BUFFALO, NY - If you're looking for a new home in Western New York, you should know you're getting into a seller's market.
New data says inventory is low and that's part of the reason prices are on the rise.
Real estate experts say there are way more homebuyers out there than there are "For Sale" signs hanging outside homes that are on the market.
"The market remains very, very tight," said Mark DiGiampaolo, a real estate salesperson for MJ Peterson, "that will tell you we remain in a seller's market."
According to the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors, inventory is low; fewer homes are being sold and prices are on the rise. The association's May report on the local housing market says new listings compared to a year ago are down 6 percent. Inventory is down 11 percent. And pending sales are down 5 percent.
"It reflects the reality that inventory is low," DiGiampaolo said.
And prices are going up, the average sales price for a home is $174,000 compared to in 2009 when it was $120,000 and that's happening not only in Buffalo.
"We're seeing prices in Kenmore, parts of Cheektowaga, Blasdell, West Seneca these first ring suburbs and parts of Williamsville, we're seeing these start to rise as well," DiGiampaolo said.
When could more homes hit the market and home prices possibly dip?
Some experts say Buffalo's property tax reassessment, which will be finalized next month, may have an impact.
"Which could cause many homeowners to decide that they need to sell their home because they simply can't afford their new tax bill that could bring a lot of inventory onto the market, which could flip it from a seller's market to a buyer's market," DiGiampaolo said, "I would imagine that some people will begin to put their houses on the market as soon as late this summer."
How has the Buffalo housing market gotten so hot?
Experts say it didn't happen overnight, but took years of economic development throughout the city to cause housing prices to jump.