What kind of crappy picture is that... Where the hell even in that taken from? What a wasted opportunity to put a nice image in the national spotlight. What to go guys... way to go... Every single other of the 10 show off some nice architecture, the skyline, or the new real estate that is helping the numbers. We get what looks like the Bayou tour in Louisiana...
This is wonderful news and can only go to show what a great place Buffalo really is. Hopefully our development leaders can use this as a catalyst for economic development in the next few years. Now if we could only get our hospital system in order....
OMG sbrof...you're right...didn't even look at it. Wow, thats what we give them? Rochester's next in line for poor image- a suburban street that looks like it could have been from anywhere!
Think about it....so many people all over think all we get here is snow year round. This image shows a summer like atmosphere....boating, big houses on clear water. Sure we have great architecture but this picture may actually get it through some of the thick -heads out there that this is a great 4-season city.
I agree- I think the picture is ok. I bet there are people all over that had no clue boating is a big thing in Buffalo I'm happy they didn't show someone shoveling their sidewalk.
Let's hope the city doesn't use this as an excuse to raise our property taxes again.
Notice the photo is from the Niagara Tourism and Convention Bureau...
and the money goes to the person holding the square, "first comment will be a complaint"
well done. Love to see that faith in the pessimism of our readers pay off!
Yikes. I just checked zillow, and my house went up $1500 since last week alone.
I bet the tax peoples are frothing at the mouths already.
It's called a market correction. Think about it: five years ago interest rates were very low, which means buyers could afford more house and therefore the sellers responded with higher prices and sales inched higher. That's the simple answer and research would support it. Basically, housing here was under valued and the low rates allowed for the correction.
Also, growth is also measured in new housing starts, which WNY has been and continues to be static. WHY? We continue to lose population, last year to the tune of 5000 people.
I would argue that the increase and growth was good, but data won't show that going forward and with population and job loss, the poor local economy and the regulatory climate in NYS (and the feds to a lesser extent) that has so many disincetnvies to growth and development (see: stupid birds stopping a bridge).
and the money goes to the person holding the square, "first comment will be a complaint"
well done. Love to see that faith in the pessimism of our readers pay off!
and the money goes to the person holding the square, "first comment will be a complaint"
well done. Love to see that faith in the pessimism of our readers pay off!
The only reason we're among the 10 fastest growing real estate markets is because we're among the only growing real estate markets.
Unlike other regions, we never had the meteoric rise that led to the current plunge. We merely keep inching our way upwards, slowly climbing the ladder of economic mediocrity.
Whether that is a positive development is wholly subjective.
I'd definitely rather own a stock that is "inching upward", but that is just me. Leave it to Pundit to find a negative side to a positive story.
As for the picture, it is pretty crappy considering the amazing waterfront property Buffalo is sitting on. Anyone here know that Buffalo hosted the largest One Design sailing Championship in North America last summer? Pretty impressive for a city slowly climbing the ladder of economic mediocrity.
Now get out there and take some better pictures Nussbaumer.
I like the picture, it does show Buffalo in a different light. What would you prefer, a picture of Main Street in front of the Hyatt?
pundit, you're right...we'd be much better off if our real estate market was in a free-fall like much of the rest of the country
jeez
I'm no fan of Pundit, but I don't think he's being a ridiculous downer here. He's just shedding some light on the subject, which I think is valuable to the discussion.
I think there are some real positives to being in what is a very stable real estate market. In places like the Elmwood Village, real estate has skyrocketed, and continues to do so. I recently inquired about a nice little 1.5 story on Breckenridge, excited that this house was available, expecting it to be in my $115k-140k price range. Turns out the house was listed at $250k and sold for closer to 300k. Lovely little house, but its a LITTLE house. Holy crap.
oh, i agree with pundit too. I don't think that's such a negative thing to say, just making note of the reality. Buffalo never had the economic growth that could produce a housing spike. I think that is how most people will view these rankings.
and where is that photo taken from? I like it. it looks like a nice place to retire. maybe if the housing were cheap...
who knew that all it would take for Buffalo to be a national leader in a positive statistic was for the rest of the nation to go down the toilet!
palease, i am all for growing real estate, but Buffalo was on a downturn for decades and finally caught up, This shows a spike, lets see if it is on the list next year, and if it is which ten...top or bottom?
well that pictures while anti-normal buffalo just doesn't show much information. I looked at it and saw greenish brown water with a dingy boat and a hodge podge of docks. The buildings in the background I didn't even notice until someone else mentioned and when i looked at them closer you can't see any details. I am not saying that it had to be in the city or not but it is just a poorly composed and pictures.
As for the bubble vs inching forward I would take a slow steady growth more than great amazing prosperity, false hopes and then loosing my house to. Living life at a slower steady pace, you know, one where you can actually enjoy it.
Well, the CNN story is about Buffalo/Niagara Falls, so showing a Niagara County scene isn't totally out of bounds.
Houses on our block sell for 250 and up quite frequently. I take it as a positive--not great, but OK. But then I accept that Buffalo is what it is. I'm not expecting that a Rust Belt city will suddenly become San Diego. I've been to San Diego. I actually like Buffalo better,
Well, when they show houses for sale in each of the markets, for Buffalo they show a non-descript generic 60's rambler in Amherst. For other upstate cities they show homes with character.
