I hear it everywhere - things are beginning to move! But not yet in the statistics:
There are currently 160 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. This past week 5 new ones came on the market: 2 were re-lists, and 3 were brand new. Of the 5, an amazing 3 were waterfront properties. Must be that people are reading my blog and realizing that waterfront is still selling!
And selling it is! We now have 29 closed properties - 2 new ones this week. One was a lovely home, totally redone, with lake rights, and another was a very pretty country home that sold for over the list price of $599,000. Not so bad! Also, there is a new "K" - contingent sale - another multi-million dollar lakefront home!
So what else is selling? Not condos - no closed sales this year. Of the 7 lot sales 4 were in the Parkside development off West Elizabeth Street. Well, actually one was on West Elizabeth - take a look - you can't miss it! The other 3 were country sales - lots and just downright acreage.
So what else is happening around Skaneateles? Elbridge has closed 30, Marcellus has 36, and Camillus - so much larger in size - has closed 180 homes this year. We'll get there!
And the price of our homes is still up there - well over $500,000 as compared with well under $500,000 last year. People are just waiting, it seems: for homes to sell, for the election, for summer to end, for prices to come down. If every one of those 160 homes currently active reduced their list price 10% I sincerely believe that the vast majority of them would sell. I wonder what other people - homeowners, Realtors, interested readers - think of that proposition. I've read comments along those lines.....and here's a marvel - the average price of a home would still be higher than last year's average!
So why don't owners reduce the price?
- Hanging in there and being unwilling to chance leaving money on the table, as they say.
- The price has already been reduced - no more!
- The market will turn around and they want to be poised to get their price.
- There is no need to move - no urgency - the house can be rented or the owners can stay.
1 comment:
Skaneateles is unique, but probably not immune to the dilemma of countless Americans causing the foreclosure crisis: The asking price is pretty close to the current mortgage balance because of the price paid or a generous bank refinance/second mortgage for renovations, college tuition, etc. during the favorable market conditions of prior years. Although you don't see many foreclosures in the Skaneateles area, that doesn't mean people have an abundance of equity to bargain with. If that is the case, sellers who have the ability to lower their price 10% (and I do believe there are a lot of them out there) would seemingly have a distinct advantage in selling over those who can't. Which brings us back to one of your initial inquiries- perhaps for those with ample equity and better overall financial wellbeing, there's no urgent need to sell... and those that need to sell, need to get their asking price. Also, there's so much talk about the average home price (which I find somewhat misleading) what about the median sale price?
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