Why are houses in the ROC area so much cheaper than the BUF area?

Just because it’s listed at $170k doesn’t mean it’s going to sell for $170k. Listing prices are low to start bidding wars. It will probably sell for $230-$250k

I don’t have answers as to why there’s such a difference, but keep in mind that most listings you’re seeing in Rochester are probably being purposely listed below market value; homes have been regularly sold at tens of thousands of dollars above asking due to bidding wars. You may want to keep that in mind with your search in general.

The issue is comparing Irondequoit to Clarence. If you’re going to compare Clarence home prices to a Rochester suburb, you’d have to go with Pittsford or Perinton/Fairport. Or Victor.

As far as North Gates, Greece, Irondequoit, using the term “undesirable” is a bit harsh. They may not be as desired as some east side locations, but it’s not like it’s a dump. The west side tends to be a little more blue collar. But there’s some lovely neighborhoods there. Parts of Irondequoit (which isn’t west side but gets lumped in for some reason) are absolutely spectacular. My only problem with Irondequoit is it seems kinda cut off from everything. Almost isolated in a way. There’s no convenient way to get up there from a lot of Monroe County.

All in all, Roc is a great place to live. Quality of life is top notch. (Source: someone who’s lived elsewhere). In my experience, most of the people who talk negatively about Rochester have never actually lived anywhere else. There’s always stuff to do if you keep your eyes open. Just in the past month you could have experienced a world class, week long music festival and a week long cocktail festival that just got written up by Forbes. That’s just recently off the top of my head. There’s stuff like that all the time.

Here's the problem with those $170k homes. They are intentionally listed low, then there is a huge bidding war, and the house sells for $50k-$100k over the list price.

The house next to me was listed for $145k and sold for $205k in one weekend last summer.

My cousin has been trying to buy a house in your price range for over 2 years. You have to find a house that is listed for much less than your top budget, and hope you win the bidding war.

I did this commute for all of a month and hated every minute. Do not even think about it.

You aren’t comparing similar suburbs. Gates is similar to Cheektowaga. Irondequoit and Clarence are not comparable suburbs. Clarence is going to be more like Victor or Penfield. Irondequoit is more like Tonawanda.

I like Rochester a lot, but Buffalo is just a bigger city with more going on and the prices in surrounding areas reflect that.

As someone who is currently house shopping, let me inform you that list price doesn't mean much. Rochester is one of, if not rhe, hottest real estate markets in the country. Listings are selling faster than any other city and most houses are escalating past list price. In more desired neighborhoods you're looking at 40k+ over list or higher. We put a bid on a house near U or R that was listed at 199k and it went for over 300k.

If you look at the actual data for median home sale price between the two metros, it's a difference of about 8k higher for Buffalo, or 4-5%. While every little bit helps, I don't think that's a huge difference for most people spread across say a 30y mortgage.

You're saying a lot of "probably" but never actually comparing equal things.

Can you point to recent sales where a house in Gates and a house in a similarly less-desired suburb of Buffalo have actually sold for six figure differences? This might help us understand your point.

I've lived in both and browse zillow for fun. You're not comparing similar suburbs or neighborhoods. The prices are similar if you control for location and change your settings to sold in the last 6 months, a specific number of bedrooms, and a tighter range on lot size.

The homes I've been to in Clarence are comparable to homes I've visited in certain neighborhoods near Casa Larga or around Powder Mills Park, not the ones I have lived in or visit in Irondequoit. I agree with the commenter that compared Irondequoit to Tonawanda.

List price =/= sale price.

I bought in October 2022, house was listed for $150k and it took $180k to get it, and I still feel like that was a relative bargain.

Rochester has infamously had insane bidding wars, with homes set low that go for tens of thousands over asking with multiple offers. Most of my friends and family have stopped even trying it’s so out of control.

Also gates kind of sucks haha

some info I found, according to USA Today and Zillow, the hottest US housing market in 2024, is Buffalo, NY. Rochester did not make the top 10. Buffalo is #1. Which would support my claim that its very hard to find a nice home in Buffalo and its insanely competitive. ROC will likely catch up soon though

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/real-estate/2024/01/05/zillow-hottest-housing-markets-2024/72119594007/

The Bills

Gates isn’t the most desirable location, in my opinion. Several parts of Gates are rough, and the school isn’t that great either. Irondequoit is a better area, but a lot of the houses are from Kodak / Xerox era (small, close to one another, needing repairs). Another area like this is the eastern part of Greece. If you look at sales prices in those areas, they’re typically lower. There are a LOT of older homes in those areas that are selling for cheaper because they’re less desirable houses / lots and less desirable locations.

What you are seeing in Buffalo is exactly why I moved and bought a house in Rochester. I really wish I could have stayed in Buffalo but I didn’t want to get a roommate to continue renting in a nicer/decent area at the age of 45.

