Open House(s) Alert! Sunday, June 8th

Come see this very beautiful home at 3882 Highland Avenue in Skaneateles.  I am showing you this interior photo because that way you can see the hardwood floors, the fireplace in the living room, and I can tell you that the window you see at the rear is actually a door.  The door leads to a marvelous over-sized deck next to a stone patio.  Both look out on a level yard.  Altogether - front and back lawns - the land is almost an acre.

Price: $339,000  It has four bedrooms with 2.5 baths, a newly remodeled kitchen, dining room, and this spectacular living room.  The basement is currently used for storage and as an office.

Check out more photos on the internet - ML#S309177.  Time of the open house - noon to 2:00.  It won't be such a bad way to spend a summer Sunday, taking refreshment on the back deck.  If it gets too hot I will use the remote to roll out the awning for you.

Highland Avenue is in the town, but within walking distance of the Village and the lake.  It has public water, large lots, and a great variety of homes.  You can reach it from Genesee Street by turning at the eastern light on the corner of East Lake Street, then take another right onto Onondaga, and the next left will be Highland. You will pass two more open houses on your way there.  Feel free to check them out - I think this home does well by comparison.

This is the first open - don't miss it!  And please tell me that you read about it on my blog!  See you there!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The More Regular Update

We are getting back to normal here after that very rough winter.  The sun is shining, my slider to the deck is open, Boo is barking at some other dog, and I can hear new construction in the background.  Not only that, but our nephew is working his way through LeMoyne by painting our house this summer!  That is, when it's not the day after he and his buddies had all you can eat wings at Quaker Steak and Lube...(uncompensated advertisement).

The Skaneateles housing market has been roaring!  At least in the listings area.  A couple days ago I sent out new listings that were comparable to the owners of one of my listings so they would have a better sense of their competition, and it was one listing after another!  There are currently 89 single family properties listed as active in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 22 are in the Village and 22 are waterfront.  (I love it when they are the same number - happens fairly often, too!)

Thirteen - as in 13! - listings came on the market in the past 17 days since I last posted.  Of these, only 3 were re-lists.  Their prices range from a low in the mid-$100s to almost $800,000.  Four are in the Village and 3 are waterfront.

We seem to be getting a logjam of "under contract" homes.  There are 25 waiting to close, and there were 21 the last time I wrote.  Four of these are new - one Village and one waterfront - but there were 8 during the last period.  Definitely the sales have slowed, as have the showings.  Now it's time for those houses that are under contract to actually close.

We had one closing in the past 17 days.  I won't even write what the numbers were by this date for the past two years because they will give the wrong impression.  I know that a number of these homes will close, and by mid-June we will be at least competitive with the past few years.  Again - houses need to be priced right to get showings; also sellers must be aware that the market is seasonal.  If it's active weeks are missed, then either a great deal of patience is required or it is time to reduce the price to get action.

We have a great product - Skaneateles - and great homes, both for year-round living or as second homes. Think of it - people come to upstate New York to buy a second home not because it's on the water, but because of the draw of the Village and the area.  We are so very, very lucky to live here!

The First Twenty

I just went back and looked at last year for the 2013 First Twenty post.  It was written that horrible Friday after the bombings at the Marathon.  My friend Rebecca lives in Watertown and we texted all day.  Turned out there was a reason to be worried for her safety.  This year is different - her daughter may come to Syracuse University for her Master's, and all is calm and strong in Boston.  Here, too, I might add.

In no particular order:

2019 Woodland Lane                     Town of Spafford                       $475,000

3809 Highland Avenue                    Town of Skaneateles                   $167,000

2887 Nunnery Road                        Town of Spafford                        $305,000

657 Crow Hill Road                        Town of Skaneateles                   $309,000

1992 West Lake Road                    Town of Skaneateles                   $900,000

112 Sinclair Street                           Village of Skaneateles                  $431,760

3512 County Line Road                   Town of Skaneateles                   $318,900

2512 Wave Way                              Town of Skaneateles                   $835,000

1990 West Lake Road                      Town of Skaneateles                  $500,000

3390 Rickard Road                           Town of Spafford                       $170,000

25 Griffin Street                                 Village of Skaneateles                 $265,000

1553 Red Tail Lane                            Town of Spafford                      $600,000

79 Woodlot Landing                           Town of Niles                           $310,000

20 Leitch Avenue                                 Village of Skaneateles               $700,000

23 State Street                                     Village of Skaneateles               $175,000

3825 East Street                                   Town of Skaneateles                $175,000

876 West Genesee Street Road             Town of Skaneateles                $245,000

9 Wicklow Drive                                   Village of Skaneateles               $335,000

6909 County Line Road                         Town of Skaneateles                $340,000

54 East Lake Street                                Village of Skaneateles               $245,000

Skaneateles Real Estate Update - Finally Warm Edition

Warming up - both the weather and the sales!  I have the slider open to the deck, Charlie is at my feet taking care of me, and Boo is sunning himself as I write.  The leaves have finally opened and in the next week all those lovely trees on East Lake will be in bloom - take a ride out to Borodino!  (You can also admire the house at the corner of Nunnery and Route 41 while you're there....)

