I'm not surprised and that is why there is a push for more housing by the city and state.
Given that areas such as Greensboro, Toledo and Dayton are all in the top 10, it looks like more people are looking at affordable, mid sized cities/areas more so now than ever before.
Here is the original article:
https://www.apartmentadvisor.com/blo...arkets-q4-2023
From the original article...
"The Affordable Housing Crisis in Syracuse is Reaching a Tipping Point
The cost of living in Syracuse is on the rise. The Syracuse metro area has maxed out our Price Trend Score for the last three quarters and shows no signs of slowing down. Over the last two years, the median cost per square foot when renting an apartment has been steadily increasing, climbing from $1.22 per sq ft. in Q1 2022 to $1.50, where it’s sitting now. This 23% hike can likely be attributed to a few factors.
For one, there is not enough affordable housing being built in the Syracuse metro area to keep up with demand — and not enough incentive to change that fact. A 2023 city housing study found that building costs in Syracuse proper typically exceed real estate values, deferred maintenance on housing stock has led to thousands of units becoming unusable, and less than one in five residents in the city could afford a newly built apartment. At the same time, young people have been flocking to the area in recent years search of cheaper rent and home prices and employment opportunities causing population growth in Syracuse for the first time in decades.
All this coupled with the low vacancy rate reported by the US Census in Q4 2023 (1.8%) has led to the Syracuse metro area’s rise to the top of our most competitive rental market lists."
With this said, housing costs are still lower than many similarly sized areas. So, the big issues here is inventory and stock, with the latter being due to it being older. Even with this, if even half of what was promised in terms of Micron comes to pass, the area has no choice but to build more housing.
Another thing to keep in mind is that older units have been torn down, with newer units, usually marketed towards students, but should also consider the locals; is coming online. For instance, this street view:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pi...22pk?entry=ttu
All of those dwellings have been cleared out and now that block is slated to have newer housing built and of course marketed towards students, as it is a few blocks north of Syracuse University.
So, the other piece to the development that has occurred in the city is that it needs to go beyond luxury Downtown and student geared University Hill/Midtown/Near East Side housing for renters.
Personally, if I was a developer looking into Syracuse, I'd look at the Inner Harbor/Franklin Square area(which still has some land/buildings available to repurpose for housing:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0596...8192?entry=ttu), infill for the South Ave. and South Salina Street corridors(major streets that run through the predominantly black South Side, i.e.-something like this development:
https://www.salina1st.com/), some infill on South Geddes Street(a major street with Hispanic and some black businesses that has parts within walking distance of Downtown, i.e.-like this plot kitty corner from Fowler High(one of the most diverse HSs in upstate NY):
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0419...8192?entry=ttu), on the East Side at the former Kennedy Square site/formerly slated for Loguen Crossing, also walking distance to Downtown and University Hill:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0502...8192?entry=ttu and on the North Side near the I-81 right of way/close to Destiny USA/Stella's Diner on Lodi Street:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0680...8192?entry=ttu
A company like this, that is doing the Bull's Head development in Rochester could be used for developing the mixed income/mixed use developments that the mayor and most cities are now looking to have built:
https://thedawsoncompany.com/
So, there is land available that could be used for infill development.
One last thing, given that this is for the metro area, you also have the chance for infill even within the villages outside of the city, which also offer a degree of walkability. An example of available land is this plot in the village of Liverpool in/near its Downtown and walking distance to Onondaga Lake Park:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1014...8192?entry=ttu
or even in the village of Baldwinsville in the available, undeveloped land at the former Tri County Mall, behind this newer apartment development:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1497...8192?entry=ttu
Let alone land in many of the towns and even place is Oswego and Madison Counties, which are in the metro area.