ELMA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Elma is one of the hottest housing markets in all of Western New York, according to Mandy Carl of Element Realty Services.
Carl was recently asked to research real estate in seven municipalities: Town of Aurora, Elma, Orchard Park, Colden, Marilla, Wales and Holland.
After diving into the data, she discovered that the Town of Aurora had the highest property sales price average in 2025, right around $475,000. However, right behind Aurora was Elma.
“I was surprised,” said Carl. “It does pride itself on rural character but it does have neighborhoods."
Business First published an article, which mentioned Elma as one of the hottest zip codes in Western New York for Q4. However, Carl’s research separates property sales data by municipality, which can include multiple zip codes. Carl also focuses on monthly data for the entire year of 2025.
“One of the things that pushes the value of homes up here up is that your buying dollar goes further,” explained Carl, referring to lower property taxes.
WATCH: Elma is one of the hottest housing markets in Western New York
Carl said these factors also help make Elma attractive to many:
- Strong school community
- Easy access to NY-400
- Many ranch-style homes
“The low tax rate, and country feel is a big part of the reason why,” said Jim Malczewski, Elma Councilman. “It’s nothing new...The lack of newer subdivisions is really what creates a lot of demand. The very few existing subdivisions there are, are all full."
"We still call ourselves out in the country," said Alfred Grau, of Elma. "Elma’s always been great, just nice being out a little ways, that’s why I live out here."
Some people do not welcome this news due to protecting the rural character of Elma.
"I'm all about preserving character of the town," explained Malczewski. "People are afraid of new development and growth, but at the same time, without any new development, the existing residents have to absorb tax increases."
