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Rochester forecast to see nation’s 4th-greatest spike in home prices
Realtor.com is forecasting home prices to rise by 10.3 percent in 2026, the fourth-highest spike among the country's top 100 metropolitan areas. (Photo by Kevin Oklobzija)
Realtor.com is forecasting home prices to rise by 10.3 percent in 2026, the fourth-highest spike among the country's top 100 metropolitan areas. (Photo by Kevin Oklobzija)
Rochester forecast to see nation’s 4th-greatest spike in home prices
Listen to this articleHome prices will continue their sharp rise in the Greater Rochester area, according to Realtor.com‘s 2026 Housing Forecast.
A surge of 10.3 percent in median sale price is predicted for the market by the online listing and real estate information service. That would be the fourth-largest spike among the country’s top 100 markets.
Only Toledo, Ohio (13.1 percent), Syracuse (12.4) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (10.9) are forecast to see a greater increase in home value. By comparison, Realtor.com is predicting a rise of just 1.9 percent in Buffalo.
The Realtor.com forecast differs dramatically from the prediction of just 2.6 percent price growth from Zillow, another prominent online real estate marketplace.
The reality, according to real estate expert Mark Siwiec: The number is probably somewhere in between, but closer to Realtor.com’s prediction because inventory can’t match demand.
“When I saw 2.6 from Zillow, it seemed very, very low,” said Siwiec, CEO and broker at Brighton-based Elysian Homes by Mark Siwiec and Associates. “We’re still seeing bidding wars, we’re still seeing offers $25,000 to $30,000 over asking.
“Year in and year out for decades we have consistently seen an increase of 4 percent. My sense of the market is that there are still far more people looking to buy than sell. So while 10 percent frankly seems a little high, my gut says it will be around 7 or 8.”
Nationally, Realtor.com says there will be a 2.2 percent bump in prices of existing homes, with interest rates staying in the 6.3 to 6.6 range.
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