Albany, New York Housing Market

How much can you negotiate in Albany?

For every 100 homes for sale, 170 are already under contract. Buyers outnumber sellers here. Expect company when you bid. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing, not from the whole market.

A typical Albany home takes 37 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago. There are 114 homes for sale in Albany. That is 1.7 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 473. Supply is steady against last year.

What to do about it

• Skip the hot ZIP codes. Start in 12206, 12210, and 12208, the least competitive corners of Albany.
• Get your financing approved before you look.
• Decide your maximum price before you bid.
• Hunt the homes that have sat 60+ days. They are the only soft targets left.
• Walk away when the price passes your number. Another buyer will overpay. Let them.

Is now a good time to buy in Albany?

Asking prices are 18.0% below their Jul 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller. Albany prices have risen in 86 of the last 108 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

If you plan to sell in the next two years, move it up. This much buyer demand does not last. Right now it does your negotiating for you.

What numbers should you underwrite a Albany deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +4.6%/yr. 1 year: +2.1% · 5 years: +4.6% · ten years: +5.1%. The five-year and ten-year rates agree. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Measure growth per square foot, not on the median. The median moves when the mix of listed homes moves. Your house does not. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.
• Months of carrying cost — 2. A typical home takes 37 days to sell. Budget that long when you exit or refinance.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 10. About 10% of homes on the Albany market right now have already cut their asking price. Assume you are one of them when you sell. Do not underwrite an exit at your asking price.
• Comp on this, not median price — $203/sqft. The average listing runs +6% above the median. Luxury homes skew it. Comp your own size class per sqft.
• Competition when you exit — -3%. The number of homes for sale barely moved in a year. Today's comps are a fair guide to your exit.

Is Albany a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Only if you move fast. Sellers have the upper hand in Albany right now. 1.70 out of every 100 homes for sale have a buyer, 10% of sellers have cut their price, and a typical home takes 37 days to sell.

Are Albany home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are 18.0% below their Jul 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller.

What price growth should I assume for Albany?

+4.6%/yr. 1 year: +2.1% · 5 years: +4.6% · ten years: +5.1%. The five-year and ten-year rates agree. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Measure growth per square foot, not on the median. The median moves when the mix of listed homes moves. Your house does not. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.

How fast are homes selling in Albany?

A typical Albany home takes 37 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago.

Which Albany ZIP code has the most negotiating room?

12206. Only 77 out of 100 homes there have a buyer, 15% have cut their price, and a typical home takes 50 days to sell.