It's no secret the housing market's been in a slump.

But, the Greater Binghamton area isn't following the trend.

While most homeowners watch their home's value drop, people in our area see a boost.

But Binghamton is the exception.

If you're in the market to sell your home, Binghamton is the place to do it.

Over the past two years the cost of buying a home is up almost 15 percent.

"We never had a big building boom here. We just kind of like slowly, steadily went along we never had big jumps in percentages every year. So it wasn't a big balloon that was going to pop, as it did in other areas," says realtor John Burns.

Because there was no balloon to pop, realtor John Burns says there is a healthy demand for housing.

For sale signs like this one in Vestal were fewer and far between in 2007 than in 2006.

The amount of houses sold dropped by about 14 percent.

Although the time spent on the market stayed the same.

The average house sold in about 65 days in 2007, the same as the previous year.

"We still have a couple things really working for us. One is that there is really good deals here. Our prices are much more competitive here than they are in other markets," says Burns.

The average price of a home in the Binghamton area is about 115-thousand dollars.

Still, while the local market to buy and sell is healthy, home builders are experiencing a lull.

Bill Brunner, of the Southern Tier Home Builders Association, says high property taxes hurt new home sales.

"The market for new homes is somewhat depressed from what it has been in the past, let's take a 10 year period," says Brunner.

Brunner says home-owners would rather re-model before investing in a new home.

It's just as good a time to buy a home in Binghamton, as it is to sell.

The Greater Binghamton Realtors Association says buying now while the market's low will prove a wise investment.