SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— A lot of consumer items are at an all-time high in the U.S. This includes the price of rent and buying a house.
According to rentcafe.com the average cost of rent in the Syracuse area is $1,289 a month. This is up $200 more compared to the beginning of 2019. Although the price of rent and buying a house are increasing, associate broker Chip Hodgkins said now is still the time to buy for those who are considering.
“The perfect time to have bought a house is like three to four months ago before the interest rates started to come up,” said Hodgkins. “So, interest rates are going to continue to go up so I would say buy now before interest rates go up.”
In an effort to attract more workers and provide housing help, the Oneida Nation is building a $15 million apartment complex for its new full-time casino workers. The Villages at Stoney Creek will be a 50-unit complex located near Turning Stone Resort and Casino. For some new employees this means their employer will also be their landlord. According to the Nation depending on the number of bedrooms, rent could range from $550 to $750 a month.
Syracuse resident James Jones said this is a great opportunity.
“I honestly think it’s amazing especially how housing is nowadays,” said Jones. “For example, I know some people with two-bedroom apartments paying $2,100 a month.”
Hodgkins said it’s prices like these that makes the current Syracuse housing market so “hot.”
“This means that we have a lot of buyers looking for houses and we have sellers who are actually really happy that they are selling their houses for more money than they even thought they could,” said Hodgkins.
He continued to say that these high prices are also due to a supply issue.
“We don’t have enough houses actively on the market, so people are bidding against each other for that one house and that just raises the price up,” said Hodgkins.
According to the city of Syracuse Innovation team, 61.2% of households in Syracuse are renter occupied. This means that the price of rent impacts more than half of the city and its economy.
While Turning Stone is providing affordable housing for new workers, some things to think about is what does this means if an employee has a grievance about work. With their employer also being their landlord it gives the employer more control over the workers.
The apartments are set to open on July 1 and more will open in September.
