I wondered the exact same thing so I looked it up. This episode was from season 8, which aired in 2019. Wonder what prices are now? going down that rabbit hole
ETA: OK, found this. Almost 2,500 sf for $330k? Still seems like a deal.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1905-Main-St-Blossvale-NY-13308/2082872228_zpid/
Employment opportunities are limited in many of the adjacent counties.
As manufacturing declined, so did the upstate NY towns centered around a manufacturer. Rochester with Xerox & Kodak is a prime example. Population has been declining since 1950s high of 330K to 211K today.
Micron Technologies will be building a $100B chip manufacturing facility outside of Syracuse, which will certainly provide a much-needed boost to the area.
“Micron said it had selected the 1,400-acre White Pine Commerce Park, in Clay, for a massive computer memory chip plant, the largest in the nation, that will cost up to $100 billion over 20 years and employ up to 9,000 people.”
The time to get in !!!
Yes…assuming one wants to live through the winters. Granted, even upstate NY winters have been milder in recent years.
My realtor just posted an article on social media about the “appraisal gap” and how in a low inventory market, buyers need to keep cash in reserve if they’ve bid over asking because the appraisal may not come in that high.
Our first house was in the Syracuse area - $145K for a nicely updated 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath colonial in the mid 90s. I just checked realtor.com and a bit smaller house in that same development is on the market for $240K.
Well the latest posts here are extremely discouraging! DD looked since 2022 to buy a small starter home, spending nearly every weekend looking in the Seattle area and suburbs. Prices are about double what @greenbutton mentioned. For Seattle suburbs, $625,000 may be enough for 1100 SF, 2-3 bed / 1 bath, no basement, maybe a garage, usually in need of work ( including new kitchens/baths and often mechanicals). $750-800 might buy a ‘flipped’ home of similar size.
I keep hoping “something will give”, but no luck yet. It just keeps getting worse. For a brief moment prices seemed to stabilize during the holidays, but now with inventory so low, bidding wars continue. The last house they put on offer on needed everything re-done, but it was a slightly larger, in a ‘mid-priced’ residential area. It listed at $625. Their offer was higher, but it still sold for $750-CASH.
Some suggest they should look at less expensive markets in other states. But their jobs are in Seattle, and all their colleagues, friends, and professional contacts are there. Starting completely over professionally would be a step backwards, not forwards.
Whatever happened to “assumable loans”? Would that not help open the log-jam even if just a bit? I keep reading the inventory is so tight partially because no one wants to give up their 3-4% rates. If a seller has only been in the home a few years, and needs or wants to move, would it not be possible with slightly more downpayment, for a new buyer to assume their mortgage? I’m sure mortgage lenders are not excited about that possibility, but if they add a few fees, would they not be better off than providing no loan at all? Trying to be creative 
DS1 and his wife are one of those with a sub 3% loan that they don’t want to give up. After trying so long to get a starter home, they went with the philosophy of going a bit higher in price point so there would be less competition, and it worked. They got the first house at the higher price point. And now, they’d hate to give it up, even if they relocate. DIL has two more years of school at current location, and the plan is to rent it out to friends if they do move at a more-than-fair price but one that covers the mortgage. Can’t say I blame them.
Knowing that last year natl stories were written about my city and its hot market I am curious as to why so many are reducing their prices. In my smallish 'hood, six homes are listed right now so no shortage of inventory.
No employment in the area I assume. My brother bought a Sears catalog home (all electrical and plumbing updated and tons of room and charm) in Westfield NY - under $100k - sadly the area struggles for those who don’t have jobs they can do from home. Lovely area less than a mile from Lake Erie & 10 miles from the Chautauqua Institute - fortunately both my brother & SIL have work from home careers but it’s not easy up there.
Yes, I read the same thing. Per assumble loans, I think that mostly works on adjustable not fixed rate(?)
Per upstate NY houses, many are older … .only on bathroom etc. Taxes higher than you’d think. But the main problem is lack of employment. And sometimes healthcare (though the example near Syracuse should be OK). It could work for the right situation.
Homes on a lake around (Ohio)here, even Lake Erie , fetch for a higher price than that. Why wouldn’t Someone scoop that up for a 2nd home or rental. I mean it’s not a gem but it is on the water and $132/sq foot
We recently put my MIL’s house on the market. It was built in 1922 and needs a ton of work, structural and cosmetic.
Got 12 offers, all over asking and them waived inspection.
We ended up with 20% above asking (which was a lot because it’s in a high-priced area).
The market is crazy.
S/DiL just lost out on house #4 – to a 20% over , no inspection bid. They had offered 10% and info only inspection. There were 22 offers.
I don’t blame SELLERS for taking those no inspection offers. I mean, we have a 1925 home that I’m sure would not pass any inspection with flying colors… we’d take no inspection in a heartbeat with a good $ offer too.
Anyone who bids “no inspection, no appraisal” should be forced to sit down and watch Money Pit before they officially submit their bid! 
I agree, especially because when it’s a buyer ‘s market they are just as ruthless.
We took a no inspection, all cash offer when we sold last year. I would never waive inspection personally, and thankfully D and SIL did not. They backed out of a contract because of an inspection that showed a LOT of major issues.
There you go, now you can help your DD with her downpayment.
When older s sold their house last fall they had an amount they would accept pre-open house. But ultimately the house didn’t get listed til a Friday afternoon and the first open houses were that weekend. Where they live you get a sense of interest by the number of people that ask for the disclosure sheet. The first weekend was rainy and they happen to have had a gorgeous back yard, so wanted another weekend showing.there had been 15 requests for a disclosure sheet the first weekend. Long story short, another house came in the market that second week that May have pulled some of the interest, so there wasn’t a bidding war, but the buyers loved the house, sent a video of themselves superimposed in the house (!!) , came to see it 4x and upped their offer. Clean sale, no contingencies, closed quickly. Meantime, that other house that came on the market that was beautiful didn’t sell as quickly, they dropped the price a bit and got less than my s got for his house. The other house sold below asking. DS got about 10.5%over asking.
Fewer homes (per 1000) changed hands in first half of 2023 compared to 2019:
“The U.S. home turnover rate in the first half of 2023 has fallen to the lowest in at least a decade as high mortgage rates compel owners to stay put, Redfin said.
About 14 out of every 1,000 U.S. homes changed hands during this period, down from 19 in the same period during 2019, according to the real estate brokerage’s report examining housing turnover since the pandemic.
California, and specifically the San Francisco Bay Area, had the least housing availability out of any state, the report said. The brokerage said only 6 out of 1,000 San Jose homes changed hands this year. From 2019 to 2023, California turnover dropped 30% in the metros of Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Anaheim. In the Seattle area, 11 of every 1,000 homes turned over in the last year, a 37% drop in turnover from 2019.”
Additional factors contributing to the housing shortage (possibly more for apartments than homes) is that single occupancy households have risen considerably, due to later marriages, divorces, and more financially independent women. The article I read stated this is a growing trend rather than a current phenomenon, although Covid contributed since many preferred their own space over sharing.
Anecdotally, I know several divorced friends, who now own separate single family homes, as well as single women professionals who purchased (before the significant rise in prices). Historically, that was not the norm.