Rochester small-multifamily market pulse: 2026 year to date

The market recorded 328 qualifying closings in the September 9 query window

The licensed MLS query returned 328 City of Rochester sales in a closed-date search from January 1 through September 9, 2026. The latest closing contained in the export was September 4. The population is limited to records classified as Multi-Family Residential (2–4 units) with status S-Closed/Rented.

The retrieval date, search end date, and latest included closing are reported separately so the publication does not imply transactions occurred on days absent from the source. This is a count of unique closed listings in the defined MLS population, not every private transfer, off-market deal, commercial apartment sale, five-or-more-unit property, or legal rental unit in Rochester.

Duplexes made up 78% of the observed market

Matrix reported 256 two-unit sales, 40 three-unit sales, and 30 four-unit sales. Two additional records qualified under the MLS property-type filter but had a blank or inconsistent apartment-count field, so they remain in the market total and are shown separately instead of being forced into a category.

That mix matters when comparing prices. A citywide median that combines duplexes, triplexes, and four-unit properties is a market reference point—not a substitute for a unit-matched property analysis.

The typical closing was $162,250; the average was materially higher

The median reported sale price was $162,250, while the average was $196,023. The $33,773 gap shows why the average alone would overstate the center of this transaction population. Reported prices ranged from $10,000 to $750,000.

Median reported price per square foot was $64.75 and the average was $79.91. Those figures blend different unit counts, locations, conditions, occupancy situations, and mixed-use configurations. Price per square foot does not measure income, expenses, capital needs, or legal use.

Fewer properties closed than in the same 2025 period, while the median was higher

The same Rochester, property-type, status, and January 1–September 9 filters returned 373 unique closings in 2025. The 2026 population of 328 was 12.1% smaller. Its $162,250 median reported sale price was 10.0% above the comparable 2025 median of $147,550.

Those movements describe two different transaction populations. They are not a repeat-sales appreciation rate, and they do not establish whether inventory, demand, financing, condition, occupancy, unit mix, or seller behavior caused the change. Reported aggregate sale-price volume declined 2.6%, from $66.0 million to $64.3 million, while median DOM remained 10 days.

New supply and contracts were nearly steady; unsuccessful exits increased

A second Matrix query used the same Town/City = Rochester, Multi-Family Residential (2–4 units), and January 1–September 9 windows across all current statuses. New listing records declined 3.8%, from 558 in 2025 to 537 in 2026. Records with a pending date declined 1.2%, from 415 to 410.

The more pronounced movement was among listings that did not complete a sale in the measured period. Records currently in X-Expired status with an expiration date in the window increased 23.3%, from 129 to 159. Records with a withdrawn date in the window increased 24.1%, from 29 to 36. Together with the 12.1% decline in closings, that is consistent with more friction between seller expectations and what buyers can support—but it does not identify one cause.

These are listing-record counts, not unique-parcel counts. A property can be relisted under a new MLS number, and current status can affect how a historical event is represented. The results therefore measure MLS listing flow under the stated filters rather than the number of distinct buildings that entered or exited the market.

Current available inventory is a snapshot—not a 2025 comparison

On September 13, 2026, Matrix returned 86 A-Active Rochester two-to-four-unit listings. Four additional listings were C-Continue Show, producing 90 listings that were active or still available to show under the MLS status definitions.

This is a current snapshot. Matrix did not provide a verified September 2025 point-in-time inventory count in the reproducible search used for this release, so the report does not claim that active inventory rose or fell year over year. A historical inventory series or archived monthly snapshot is still required for that comparison and for a defensible months-of-supply calculation.

Mark Updegraff’s operator read: buyers and sellers are working from different math

The measured result is straightforward: qualifying closings fell 12.1%, the median sale price rose 10.0%, and median days on market remained 10. New listings and pending-date records changed only modestly, while expired and withdrawn records increased by more than 20%. Mark Updegraff’s working interpretation is that elevated borrowing costs are reducing what many investors can support from property cash flow, while some sellers remain anchored to pricing expectations formed when debt was less expensive.

That interpretation is informed by active Rochester brokerage, ownership, and management work; it is not a causal finding from the MLS data. Freddie Mac’s national 30-year fixed-rate benchmark was 6.76% on September 10, 2026, which provides financing context but is not an investment-property or small-multifamily loan quote.

The current 86-active-listing snapshot does not prove whether inventory rose or fell from 2025. What the flow comparison does show is fewer new listing records, nearly flat pending-date activity, and more unsuccessful exits during the same calendar window. That pattern supports a pricing-and-financing disconnect as a working hypothesis while preserving the distinction between measured results and operator interpretation.

Good Cause Eviction changes the winter-versus-spring leasing decision

Rochester adopted New York’s Good Cause Eviction framework in 2025. For covered units, the law adds renewal and eviction protections and makes an increase above the lower of 10% or 5% plus the applicable inflation measure presumptively unreasonable. Rochester also selected a one-unit statewide small-landlord threshold and a 245%-of-fair-market-rent exemption threshold. Coverage remains property- and owner-specific; other statutory exemptions may apply.

