(ABC 6 News) – The numbers are in for Southeast Minnesota Relators and their annual report on the housing market.

While 2023 was still a staggering year for affordability and availability of homes, realtors have a more optimistic outlook for what’s ahead in 2024.

2023 was a tough year for the housing market, especially for first time home buyers as they batteled high interest rates with a low number of homes available.

New listings in southeast Minnesota decreased by almost 10% in 2023, and the median price for homes was more than $300,000.

This made the market particularly hard for first time buyers, fearing they’d never be able to find a home within budget.

“We’re advocating for home ownership and it’s not just because it’s our job to do so but our job is to do that because we know and believe that,” said SEMR President Joe Skine. “And statistics will show you that generational wealth has been built through home ownership. And so I think it’s important to be able to have and educate the younger generations as to why that can be important to them as well.”

But SEMR members have hope 2024 will be better, especially as interest rates are slowly lowered by the federal reserve.

“Over the last couple of years we’re seeing land on the outskirts of Rochester being sold and developed. So Rochester is only going to increase in size with the great economic bubble that I believe we’re in with the promising things we’re seeing within the industry over the next few years with Mayo Clinic,” said Carl Rogers, President-elect of SEMR.

Mayo Clinic’s commitment to invest $5 billion into Rochester over the next six years gives these realtors hope people will draw in to buy homes in Rochester and the surrounding towns.