Schenectady’s HOMES program appears to be helping

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Caldwell Banker realestate agent Christine Frith, far right, shows a home located at 1705 Randolph Road to Rotterdam residents, John and Jude Harris during an open house on Sunday afternoon.

Local real estate agents say Schenectady’s home ownership program is helping them to sell homes in the city, and statistics show it appears to be working.

Agents showcased a dozen properties in Schenectady on Sunday as part of a citywide open house. The agents are marketing the homes with help from the city’s Home Ownership Made Easy in Schenectady (HOMES) program, which is in its fourth year.

JoAnn Adamec, a Realtor with Prudential Manor Homes, said the HOMES program provides good exposure for houses on the market in the city. Adamec said she has participated in the program since it began and that it’s paying off.

“As Realtors we want to get our listings sold,” she said. “If the community is going forth and helping us to do that, then that’s wonderful.”

The number of homes sold in the city has increased slightly since 2011, around the time the program was first getting started. That year, 271 homes were sold, followed by 281 in 2012, 291 in 2013 and 292 in 2014, according to statistics by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.

The city does not keep a record of the private properties sold through the HOMES program, but Mayor Gary McCarthy said he believes nearly 100 percent of them have sold.

“It’s hard to track the specific houses that end up on that open house list compared to the overall market,” McCarthy said. “Almost every house that has been on the HOMES list has been sold. Have they sold as a result of the HOMES program? I would like to say yes.”

In the Capital Region, closed home sales fell 2 percent in 2014 compared with the previous year, from 9,358 to 9,184. That’s an increase, though, compared with 2011 and 2012, when sales were steadily recovering after the housing market crash.

Properties marketed as part of the city’s open house Sunday include 504 Manchester Road, 546 Northend Drive, 1003 Nott St., 1700 Guilderland Ave., 952 Vermont Ave., 823 Vischer Ave., 1705 Randolph Road, 1020 Glenwood Blvd., 1323 Santa Fe St., 1145 Hendrickson Ave., 233 11th St. and 1046 Morningside Ave.

Subsequent open houses will be held once a month on Sundays through October.

Kim Coelho, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, said many of the homes in Schenectady have unique features, like the house she was showing at 1046 Morningside Ave., which features an old wood stove in the kitchen.

“It’s the character of these old homes that you can’t find anywhere else,” Coelho said.

But the city’s high taxes make it difficult to sell some homes in the city, like 1700 Guilderland Ave. The owner plans to contribute $3,000 in taxes for the first year, out of an estimated $6,954 in taxes.

Benjamin Brizzell, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, said the house has been on the market since last year. The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home is being offered at $89,500.

McCarthy said the burden of high taxes is an issue across upstate New York that’s not unique to Schenectady. He expects a casino in the city to help with tax relief.

“We have been addressing that and trying to do things more efficiently,” he said. “Our tax levy is down slightly since I have become mayor. But school taxes are roughly half the tax bill. Now we have economic development downtown, crime is down and the casino is coming, so there is the potential for some relief.”

Adamec was showing 1003 Nott St. to prospective homebuyers on Sunday. The building, listed at $169,900, has commercial space on the first floor and two apartments on the second floor.

The house is located near the future site of Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor, the planned $330 million casino at the old Alco site by the Galesi Group and Rush Street Gaming. The project is expected to create 1,200 permanent jobs.

Adamec said the casino would be a great selling point for homes nearby, like the one on Nott Street. Some Realtors, including Adamec, are already marketing homes as being close to the future casino location.

McCarthy said the goal of the HOMES program is to increase interest in Schenectady’s real estate and get more middle-class people to purchase homes and live in the city.

“I was getting into the real estate business for the city with foreclosures,” McCarthy said. “I wanted our more challenging and distressed houses to sell. That has been very successful. Now the houses we’re foreclosing on are better quality because we got rid of the worst of the worst.”

As part of the program, the city works with local banks and real estate agencies to market houses. The city also assists potential homebuyers in the process of buying a home.

“We have done Realtor days where we brought real estate agents in and better educated them about the opportunities and things happening in Schenectady,” McCarthy said. “Last year we also had a regional homes summit. Superintendent Larry Spring and spokeswoman Karen Corona have helped us to cross-market the [Schenectady City School District] for families looking to purchase homes where their kids will go to school.”

Schenectady is offering a series of workshops in partnership with Better Neighborhoods, Inc. to detail how purchasing a home works. The workshops will teach homebuyers helpful tips such as how to select an affordable home and obtain funds to purchase a home.

Three-part workshops for $50 will be available throughout the year at Emmanuel Friedens Church at 218 Nott Terrace on March 2, 9 and 16; April 1, 8 and 15; May 13, 20 and 27; Aug. 5, 12 and 19; and Oct. 21, 28 and Nov. 11.