Know what you don’t know -- and know that it's likely a lot.
That’s what Lanie Bittner, a Realtor and the president of the Greater Rochester Realtors Association, tells her first-time homebuyers.
In a normal year, first-timers make up about a third of her clients. But not this year.
She said a hot housing market, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, can be overwhelming for anyone trying to buy a house over the last few years because of the fierce competition.
“In the first quarter of this year, we really saw a lack of houses on the market, creating this really kind of frenzy in the market with some homes getting 20, 30, and sometimes 50 offers,” Bittner said.
Over the last few months, Bittner said, things have slowed down. There are lots of reasons for that, but she argued that it's mostly likely because COVID-19 restrictions have eased and people can move around more.
Her advice to first-time homebuyers is simple: Seek out programs to help you understand the homebuying process and grants to help pay for the house.
“If you can obtain a grant, it's basically free money, and who doesn’t need free money?” Bittner said. “So it can be a game-changer for homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers trying to save that last little bit for the down payment or buying a fixer-upper.”
Programs for first-time buyers are widely available, including those from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester and The Housing Council. The city of Rochester, and Monroe County offer grants, as do many banks that offer options from the state or federal government.
One grant, revealed Friday by ESL Federal Credit Union, pledges $10,000 for qualified buyers making less than $68,000 a year. The grants are specifically targeted toward Black and Hispanic homeowners, and there’s a good reason for that.
“We decided to make this unique grant product available in order to promote race and ethnic equity throughout the community,” said Caytie Bowser, a vice president at ESL. “We’re expecting 300 grants for this program, particularly on an annual basis, which would be more than $3 million.”
The 2015-19 census data analyzed by ACT Rochester shows Black and Latino or Hispanic homeownership rates in the Finger Lakes region lag far behind the national average. Asian homeownership is also below the national average, while white home ownership in the region is slightly above the national average. The numbers are below:
