You may have seen these signs around the Village and into the Town. They honor the people who come out and take care of the rest of us. It felt important to start here.
Personal - I left for a trip cross-country in my MINI with Boss (the dog) on March 1st, meeting up with friends in Pennsylvania and stopping at a friend's home in North Carolina. As always happens, along the way a property came on the market that I knew a buyer wanted, and we made the deal when I was in Florida. Bob got a very cheap flight to Orlando and joined me a week later. We celebrated getting out of the cold with friends on a pier in Titusville. We headed west.
In Panama City the MINI got a flat. It took a couple days for the tire to arrive, so we explored, watched the (last) SU game, and listened to the news. By the 12th we came to the conclusion it was time to go home. We spent a last day in one of my favorite towns, Fairhope, Alabama (so like Skaneateles!) then pushed home, arriving on the 17th, positive we had made the right decision. Alex and family surprised us by making the same decision, the same day, and are enjoying the beauty and relative safety of Central New York in their rented home in the Village.
Real estate continues on, whether agents are essential or not.
Currently there are 40 active single family listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. Of these, 13 are in the Village and 11 are waterfront properties. Prices range from $175,000 to 7 million. The waterfront listings are all over 1 million dollars. The median price not including waterfront properties is $484,000. With waterfront - $654,900. The median Village price is $669,000 without including waterfront listings, but starts at $325,000.
Using "On waterfront" and "Skaneateles Lake" as my criteria - which you should always do - there are 16 active properties listed. They range in price from $750,000 to 7.5 million.
I also check the Skaneateles School District which includes some listings in other towns like Spafford and Owasco. There are 49 active properties, with 16 considered waterfront. Two of these are under a million. The overall price range is $79,000 to 7.5 million dollars.
Under contract in the Town of Skaneateles there are 12 listings. Only 2 have gone under contract since March 15th. The District has 18 under contract and the same 2 since March 15th.
How many have closed this year? 17 in the Town, and 20 in the District. Respectively 7 and 8 homes have closed since March 15th. All this compares favorably with last year when 19 had closed by April 14th.
Where do we go from here? People will always need to buy and sell. Some, I imagine as after 9/11, will look for a getaway place not too far from The City. Summer is coming - what better way to spend it than in Skaneateles or on the lake? Can we show houses? - in more ways than we have in the past, I would say. And what is true today may not be true when you read this. The rules change - the industry is in flux - we are all trying to work our way through the rhetoric and do it safely.
One thing is true - I would rather be here hunkering and isolating and distancing than anywhere else. Please - stay safe, stay healthy - for yourself and others.
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