Like so many people in late March, Lucas Ferrin found himself wondering if he'd be able to keep his job.聽
Ferrin had built a successful career as a real estate agent in central New York, but when the economy shut down in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market froze.
"It was a scary time," Ferrin said in an interview last month. "I was thinking about a Plan B."
But amid that fear, Ferrin and his colleagues in the industry also had resolve. The need for people to be able to buy and sell homes wasn't going to disappear, so the key was figuring out how to make the process work in the middle of a pandemic.
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"Everything went out the window," Ferrin said. "Every industry had to adapt."
For those in real estate, it meant the use of virtual showings instead of in-person tours. Open houses became obsolete. Drive-by lender appraisals became the norm. Some home inspectors would look over a property without the prospective buyer tagging along. There was also a lot of complicated scheduling with attorneys and lenders and others when it came time for closing a sale.
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But amid all of those changes and more, something somewhat unexpected happened in Cayuga County and in markets throughout the state and nation. The real estate market got hot, especially when in-person house showings became cleared as safe again later in the spring.
The New York State Association Realtors reported total single-family house sales in Cayuga County increased by 6.5% to 669, growth that came despite a period in late March and April when sales crashed to almost nothing.聽
The growth also came despite a low inventory of new listings, but that situation helped drive substantial growth in median prices. Realtors data for Cayuga County show the median price of a home sold in 2020 grew by 9.8% to $145,000. That total is up by 31.9% from five years earlier.
Similar situations played out in both the Rochester and Syracuse regions. Most Realtors in Cayuga County belong to either the Great Rochester Association of Realtors or the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors.
"Once real estate resumed in person, we saw a surge in buyer activity due to pent up demand from the quarantine,鈥 said Lanie Bittner, president of Rochester association.
Bittner noted that another driver of the strong performance in 2020 was a renewed interest in second homes in parts of upstate New York.
"We are fortunate to live in a region that offers a rather quick change of scenery with many lakes nearby," Bittner said. "Lake homes have gained in popularity as people seek a getaway that isn鈥檛 far away."
Andy Azzarello, president of the Syracuse association, said some factors stemming from the pandemic itself also contributed to the resurgence in residential real estate.
鈥淭he pandemic brought a renewed focus on home, and surfaced new needs for many of us such as the need for additional space to accommodate working and learning from home," he said. "Add historically low mortgage rates to that, and the result is a strong comeback for the Central New York housing market and our economy.鈥
For Ferrin, an agent with Century 21 Post Realty based in Auburn, a big key to the success was everyone in the industry working together.
"Our local boards, which I belong to the Syracuse board, and the New York State Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors, were putting out updates with all important developments, rules and regulations, sometimes by the day and hour to keep everyone apprised of all important information," he said. "They also changed the software to make virtual showings easier."
Ferrin also pointed to changes in continuing education programs that allowed for online classes at reduced rates, which allowed Realtors "to use their time and add lots of education to their resumes. I personally took over 100 hours of extra classroom learning and credit."
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Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer