For many New Yorkers, buying a home between 2018 and 2023 meant facing rising prices, limited inventory, and rapidly changing conditions. Budget-conscious households across the state—from New York City boroughs to smaller upstate towns—responded by shifting their purchasing choices and exploring more affordable locations and home types. Rental market dynamics, income-to-price affordability, and first-time homebuyer assistance programs all shaped the decisions of these households, marking clear differences from earlier years.
Home Prices Are Up and Inventory Is Down
New York’s home prices climbed significantly from 2018 to 2023, far outpacing income growth. The median home value in the state was around $403,000 as of the early 2020s. By 2023, the median sales price for New York homes was about $382,500, roughly 40% higher than around 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic housing boom in 2020–2021 drove prices up sharply – the statewide median jumped nearly 20% in just one year (2021). Even as sales volume slowed in 2022–2023, prices stayed high or continued rising due to limited supply. In New York City, the median sale price in 2023 was $764,000, only a slight 2% dip from the 2022 peak.
One big reason for persistent high prices is record-low inventory. A balanced housing market typically has about a 6-month supply of homes for sale, but New York’s supply fell well below that after 2020. By 2021, there was only around a 3.2-month supply of homes on the market, indicating a tight seller’s market. Listing inventory hit the lowest levels in decades in 2023, with statewide active listings down to roughly 22,500 homes…