By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

When Erin VanBuren bought her first home at the age of 20, she found she couldn’t stop looking at houses. So, she made it her career.

“My father convinced me to buy our first home,” VanBuren recalled. “I loved the whole process.”

VanBuren followed her father into the real estate business. She has been a licensed Realtor for 14 years, working for Coldwell Banker and another firm in Liverpool. In January, VanBuren made the leap from broker to business owner by opening her own real estate brokerage, Your Home CNY Realty in the village of Baldwinsville. The business is located in the former Byrne Dairy building next to Gino and Joe’s Pizza.

“This location has always spoken to me. I thought it was the perfect spot for a local real estate company,” VanBuren said. “It’s … within the village but it’s also really close to John Glenn Boulevard and the highways and Liverpool.”

VanBuren began leasing the space in December 2019 and got to work. Her husband, Jeffrey VanBuren, is a contractor, so he helped her divide the space and make it move-in ready.

“The whole theme — Your Home CNY Realty, our signage, our decor in the office, everything — is very comfortable and homey and not corporate-like at all. It looks and feels a lot more like a home than an office,” she said.

VanBuren grew up in Baldwinsville, and she and her family moved back to the area about eight years ago so their children could attend Baldwinsville schools.

“I definitely consider myself a Baldwinsville girl,” she said. “We wanted somewhere where my kids could walk after school.”

A number of VanBuren’s colleagues from a previous firm followed her in her new venture. She now has eight agents, most of whom specialize in residential real estate.

“They’re all excited and thrilled and encouraging,” VanBuren said.

The philosophy at Your Home CNY Realty, VanBuren said, is to give each customer a personalized experience.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of room for growth once that people understand our concept. We want to be something different, something more comfortable, something more trustworthy and less corporate,” VanBuren said.

Central New York attracts homebuyers with its “great sense of community, awesome local sports teams and colleges,” and people that care about their neighbors, VanBuren said.

“We are entering our fourth straight year of a seller’s market. We still have way more buyers than we do have inventory on the market. If it levels out a bit that’d be great, but it looks very promising,” she said. “It can be questionable for buyers when they’re buying in a seller’s market but the Federal Reserve has recognized that and lowered interest rates.”

VanBuren plans to make more improvements to the site this spring — including expanded parking for agents as well as clients — but her favorite part so far is the sunlight that floods the office.

Your Home CNY Realty is located at 7 Salina St. in the village of Baldwinsville. For more information, visit yourhomecny.com.