Finger Lakes explorer
Canandaigua Lake field report
“Canandaigua” is a lake name, not a comparable-sale strategy.
A lakewide waterfront benchmark paired with the geography, watershed evidence, ownership questions, and market cuts needed before the number becomes useful.
Current market landscape
A benchmark with the product-mix warning left attached.
This is an especially heterogeneous waterfront population. The $9.7 million top sale and $29,000 current low make a single lake-wide median only a starting point; city, condominium, cottage, and estate segments need separate cuts.
NYS Alliance of MLS Matrix; residential waterfront records marked On Waterfront = Yes and matched to the exact Body of Water Name; single-family, condominium/townhouse, and two-to-four-unit properties. Closed period: January 1–December 31, 2025. Active inventory: A-Active and C-Continue Show as of September 13, 2026. One row per MLS listing; medians describe each filtered population and are not repeat-sales appreciation.
Five-year MLS evidence
210 closings—and one median still is not enough.
The lakewide median hides a sharp product split. Single-family listings produced a $1.21 million five-year median, while condominium and townhouse listings produced a $360,000 median. South Bristol supplied the most rows, but its condo-heavy mix produced the lowest municipal median. The useful conclusion is not that one shore “wins”; it is that property type and municipality must be controlled before selecting comps.
Annual waterfront market
Every qualifying MLS listing row, grouped by closed year.
YearClosingsMedian saleMedian DOM
202147$415,00019
202229$510,50011
202337$702,00011
202443$920,0009
202554$562,50028.5
Product and ownership fields change the answer
Property type is the first split; other recurring-cost and tenure fields can reveal a second.
Single-family residential$1,207,500115 closings · 11 median DOM
A better first lens for detached-house comparisons, but it still contains cottages, park properties, seasonal structures, and a $15,000 low sale.
Condo and townhouse$360,00095 closings · 24 median DOM
Nearly half the lakewide population. Association form, unit position, amenities, fees, dock rights, and rental rules remain material.
Where those closings occurred
Tax municipality, not postal shorthand.
MunicipalityClosingsMedian saleMedian DOM
South Bristol77$349,00038
Canandaigua Town43$1,590,0009
Canandaigua City34$485,0009.5
Gorham29$975,0008
Middlesex23$965,00016
Italy4$562,500143
The price range is the story
Five-year closing distribution across the full filtered population.
Under $250k24
$250k–$499,99965
$500k–$999,99958
$1m–$1,999,99940
$2m+23
Reproduce this pull
NYS Alliance of MLS Matrix; status S-Closed/Rented; closed dates January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2025; property types Single Family Residential, Condo and Townhouse, and Multi-Family Residential (2–4 units); On Waterfront = Yes; exact Body of Water Name = Canandaigua Lake. The export contained 210 rows and 210 unique MLS numbers. All rows had a recorded sale price, waterfront flag, exact lake name, and closed status.
Counts describe MLS listing rows, not unique parcels or arms-length deeds. Participant-entered fields can be incomplete. The series is not a repeat-sales appreciation index, and no individual listing data or photographs are republished here.
The physical market
The lake itself changes the comparable set.
A developed north end, steep Bristol hills, two counties, multiple towns, a city market, condominium inventory, cottages, and estate properties create different buyer pools. The watershed is much larger than the shoreline: NYSDEC’s current plan describes roughly 109,000 acres and more than 350 miles of tributary streams.
The watershed is more than ten times the lake.
The current Nine Element Plan describes a 174-square-mile watershed crossed by more than one hundred streams and gullies. Runoff and land use well away from the water can still become a lake issue.
NYSDEC watershed planThe shoreline is not one municipal rulebook.
The 2025 state lake report identifies Ontario and Yates counties and the towns of Gorham, Canandaigua, Middlesex, South Bristol, and Italy. Buyers need the actual parcel municipality—not a mailing address shortcut.
NYSDEC 2025 lake reportPhosphorus management is active infrastructure.
New York approved a focused phosphorus-reduction plan in 2023. That puts farms, roads, drainage, onsite systems, shoreline work, and municipal investment into the same watershed story.
NYSDEC plan announcementDo not blend these blindly
One lake. Several real-estate markets.
The names below are research cuts, not claims that every property fits neatly into one box. A parcel-level analysis still controls.
SegmentUseful comparisonCommon mistake
North end / cityCity services, walkability, condominium and denser housing comparisonsTreating urban or condo inventory like rural fee-simple shoreline
West shore / Bristol hillsTopography, view, road access, exposure, slope and utility comparisonsAssuming a view or steep descent equals usable frontage
East shore / GorhamOrientation, agricultural context, private systems and shoreline formIgnoring municipality and watershed-side differences
South lakeSmaller samples, distance to services, seasonal use and hillside accessUsing a north-end median as a south-lake appraisal
Current landscape
Water quality belongs in the property file.
NYSDEC’s 2025 report classifies the lake as oligotrophic, reports frequent harmful-algal blooms, and notes invasive species. “Clear lake” and “no diligence needed” are not the same statement; review current reports and property-specific water systems.
Open the 2025 NYSDEC lake report- Frontage and accessVerify deeded boundary, direct or shared access, dock rights, association control, stairs, retaining work, and usable water depth.
- Slope and drainageInspect access grade, erosion, stormwater path, retaining structures, septic constraints, winter maintenance, and emergency access.
- Product typeSeparate condominium, cottage, year-round house, estate, vacant land, and view property before using a median.
- Local rulesConfirm the parcel municipality, zoning, rental limits, permits, flood data, shore work requirements, and utility district.
What this page can and cannot prove
Statistics first. Salesmanship last.
What is measured
The market block uses one disclosed MLS definition across all eleven lakes. Counts are listing rows. Medians describe the filtered population; they are not an appraisal, a repeat-sales index, or proof of appreciation.
What still needs parcel work
Deed, frontage, access, dock rights, association documents, legal use, municipal rules, utilities, flood information, water quality, improvements, and condition must be checked for the specific property.
Experience disclosure
The office report contains records in Canandaigua city and town, Bristol, Gorham, East Bloomfield, Farmington, and Victor. None is called lakefront without original MLS water fields. That disclosure does not change the lakewide statistics and is intentionally kept out of the lead.
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