BUFFALO, N.Y. — With the COVID-19 pandemic came a change in the types of dream homes people are searching for.

Western New York realtor Michael Hartke of Howard Hanna says that families are looking for houses with larger square footage,  more rooms to be used as potential office space and also places for the kids to play at home.


What You Need To Know

  • Western New York realtor Michael Hartke says that the types of homes people are looking for have changed

  • Those looking for homes want more space

  • They are also looking for a place where they can entertain at home 

They’re also searching for places that are ready to live in rather than fixer-uppers.

“Since COVID has subsided, if you will, and people are going back to in office work, I really think people are going to be looking for the bigger homes,” Hartke said. “Because for the last year-and-a-half, people have been entertaining more. It’s been more one-on-one, personal.”

According to Hartke, many of his clients want to sell their homes and buy new ones, more fitting with the new, spacious trends. However, most of the dream homes are way over many people’s budgets. This is because the Buffalo market has been extremely hot when it comes to pricing.

On top of that, Harke says that with the medical corridor, a lot of people are moving to Buffalo for work-related reasons, making the market even more competitive.