Bonus Post: Rochester Match Day

HAPPY MATCH DAY!

For those outside of the medical community, match day has historically been the day the National Resident Matching Program has assigned medical students, fresh off of four exhausting years of studying, to their residency programs throughout the US.  Since 1952, tens of thousands of medical students have collectively held their breath leading up to the third Friday in March before results are released at noon that day.

Now, why would I, a 26-year-old investor and real estate agent look forward to this day every year?  

Since the fall of the Kodak empire, the number one employer in the Rochester area has been the University of Rochester.  As well as a prestigious medical school, the University of Rochester operates three nearby hospitals at Strong Memorial Hospital, the Golisano Children's Hospital, and Highland Hospital, all located within 5 square mile area that contains the South Wedge, Strong, and Highland neighborhoods of Rochester, which have gained immense popularity for property investment in recent years.  

While conventional wisdom in Rochester real estate sales dictates that peak housing markets occur in the late spring and early summer months (we are one of the five snowiest cities in the country with a winter that normally goes until mid-April, after all), the importance of Match Day has led to these neighborhoods (located in the 14620 zip code) to exist on a completely different real estate cycle than the rest of Rochester.  

While the highest rate of new listings usually become available in April, May and June, in the areas around the University of Rochester and the affiliate hospitals, there is a noticeable spike of newly available homes in March coinciding with match day, with the largest frequency of newly available homes coming on market between March 10 and April 15 every year. Outside of this spike in activity, the neighborhood has a lower average sale frequency than any other neighborhood in Rochester, meaning that residents looking to capitalize on the plethora of home-buying programs the University and Strong Hospital make to its employees and students must move immediately or be left with few if any options come June.

Oddly enough, the other major adjacent neighborhood to the University and Strong Memorial Hospital, the 19th Ward, does not follow this trend, though this neighborhood is geographically almost four times as large and contains far less expensive options.

Looking for additional information on these popular neighborhoods or the home-buyer grants available for incoming students?  Feel free to contact me at [email protected] and I'll be glad to assist further!