kaulat

I had an interesting week. Several - many - times I used the update information, all the statistics, while speaking with people. I found I could rattle off the number of listings and closings, knew where Skaneateles stood in relation to Camillus and other areas, was conversant with the trends. This weekly update forces me to know what is happening - and knowing that, I feel in control. (Not that I'm a control freak or anything - not me!) There are currently 162 active listings in the Skaneateles area. Of these, 8 are new this week: 5 brand new (without a history) and 3 re-lists. There were no sales or closings. We still have 19 closings listed for the year in the multiple listing service. Being that this is the Fourth of July holiday week, I thought a bit of history might be interesting and also give some perspective on the market. And since we're at the mid-point it is a good time to pause and take stock. The results of this search are actually incredibly informative. Just the...

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been traveling quite a bit (to Florida and Baltimore, MD--two hotbeds of real estate disaster). Today I'm going to avoid talking trash* and am featuring a seller that should be applauded for their acceptance of reality and their no-holds-barred pricing strategy. Address: 1833 E APPLETON St #8, 90802 Asking Price: $165,000 Size: 1 beds, 1 baths, 684 sq. ft. $/Sq. Ft.: $265 HOA Fee: $90 Purchase price: $260,000 Purchase date: 1/2006 MLS #: I07143120 On Redfin : 273 days Down Payment: $24,750 Monthly Payment: $1,200 Income Requirement: $41,250 Description: FOR MORE INFO SEE AGENTS COMMENTS. SPACIOUS, TURNKEY CONDO, 2ND FLOOR UNIT WITH BALCONY & PLEASENT VIEW OF PARK LIKE COURTYARD. UNIT FEATURED HARDWOOD FLOORS, & CLASSIC CERAMIC TILE, NEWER KITCHEN CABINETS, BUILT IN MICROWAVE, STOVE, DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS THROUGHOUT. EXELLENT LOCATION IN DESIRABLE ALAMITOS BEACH , JUST FEW BLOCKS FROM THE OCEAN, AND WALKING DISTANCE TO THE PARK, SHOP...

This goes out to everyone who unfortunately learn the hard way that "It's not closed until it's closed." I have a friend who somewhere in upstate New York was selling her beautiful home. It was on the market - 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths - very lovely in a country setting. One Realtor quoted her well over $300,000 for a list price but she decided that she would use the services of another Realtor who started under $300,000. Pricing is everything. The house, minimally furnished, languished on the market for 9 months until a buyer made a low offer but they countered to bring up the price a bit. Closing was set for early April. The day before closing, for reasons still unknown, the buyer called the town's building inspector/code enforcement officer and asked about the fourth bedroom. It was located with a full bath on the third floor of this 1990-built home. The building inspector pulled the files - yes, the contractor who built the home had a Certificate of Occupanc...

I have to admit, it was hard to choose this week. I saw 5 houses in 3 hours - from Camillus to Auburn, and three of them are stuck in my head. I am not choosing the fantastic waterfront property off East Lake Road with the winding drive down to a ton of wood, stone, ceramic and tile plus creative lighting throughout. Not the sauna and the wine cellar, or that kitchen with every upgraded appliance and gorgeous granite. It's offered at $2,000,000 and seems a bargain at that. I am also not choosing the totally decorated and reconfigured home on West Genesee - again stone and tile and tremendous style whose price includes all the furnishings: $729,900. I liked - and forgive my taste but I thought it sweet and full of potential, "a little bit of heaven" the owners called it - a home I saw on Richard Road out past Borodino. From the wood stove on the main level to the wood stove in the basement, I was charmed. I loved the views most of all - 12 acres down not to the lake,...

The numbers don't show it, but we are suddenly talking about buyers. And that is a very good thing! There are currently 157 listings in the Skaneateles area in the multiple listing service. There were 9 new ones this week - 2 were really new and 7 were re-lists or reconfigurations. For example, a lot can be sold as a lot or as a "to be built" with pictures of what the home would look like. Several of these new listings are waterfront (across East Lake Road really) luxury mansions. Two homes sold this week - one in the village and one in the country. It felt good to speak with people who pulled up the listing and say, "Oh, I'm sorry! That one was just marked contingent." It takes only one pebble to start a landslide! One property also closed - true waterfront, sold over the winter. I went back and looked - the last village closing was March 5th. The mantra is "we can do this, we can sell, we can do this, we can sell....." Sitting at my op...

Yesterday I held open beautiful 11 Onondaga Street in the village. The first couple through said they were just looking, having recently bought in the village. We spoke a lot about the history of the house. They agreed that it seemed older than its 100 years as assigned by the taxes. I told them that when I had 72 Jordan Street the local historian corrected the taxes and we ended up about 20 years younger than previously reported. After saying good-bye to them I greeted an older woman who was signing in. She said she had lived in the house as a little girl, her mother had been born in it, and her great-grandfather (I think) had built it and lived across the street. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the house. Magic! Her mother was born in 1901, so that took care of the correctness of the tax information. She said very little structurally had changed. What people identified as possible additions actually weren't. Still the rear of the house was utilitarian and t...

Some people just don’t get it. If you bought a house during the last three years and are trying to sell it today, it will cost you a significant amount of money to get out. PERIOD. The idea of breaking even (let alone making a profit) is as dead as Anna Nicole. This is especially true in less desirable areas of Long Beach. Naples, Belmont Shore, and Belmont Heights sellers have a remote possibility of getting out with their financial livelihood intact, but everyone else is pretty much done like a Thanksgiving turkey. This seller, with 6 years of ownership in a good area of Bluff Heights is in a position to get out with at least some equity. However, by asking nearly $900,000, they are going to learn very quickly that their house isn’t as special as they think it is. $577 per square foot is a joke. An atrocious, greed-infected, self-indulgent sense of entitlement is on full display for all of us to see. Lucky us. Address: 366 Orizaba Ave, 90814 Asking Price: $899,800 Year Built: 1918 Si...