In Updegraff Management’s operating experience, achievable rents for some Rochester units can differ by 10% to 20% or more between the weaker winter leasing season and spring. That is a first-party operating observation, not a citywide MLS statistic. The practical question is no longer simply whether to accept a winter rent: an owner must model the cost of vacancy against the rent that can be achieved now, the statutory renewal framework, the likely path of future increases, and the tenant-retention value of the decision.

This is general market and operating information, not legal advice. Owners should have qualified New York counsel determine whether the law covers a particular unit, tenancy, owner, or proposed increase.

Use the report according to the decision you need to make

For larger investors and operators, the report is a starting point for identifying where transaction volume, price, property type, and local operating conditions may support deeper diligence. For rental owners, it shows why acquisition math and management decisions now have to be evaluated together—especially when leasing season, condition, compliance, and renewal rules interact.

Buyers can use the numbers to set a market baseline, but a workable offer still depends on verified rents, legal unit count, taxes, insurance, utilities, condition, capital needs, financing, and the buyer’s return requirements. Investment-property sellers should expect serious buyers to underwrite those same facts rather than rely on headline price movement alone.

Half of the sales closed after 10 reported days on market or fewer

Median source-defined days on market was 10; the average was 23. The range was zero to 316 days. The long upper tail makes the median the more useful description of the center.

The median sale price was 103.0% of original list price. The raw export includes 12 ratios above 150%, including one 600% value, so this release does not use the arithmetic average or raw maximum as a market summary. A sale above original list does not reveal the financing, concessions, repair credits, property condition, occupancy, or whether the original asking price was accurate.

Updegraff Group Realty appeared on 28 unique transactions

Updegraff Group LLC, doing business as Updegraff Group Realty, appeared as a listing, co-listing, selling, or co-selling office on 28 of the 328 qualifying closings—8.5% of the defined citywide population.

The 28-count is transaction-based. A closing represented on both sides is counted once, preventing a double-ended deal from inflating the market-participation numerator. The result is not commission income, individual-agent production credit, proof of origination, or a count of off-market work.

ZIP 14619 produced a concentrated, reproducible result

Applying Zip Code = 14619 to the same 2026 query returned 13 qualifying closings. Updegraff Group LLC appeared on either side of six unique transactions, or 46.2% of that ZIP-defined population.

ZIP 14619 is useful because the filter is explicit and reproducible. It is not interchangeable with the City of Rochester’s official 19th Ward polygon: postal geography can include or exclude places differently than a neighborhood boundary. This result therefore supports a ZIP-code claim only—not a claim about all 19th Ward sales.

Official City polygons reveal where the 2026 activity occurred

We matched source-provided coordinates to the City of Rochester neighborhood layer rather than treating Matrix’s City Neighborhood field as an official boundary. The 19th Ward polygon contained 31 qualifying closings with a $190,000 median; Updegraff Group Realty appeared on nine, or 29.0%. Maplewood contained 36 closings with a $169,950 median and six UGR-involved transactions.

These are official-polygon results for the stated MLS population, not ZIP-code or listing-label results. City neighborhood and association polygons can overlap, so neighborhood counts are calculated independently and cannot be added to recreate the citywide total. Annual medians publish only where at least five observations are present.

What this release can—and cannot—answer

This pulse establishes current transaction scale, unit mix, price distribution, market time, building profile, disclosed brokerage participation, and a narrowly defined ZIP 14619 result. It does not establish rents, vacancy, operating expenses, net operating income, capitalization rates, cash flow, renovation cost, or investor returns.

The next useful enrichment is to match the 2026 population to official City polygons, then analyze unit count, financing, occupied-versus-vacant delivery, concessions, and condition. Reconciled Buildium operating data can later add a separate operational layer. Until those fields pass their respective audits, they will not be converted into confident-sounding conclusions.

Reproduce the query and audit the limitations

MLS content is licensed and not guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Individual listing records, addresses, agent data, and private remarks are not republished here. Future refreshes may change the year-to-date totals; material methodology or data corrections will be logged.

• Run a Multi-Family search in NY State/GRAR Matrix
• Select only Multi-Family Residential (2–4 units)
• Set status to S-Closed/Rented and closed dates to January 1–September 9, 2026
• Set Town/City to Rochester
• Export all fields and verify the latest included Closed Date separately from the query end date
• Use source fields for price, square-foot, market-time, list-ratio, and age summaries; disclose outliers instead of silently trimming them
• Filter Total # Apts separately for 2, 3, and 4; preserve inconsistent records
• Match source coordinates to the controlling City polygon layer
• Use all list, co-list, selling, and co-selling office-name fields for UGR and count each MLS Number once