Is Saratoga Springs’ Real Estate Market Finally Cooling?

You hear it all the time in Saratoga Springs, NY, “So and so bought their house for pennies fifteen years ago, and just sold it for a fortune!” Will we be hearing much more of this kind of talk though? In the past ten years, Saratoga Springs residents have seen the downtown buildup, the historic neighborhood homes get bought up and its charecter get just a little beat up. In this flurry of change, home prices soared and many people who have lived in Saratoga Springs all their lives were simply priced out of the real estate market. Lately though, prices on existing homes in Saratoga Springs, NY seem to be dropping. What is going on in Saratoga’s real estate market?

First, it may be possible that post 9-11 migration from New York City has slowed in the absence of any more terrorist attacks. For sure, many New Yorkers were scared by the threat of violence and driven to towns like Saratoga Springs, NY, which offer many cultural benefits, are a reasonable drive or train ride from the City, and are comparably much easier and safer places to live. It is no secret that in the past five years, many of our new neighbours in saratoga Springs, NY have hailed from Manhatten and the other New York City boroughs. It is widely believed that their “big city dollars” have driven Saratoga Springs’ real estate market up to unnatural levels.

Secondly, Saratoga Springs is famous for and brings a very large temporary population in with its horse racing. In the past, these people returned season after season and rented homes from the locals at a premium. With the low morgage rates of the past five years this made little sense. Instead, these people bought second homes in Saratoga Springs, which serve as an investment or future retiring spot. At some point, all of these people who wanted to purchase a home in Saratoga Springs may have done so.

Another factor in the cooling of Saratoga Springs’ real estate market is the ubundance of land surrounding the area. There is plenty of wood and farm land to be taken advantage of. All of the new neighbourhoods poppng up on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs are proof of this. Why would someone want to buy an overpriced home in Saratoga Springs proper, with little land and the problems that accompany older homes, when they could spend less or the same money on a place very near Saratoga Springs, which is new and has all the ammenities they have personally chosen?

Finally, you must factor in the summation of all the above factors. That is to say, simple economics would lead one to assume that supply in the Saratoga Springs housing market has begun to outstrip demand. The much talked about over development in Saratoga Springs, NY may have finally reached its enevitable conclusion. Too many houses and condos in the Saratoga Springs housing market and not enough people to fill them. Hey, this is all ok with me though, I’m shopping for a new place.