manager for Howard Hanna Real Estate’ Services’ Central and Northern New York region, said “there’s never been a better time to be in real estate in Central New York than right now. In five to 10 years, the Syracuse-Central New York area will be bigger than any other Upstate New York city.”
Re said a number of state clients recently looked at million-dollar homes in Clay and other suburbs north of Syracuse. Some of these folks don’t have any connections to this area, but they know this area is family-friendly with excellent schools and it’s a safe investment considering the growth Micron Technologies is expected to spur after it sets up shop here in the coming months.
“Three years ago, I would’ve said that’s [buying a $1 million home in Clay] risky,” Re said. “But now it’s not risky at all. All homes in that area are going to appreciate. I see this type of growth as a current-day Erie Canal. People are jazzed about moving to Central New York.”
Added Galloway, “We’ll have a lot of activity here when Micron gets rolling.”
Re said there has also been strong interest in subdivisions in both Southern Oswego County and the Oswego city outskirts. Homes on or near any waterways, especially Lake Ontario, always sell quickly. He also expects to see big sales in the more rural areas of Cayuga, Madison and Oswego counties from affluent hobby farmers and outdoor enthusiasts or families that prefer the main street feel of small towns.
In Hamilton, located on the far southeastern corner of Madison County just a few hundred yards where the 607-area code begins, a six-bedroom village home priced at $999,000 is noted on Sotheby’s, along with two new listings in that community, at $775,000 and $650,000.
Re said undeveloped land zoned for residential use is also a hot commodity right now. In Cicero, municipal planners are redesigning land use regulations such as lot sizes in anticipation of 10,000 news homes. Patio homes, multi-family apartment buildings and “skinny homes” that are narrow but still long and spacious are all in the town’s future.
“Skinny homes are very popular in other parts of the country that have seen rapid growth,” Re said. “You can have good-sized homes on smaller lots. [realtors and municipal planners] are taking these ideas very seriously and home builders are very optimistic right now.”
According to the CNY Realtor website, the average sale price for a single-family home in the region during the month of February was $229,041. There were 3,042 active listings during that month (1,095 of them were new listings) and the average home sold during that month spent 35.5 days on the market.
A search of listings on CNY Realtor by county on March 17 indicated that there are 37 properties in Oswego County priced at more than $500,000. Of those zoned for residential use, the list included a 3,455-square foot home in Mexico priced at $1.77 million, a 3,600-square foot home in Parish for $1.59 million and 47 acres of land containing a three-bedroom house in Pulaski priced at $1.39 million. There are several listings of more than $500,000 in every corner of Oswego County, including Cleveland, Central Square, Altmar and Fulton.
For Cayuga County, the highest-priced listed properties are mostly for commercial or industrial use, but there are several single-family homes in the $600,000 to $900,000 range throughout that county, with listings in Auburn, Aurora, Owasco, Moravia and Port Byron.
For Madison County, the most expensive single-family home listed on CNY Realtor.com isn’t in Cazenovia, but Chittenango. The seven-bedroom house, priced at $1.25 million, was built in 2003 and includes 6.32 acres of land. There are also a number of homes priced at more than $500,000 in every corner of this county, with listings in Canastota, Bridgeport, Morrisville and Hubbardsville.
And in Onondaga County, the most expensive single-family home listed on CNY Realtor.com is on Brewerton Road in Cicero. This property, priced at $5.99 million, contains a three-bedroom home built in 1957, but it comes with 13.32 acres of land. The highest-priced listing overall, 37.63 acres on Henry Clay Boulevard in the town of Clay for $7 million, also contains a small house, but that parcel is zoned for residential, farming and seasonal camps. It’s located one mile from the planned Micron site.
According to the monthly report for February published by the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, the median sales price for the Central New York area increased by 13.1% compared to the same period in 2023. And even though the number of homes listed during the second month of this year was up 37.3% compared to the previous February, “demand is exceeding supply,” the GSAR report said.
The report, which lists comparisons for every town in Onondaga County, noted that while single-family home prices greatly exceed those in all other towns, the average sale price there decreased from $1.06 million in March of 2023 to $888,700 so far in March of this year. The vast majority of communities across that county saw increased median sale prices in the past year, including the city of Syracuse, from $149,300 to $154,300.
At the county level, the average sales price for homes in Oswego County increased from $171,100 in March of 2023 to $185,900 for the first 12 days of March this year. In Onondaga County for the same time period, the price went up from $261,200 to $275,900, while Cayuga County saw an upward change from $220,600 to $249,000 and Madison County’s increased from $241,100 to $255,200, according to GSAR.
“Improving home inventory levels and some moderation in mortgage rates will encourage additional sellers to come off the sidelines in search of homes to meet their changing life needs, which have been considerations many placed on hold during last year,” Lynnore Fetyko, GSAR CEO, said in a news release. “We anticipate our region’s economic growth through projects such as Micron will also have a positive effect on our housing market in the coming year.”
