<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Lzxuq_1FM7RL4t00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Lzxuq_1FM7RL4t00" width="1800" height="1200" ><figcaption>Houses at Fawn Valley, an affordable housing development in Lake Placid. Photo by Nancie Battaglia</figcaption></figure><p>After moving to Saranac Lake for his dream job in 2021, Tyler Barton knew it was a place he wanted to put down roots. Drawn to the town’s strong sense of community, he and his wife began looking to buy a house in the area.</p><p>“We put in a few offers but weren’t even close to being near the winning offer, which was usually well over asking and in cash,” said Barton, who was in his mid-30s at the time. “We could see the writing on the wall that we weren’t going to be able to buy.”</p><p>After three years of searching for a house in the $200,000–$300,000 range, Barton realized he needed to move elsewhere to find an affordable home that fit his needs. He and his wife relocated to the Rochester area in early 2025.</p><p>Barton’s housing woes are far from unique. The rate of home sales less than $300,000 are declining dramatically in the Adirondacks, according to an analysis of New York state housing data. In 2016, four of five homes sold in the Adirondacks were $300,000 or less. But in 2025, homes in that range only made up half of all sales. In addition to driving away young professionals like Barton, housing advocates warn that the lack of affordable homes makes it harder to recruit essential workers such as teachers and nurses, threatening to change the fabric of the communities that have long made up the Adirondacks.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4YqH4W_1FM7RL4t00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4YqH4W_1FM7RL4t00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>The Northern Forest Center apartment building project in Tupper Lake is seen under construction in summer 2026. The affordable workforce housing is using innovative wood product construction practices in nine new housing units. Photo by Nancie Battaglia</figcaption></figure><h2>An uneven housing landscape</h2><p>In addition to a scarcity of affordable homes, the Adirondack region is seeing a shift in home sales to the high end of the real estate spectrum. For instance, in 2025, the number of sales of homes priced at more than $1 million spiked up 21% from its previous pandemic high in 2020. </p><p>The North Country deals with a special set of circumstances that makes building affordable housing particularly difficult. Contractor shortages cause labor to be even more expensive than in other areas in New York state. The cost of building materials continues to climb, and working around developmental regulations within the Adirondack Park can delay larger-scale projects. </p><p>For the contractors who do work in the North Country, there is much more money to be made in building custom million-dollar homes than affordable ones. </p><p>Many point to the pandemic as a turning point in the affordability crisis, when those who could afford the price tag bought up real estate in the region. Although buyers are no longer coming to the Adirondacks to escape the city en masse, real estate lawyer Ann Telfer said the region is still feeling the impact of this COVID-era trend.</p><p>“For the last six years, it has just been nonstop in terms of volume of transactions,” Telfer said. “A lot of those sales are people joining our community instead of people within our community purchasing homes.”</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1tqnDJ_1FM7RL4t00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1tqnDJ_1FM7RL4t00" width="1020" height="679" ></figure><h2>Concerns among many</h2><p>The rate of home sales in most price brackets has yet to subside to pre-pandemic rates; some have even superseded their pandemic peaks. But the number of home sales less than $300,000 fell 43% from its high in 2020 to 2025.</p><p>Not everyone regards the housing market in the Adirondacks as struggling. Colleen Holmes, a second-generation Adirondack realtor who has worked in the business for more than 25 years, said she has found young families moving to the area and feels optimistic about housing in the region, despite rising costs. </p><p>Still, affordable housing nonprofit leaders are concerned about the long-term implications of a housing market that is not hospitable for young people.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2jCiz9_1FM7RL4t00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2jCiz9_1FM7RL4t00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>Steve Sama of Fawn Valley. Photo by Eric Teed/Adirondack Explorer file photo</figcaption></figure><p>“Neighborhoods have been disappearing because the second homes are taking the place of family homes in what once were neighborhoods,” said Stephen Sama, president of Homestead Development Corp. “In a lot of places, you don’t have kids riding up and down on bikes and playing ball in the street anymore.”</p><h2>A domino effect across the housing market</h2><p>Affordability issues extend beyond home ownership and domino into the rental market. Nicole Justice Green, president of the North Country Rural Development Coalition, said the lack of affordable rentals in the region creates a financial trap for those hoping to one day buy a house.</p><p>“If you’re paying a rental payment that is higher than a mortgage would be, it’s a perpetual cycle,” Justice Green said. “People are paying a mortgage-like payment for years, but aren’t able to generate the same kind of credit they would if it was a mortgage. They don’t have extra money to save for a down payment.” </p><p>Eva Dague, 29, hoped to move to the Adirondacks with her now-husband and found a rental in Queensbury just after the pandemic began. At the time, the rental apartment was well within their budget. But Dague says the rent would go up every six months or so until she and her husband could no longer afford the unit.</p><p>Eventually, they were evicted. They stayed with family, and when that was no longer viable, were forced to move into hotels. Dague said she expected to stay in hotels no longer than two weeks; it took five months for them to find an apartment. </p><p>Dague said she hopes to one day be able to buy a home in the region, but is not feeling optimistic.</p><p>“My husband and I always joke that we’re hoping the housing market crashes so we might get lucky,” Dague said. “Other than that, it looks like we’ll be renting for the rest of our lives.”</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0U5uc0_1FM7RL4t00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0U5uc0_1FM7RL4t00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>A sign advertising vacation rentals in Wilmington. Photo by Nancie Battaglia</figcaption></figure><h2>Defining ‘affordable’</h2><p>What makes a home affordable depends on individual needs and finances. If a family is paying more than 30% of their gross income toward housing-related costs, they are considered “cost burdened,” according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.</p><p>But there is no real benchmark for an affordable home price. Homestead Development Corp. is a nonprofit that works to develop affordable homes in the Lake Placid area. It typically offers houses in the $230,000–$295,000 range, though president Stephen Sama and board member Emily Kilburn Politi said they often receive comments about how even this heavily discounted price point is still not affordable for many. </p><h2>Common frustration</h2><p>This sentiment is not uncommon, especially among young people. The median age of a first-time homebuyer is at an all-time high of 40 nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors. In the Adirondacks, where economic opportunity is already thin for young professionals, lack of affordable housing can push out potential new members of a shrinking workforce. Telfer said she frequently sees local young families struggle to buy their first home. </p><p>“There’s a desperation that’s involved,” Telfer said. “They’ve been searching for so long, and it’s really difficult to find something affordable in our area. It makes the process a little bit more emotional for them.</p></div></body>

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After moving to Saranac Lake for his dream job in 2021, Tyler Barton knew it was a place he wanted to put down roots. Drawn to the town’s strong sense of community, he and his wife began looking to buy a house in the area. “We put in a...

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After moving to Saranac Lake for his dream job in 2021, Tyler Barton knew it was a place he wanted to put down roots. Drawn to the town’s strong sense of c

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