I just bought in North Gates last fall. House was listed at $175. Paid much more than that. Listing price is not sales price.

I bought my house just about 2 years ago in Rochester. I had looked for months and months and was outbidded unrealistically even when offering the asking price. Houses were being sold $50k-150k over the asking price. Why buyers did that is beyond me.

You mentioned Irondequoit. While prices were reasonable, the property taxes were sky high and that’s what finally stopped me from looking there.

I had to make concessions and lower my sights. My landlord was an asshole of the highest order and I needed to get out.

I found a house in the city in a somewhat iffy area, but hit the jackpot in my immediate neighborhood with wonderful neighbors on a quiet, trouble-free street. My street is as quiet as where I was in the country. I pd $20k over the asking price, and really, the only thing I gave up was a porch.

I was worried about the furnace and hot water tank, and but the rest of the house is solid. Sure enough, the furnace died in April. BUT WAIT! NYS is into energy savings and has grant money available for things like furnaces, central air, insulation. I got a new furnace, 96% efficient, central air, a wifi thermostat, and insulation in the attic for $16,000. A NYS grant of $10k brought my cost down to $6k, and by the time I get done with RGE rebates and tax credits, my cost is $4500. When the energy audit guy came for an inspection, he got me a new energy-efficient refrigerator - absolutely free. It wasn’t even tied into the grant. Compliments of NYS.

Here’s the kicker. When this grant is closed out, I can apply for ANOTHER grant that will cover a new energy-efficient hot water tank. These grants make it so affordable for homeowners.

So if you lower your sites, look at houses that cost less because they don’t have insulation, central air and their furnaces and hot water heaters are old, inefficient and will need replacing, go for it because these programs will get these huge expenses paid for at ridiculously low prices for homeowners.

The added benefit is it raises the value of your home, and significantly reduces your utility bill.

Because of the earlier access to electricity from Niagara Buffalo boomed 10-20 years before Rochester, thus a lot of the housing stock is older. Of course, you could probably debate for a while about how that affects quality and value for your money. Also. Buffalo has much more of a traditional downtown while Rochester is mostly a big collection of suburbs.

This is bait

Gates is an undesirable suburb and Irondequoit is generally as well( at least for long time residents).

I would check the recent sales prices of the homes in the area because I have a feeling if its listed at 170k it will probably sell for 220-250k, even in Gates.

Buffalo is generally a more desirable bigger city. Its as simple as that.

If there's anything you do, DO NOT commute between the two. That is a terrible decision. You will hate your life.

Edit: Guess I upset the folks in Gates and Irondequoit lol.

Gates is pretty 'meh'. I've lived in the Roch area for 20+ years and I know someone who lives in every town and village in the area -- except for Gates. At one point I've needed to go to nearly every town or village to purchase something, social gatherings, restaurants, etc -- except for Gates.

I guess technically there is some residential in Gates, but it's also just the 490 and Rt 31 with some businesses that I guess only people in Gates go to.

I live in North Gates—it’s nice! Close to the canal trail, Wegmans, etc. We somehow managed to snag our home here in 2022 for $156k, but it was listed at $135k.

Niagara Falls is close by, Pro sports teams. More reasons too move there if ya have the $$ Than Rich. Roch is an old industrial blue collar town.

Start looking in the city of Buffalo instead of suburbia and you'll find plenty of nice houses in your budget. It's the same thing here, the suburbs have a significant price premium for their whiteness. Overall, Buffalo's home prices are only minimally higher for comparable houses

The OP’s question is interesting. Looking at just the cities proper, today, Rochester has about 25 houses for sale with asking prices of over $250k. Buffalo has well over 100. Rochester’s are concentrated in the East/Park/University Ave area, Buffalo’s are all over the city. My sense is that while Rochester was spending on a few large development projects ( fast ferry, Midtown,…) Buffalo spread their development money around to more numerous but less costly projects ( except the main St subway). Couple that with Buffalo’s parks, museums, colleges, music and restaurant scene, and pro sports scene, and they ended up with a more desirable core than Rochester. That may be a driver.

We have family in Tonawanda, Amherst, Williamsville, Clarence, and the city proper. They have all lived what the OP is seeing. I would say that buying a house in either Erie county or Monroe county will be a challenge,…. There just isn’t enough decent housing stock below $200k to meet new home buyer demand. The good news is that appreciation remains high in both markets.

We have a local terrorist cell located in Gates ny. Hence why housing is so cheap in Gates.

Oh, they aren't. Like not even close

All OPs replies read like this is supposed to be some weird flex. Kinda cringe tbh.

There is nothing in Rochester. Buffalo at least has some options. It’s not like Rochester is an undiscovered gem, it’s a rust belt city on a steep, steep decline. 

damn, you guys seem to hate your city lol totally different vibes than the Buffalo subreddit

Buffalo is growing faster, so likely contributing to higher prices in Buffalo