kaulat

Keeping in touch with the real estate world on a weekly basis certainly helps me in my business.  Although I go everywhere, almost, knowing what is happening in Skaneateles gives me a lift.  I can quote closings, trends, compare the market to past years, and feel confident that what I say is accurate.  Of course, there are some weeks, such as this one, when not a lot happens and it seems a might difficult to write a blog about it.  But here goes - There are the same number of homes in the Skaneateles area listed as active as there were last week:  150 for the entire area, and 44 for the village.  The number of waterfront homes dropped by one. Three new listings came on the market.  A very pretty home with a bit of land around it outside of Skaneateles was listed at about $400,000.  A smaller village home - but around 2,000 sf nonetheless - debuted in the mid-$300,000 range.  A gorgeous lake rights property was presented around $600,000. There are 6 homes listed as contingent, with one

As I drove up East Lake Road tonight towards the village, I saw many homes that have been on the market for a while that I have shown or know a bit about.  They all seem to be "priced right," but then they haven't sold so I guess, as some say, the market has "rejected" them.  I know they are good homes with great features - so why do they sit?  I am not sure - location?  condition?  fear?  I have to believe people are simply not willing to take on homes that aren't "safe bets."  But then again, what is that?  The eternal question - why some things sell and others don't! Into the fray this week....There are currently 150 homes in the Skaneateles area that are on the market.  Of these, 44 are in the village and 35 are waterfront.  (Remember the days when there would be only five or six homes out there?  We all had our lists of potential buyers, and when a property came on - or we got wind of it coming on - we would rush to the phones...ah, the go

Given some of the ridiculous bullshit I've encountered in my house search, I might have to come out of blogging retirement. ASKING PRICE: $469,900 ADDRESS: 14 5TH Pl, Long Beach, CA 90802 BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 SQ. FT.: 1,214 $/SQ. FT.: $387 YEAR BUILT: 1953 MLS#: P786112 ON REDFIN: 86 days HOA: $260 DOWN PAYMENT (20%): $94,000 INCOME REQUIREMENT (3.5 x Income): $107,000 MONTHLY NUT: $2,500 DESCRIPTION: Amazing sweeping ocean views from the main living space of this two bedroom, two bath condo. This secure unit is just steps from the sand and a large communal patio area, perfect for entertaining or watching the 4th of July fireworks. Condo features hardwood floors, updated kitchen, upgraded bathrooms and plantation style shutters. This could be your perfect ocean home. I looked at this bank-owned condo a few months back and walked away unimpressed. Between the termite damage, filth, poor condition of the kitchen cabinets, darkness of the bathrooms, lack of street parking, community lau

Last Friday I returned from Manhattan in the morning.  I had just gone down on Thursday morning planning to come back the same night, but I was concerned about the flooding I had seen on the drive.  I stayed over, got a quick walk in on Riverside, then started home.  I flew out of the city easily - the Henry Hudson is so fast and uncomplicated in the morning! - but found myself sitting in traffic on 81 in Binghamton.  I listened to the reports:  the Governor was somewhere in a helicopter overhead, there were photos apparently of just the tip of the golden arches of some McDonald's restaurant somewhere, the water had crested but was threatening the structure of bridges.  I heard Owego was hard hit, and thought of Adam Weitsman's business (see http://www.syracuse.com/ for updates on this and his response).  I can't stand sitting in traffic, so I turned off and took Route 11 until I lost it somewhere in the country.  I stopped along the way at a small convenience store and ga