Gausted - why would they mention taxes in an article about housing appreciation. If the article was about taxes they would have mentioned that the TAX RATE's in Florida and Arizona have gone up by 20-30% in the last year to compensate for the decline in assessed value while her the rates are virtually unchanged from last year
Ike
What the Pundit was saying is absolutely true the reason we are in the top 10 is because most of the country which experienced an explosion in property values for the last 5-8 years is now experiencing a correction in those values, which means negative growth in value.
Look at the growth numbers themselves 1.6% increase last year, 2.4% projected growth this year... those aren't very good numbers- they don't even cover inflation... who would want to invest in property at that level when they can get 3% in a money market account and have complete liquidity?
Hate to break it to all but there hasn't been a significant change in the Buffalo market, there has been a change in the other markets relative to Buffalo.
Wow, I love this site, but the commenters around here will complain about anything. Yes, Buffalo never was part of the irrational exhuberance in the housing market that plaqued the Southeast or the West. That' s a good thing! Remember how that same irrational behavior worked out for the Stock market after the run up of the 90s? Be happy, your house hasn't lost any value, it may have even risen!
Owning / buying a home should not be about profiting or speculation anyways, it should be about family, friendship and community.
Um, meathead, complaining is part of why comments exist on blogs.
Complaining about complaints is no more or less silly than the complaint being complained about.
And the stock market was around 11,400 before the bears got hold of it earlier this decade. On 10/9/02, it bottomed out at 7,286.27
RIght now, it's back up to 12,851. So, what was your point again?
I agree with a part of what Meathead said, homes should be about community, lifestyle and family. Thinking about homes as purely investments is a part of what pulled people out of older neighborhoods all over the city leaving them to crash and burn.
I would still rather take slow steady growth than a roller coaster. If I am happy with my community, have room for a family and can live a life I enjoy why would I care if my property increases 50% or not. I am there to live my life not to make a profit. that's why I go to work.
Ok, c'mon Pundit boy. Do I have to give you a lesson in Economics? Dow Jones, (not a great ruler of economic health anyways) was over 12,000 in 2000 too? Were the markets stable then? The DOW went on to lows in the 7000s in 2003, generally under 10,000 for the next 2 years. The Russ 2000 or the Wilshire 5000, or the S & P, are all better indicator anyways. The Dow only represents 30 large cap-mostly growth stocks, owned by the few and the rich.
Whatever, I was just comparing the housing markets irrational run up with the stock markets. You can deny that any of this even happened all you want. If you are buying houses to flip them and try to make a profit, you deserve to get you butt handed to you. Like those "investors" of the markets in the late 90s (let's call it gambling like it is) you have risk to address. Have you ever read a prospectus?
If you are buying a home to become part of a community, build a family, to give back to the city/town/village, then please stay in Buffalo. Reasonable house pricing, stable, albeit small economic growth, and CNNMoney featuring your city should be looked at favorably.
So much inconsistency in what's celebrated. When Buffalo's real estate price growth was near bottom of the rankings all those years, that was widely celebrated for making housing here more affordable. Then when it's near top of the rankings, people say that's good too. As Pundit wrote, whether it's positive is totally subjective.
Your "lesson in Economics" is neither.
You brought up the stock market of the 90s, and I countered by indicating that the Dow (which is most often used as an indicator of the stock market's health, regardless of its "greatness") had surpassed its pre-bear market high.
Dow components are only owned by the few and the rich? Have you checked the average person's 401k lately?
Whatever, I was just comparing the housing markets irrational run up with the stock markets. You can deny that any of this even happened all you want. If you are buying houses to flip them and try to make a profit, you deserve to get you butt handed to you. Like those "investors" of the markets in the late 90s (let's call it gambling like it is) you have risk to address. Have you ever read a prospectus?
I trust that you maintain the same scorn for people who bought regular houses in booming markets who had A credit mortgages yet find themselves as upside-down on their loans as their subprime brethren? Bringing flipping into it is a non sequitur.
If you are buying a home to become part of a community, build a family, to give back to the city/town/village, then please stay in Buffalo. Reasonable house pricing, stable, albeit small economic growth, and CNNMoney featuring your city should be looked at favorably.
Thank you for providing us with the rules for what should be looked at favorably and the acceptable rationales to buy a home. For 99% of Americans, buying a home isn't just about community and building a family. It's also the biggest, most expensive investment they'll ever make.
I promised myself I wasn't gonna get into any peeing matches online. So I will NOT address any of your comments no matter how incorrect they may well be.
We get it, you hate Buffalo. Great. Enjoy your misery.
What a cop-out. No wonder you picked that screenname.
We get it, you hate thinking. Great. Enjoy your misery.
Ohh c'mon Pundit? How many people want to see (read) us go back and forth?
The Dow blows as an indicator of economic health. Its a good measure of Home Depot and Walmart's wealth, not yours and mine. It contains less than 30 stocks which are rarely removed after their inclusion. My 401k (well 403) does not own much of these 30, which is why I have done well over the MANY years. But you see, I "invest" not gamble like housing speculators and banks. While ones home is usually their biggest purchase, it is rarely an "investment." You can't buy and sell it like the other aforementioned commodities, you have something personal, not financial, invested. Thats why we call it our "home", not our property. We like to say, "ohh I miss home" or "I am homesick", not "ohh I miss property." because there is so much more involved than money.
But yeah, thinkin makes me brane hert.
I do like the way you used my "we get it..." against me though!
Meathead... I apologize being late to the party- but I was not complaining at all. Just saying that we shouldn't be interpreting this "news" to mean something that it does not at all mean.
Buffalo in the same boat as New Orleans, Mc Allen, El Paso, Rochester, Syracuse, and Scranton? Now we can all die happy.
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