In New York's Capital region (and Tech Valley), there is a difference of opinion about the current status of home values. Some "experts" are alarmists and enjoy claiming the headline limelights by saying home values are slipping and that the market continues to decline. I know better, and I'll share the facts with you today!

In reality, home values aren't going down as much as you may have heard. Home values in our region are stable and should continue to be stable.

What's happening? People who have been in business less than five years don't really know what defines a "normal" market. During their time in business, we have experienced an overly inflated market with multiple offers, houses on the market for less than a day, etc. It's been a crazy-wonderful time in this industry, but a return to normalcy should not be construed as a depressed market.

The national news leads our locals to assume that the same things is happening here that's being reported elsewhere. That is simply not the case.

If we were actually in a buyers market, more homes would be in the local inventory. In reality, there are fewer. For the first three months of last year, there were 3,090 new listings. This year, there have been 2,952 new listings.

The average price for the first three months of 2007 was $242,533.00, but for the same period of this year, there has only been a slight dip to $241,697.00 and the average time on the market in ‘07 was 72 days, whereas this year the average time is 76 days.

These figures show that our market isn't in distress. There may be a few less houses selling. After all, there are fewer homes on the market this year (as compared to the same time last year), but the values are holding the line.

So, if you are worried about the value of your home, rest easy. And, if you would like to have a professional Realtor come out to help you determine your current home's value, feel free to give me a call: 518-435-9944. One of my agents would love to meet with you!