Sold on 09/02/11 - $605,000 Well, that only took 400 days. Look at this long, sad saga: Sep 02, 2011 - Sold $605,000 Jul 15, 2011 - Pending (Backup Offers Accepted) Jul 08, 2011 - Price Changed $609,000 Jun 17, 2011 - Price Changed $639,000 May 27, 2011 - Listed (Active) $649,000 May 27, 2011 - Delisted (Cancelled) May 17, 2011 - Price Changed May 09, 2011 - Price Changed Apr 25, 2011 - Price Changed Mar 30, 2011 - Price Changed Mar 04, 2011 - Relisted (Active) $699,900 Mar 04, 2011 - Delisted (Hold) Mar 04, 2011 - Relisted (Active) Mar 03, 2011 - Delisted Mar 02, 2011 - Listed Nov 14, 2010 - Delisted (Expired) Oct 05, 2010 - Price Changed Sep 27, 2010 - Price Changed Aug 27, 2010 - Price Changed Jul 15, 2010 - Listed (Active) Apr 14, 2010 - Sold $405,000 Hey, a $200,000 profit! This flipper must really know what he's doing! Not so fast, punchy. Setting aside the fact that flippers who know what they're doing actually, you know, flip houses instead of chasing the market dow

Starting again, it is always good to get your bearings.  My bearings.  I was getting my hair done at Carlo's today and ran into a fellow Realtor.  She asked me about Skaneateles and how things were going this year.  Thank goodness I had done the statistics yesterday, because I could rattle off the numbers.  Now you will be able to, also. There are currently 150 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 45 are in the village. Under contract, there are a total of 8 single family homes.  Five can still be shown, while three are so solid that the owners feel they do not need to be shown any more.  At least, that is the presumption.  We all know that (all together  now) - "It's not closed until it's closed!"   And lately even that's under dispute! Five others are pended, which generally means that the mortgage commitment has come in and only the attorney issues - title and such - need to be completed. This year to date 48

I will save the total number of closings we have had in the past few months, but suffice it to say everyone has been busy and the numbers are there to prove it!  The First Twenty closings took until June 27th - the Second Twenty go through only August 9th.  In no particular order: 4001 State Street Road - $290,000 4054 County Line Road - $367,000 3766 Highland Avenue - $311,500 1569 New Seneca Turnpike - $190,000 790 Stump Road - $138,000 1930 Stump Road - $210,000 1025 The Lane - $550,000 140 East Genesee Street - $3,500,000 20 East Lake Street - $215,000 2997 Nunnery Road - $154,900 3829 Knightsbridge Road - $196,000 28 Orchard Road - $250,000 3907 State Street Road - $430,000 49 Academy Street - $545,500 3901 State Street Road - $445,000 3657 Fisher Road - $164,900 3319 East Lake Road - $507,500 3426 East Lake Road - $135,000 1618 Stump Road - $220,000 3065 East Lake Road - $750,000

The colder weather has sent me to the computer and away from the outdoors.  It has been a fantastic and busy summer, but the natural rhythm takes over.  I no longer teach, but I feel the pull to be indoors and working, rather than running around in the car or hanging out with my iPhone on the deck.  I wanted to not miss this summer - and I didn't.  We spent more time at the lake and I have the tan to show it.  It also helps to have had a listing out there, but now that it's sold........ So slowly I will ease back into writing and providing updates.  The bi-weekly update gave me way too much space - I need a solid date or time, and not writing is so much easier than writing.  Also the stretch of time makes it too long between reporting - it is ancient history by the time it hits my blog and that is never a good thing! Until the end of the year, the update will be weekly and completed by Wednesday - might come in early on Tuesday, but will certainly be there by mid-week, when my

Sold on 08/31/11 - $450,000 What a long, strange trip it's been. This art-deco disaster has been on and off the MLS since June 2009. 2009! If you recall, at one point the dipshit owner was trying to get $775,000 for this mess. Hell, as recently as seven months ago he was trying to get $600k ! Ah, how the mighty have fallen. In October of 2010, I said: "I have to give credit to owners expressing themselves and building something unique in Long Beach but as I've said before, one person's quirky (and pricey) personal taste means fuckall to potential buyers." and: "You know what I think to myself when I see houses like this? 'Yeah, if it was dirt cheap I might buy it as a goof.' In other words, this kind of look-at-me 'uniqueness' is actually a detriment to selling because this level of customization and personal flair can easily put houses in the Only-At-A-Discount category." Well, I'd say selling in 2011 for a mere $40,000 above