Currently there are 80 single family homes in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service that are on the market.  Of these, 18 are in the Village and 19 are considered waterfront.

Eleven "new" ones came on since the last time I published an update on April 27th.  Of these, only four are truly new - the others are re-lists of property that did not sell and are now being freshened for the spring market.   I rarely write about these, but they each have a lot in common - high end (over $700,000) and gorgeous.  

There's nothing wrong with the four really new ones that range in price from the lower $100,000 to almost $500,000.  Only one is in the Village, and it's my listing at 89 West Elizabeth Street.  We held the first open yesterday and even though it was Mother's Day we had a great turnout.  And why not?  New Village listing - .83 acres:  4 (could be 6!) bedrooms, and over $120,000 in updates and structural improvements.  The price is under most Village listings - $274,900.  Add to that the private lot...hmmmm...on brokers' open tomorrow, Tuesday, from 11:30 to 1:00 if you want to see it.  Or call me: 315-447-0441.

(ML#S310283)

So what sold - and why were we all running around showing things if not to sell them?  Actually, even if only 4 new listings came on the market, 8 other properties received offers and are under contract.  This is a very good ratio, and another reason to get out there and choose your new home soon, before it's sold!  Three of the new sales are Village, 1 is waterfront, and the other 4 are in the area.  The total number is now 21 under contract.

Sold and closed - hooray! - we have now reached the magic number of 20.  The two that closed are in the Town portion, bringing the waterfront, Village and Town to fairly even numbers.  The  median price this year is $327,000 and that's a slight increase over the last couple years.  Fewer homes have sold by this time, however, reflecting the fewer homes on the market.  In 2013 there were 26; 2012 there were 29 homes closed by May 12th.  We will catch up in the next month - still my solid prediction!

So get out there and see what's there to see!  I will publish the list of the First Twenty sales of 2014 in the next few days.  Please watch for it!

Skaneateles Real Estate - It's Still Cold Out There Update

I am sitting here at my desk freezing because I know it will get up to 60 this afternoon and feel so much better having been so cold this morning.  It's been the longest winter I can remember.  In February I forgave the cold and snow if it promised to be over by mid-month.  Here we are two and a half months later and I am still wearing a turtleneck...  The good news - and there is always good news - is that we probably won't see another winter like this for years, if ever.  And if we got through this, next year will be easy!

That said, the lethargy produced by cold temperatures made selling a challenge.  Everything stopped - including this blog.  It was mind-numbing and blood-chilling.  As one agent said, no one wanted to go outside.  And you really have to in order to buy a house.  Seeing, feeling, listening is so important to the process.  And if your ears are frozen and you wear eternal gloves...it just doesn't happen!

So starting about two weeks ago there was a thaw.  At least the snow for the most part was gone.  People came out in droves for the vacation week.  We all were busy, running from home to home, making appointments, re-making them, seeing houses for second or third times.  And there was real movement in the market.

Because I haven't written since March 13th, this will be a synopsis of what happened rather than a detailed account.  Currently, in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, there are 75 homes on the market. Of these, 18 are in the Village and 18 are considered waterfront.  These are not including homes that have contracts of some kind on them, even though they are "continue to show."

There were a plethora of new listings and re-listings - 26 in all!  Of these, 10 are in the Village and 5 are waterfront (now that the ice has left the lake).  But you can see there has been movement if that many came on and still there are only 75 active listings!

Surprisingly, there are only 16 total properties with contracts waiting to close.  Not surprisingly, 10 are new. Continuing with the "hot in the Village" trend, 4 are from the Village, 6 in the town, and 2 of those waterfront. They range in list price from $134,000 to 1.5 million (not waterfront, I might add).

The most important number is the sold and closed number.  We have 18 so far this year, of which 6 are recent.  Two of everything - Village, Town and Waterfront.  We are running behind the last few years, but we will catch up.  I doubt we will surpass it because we need more houses to be listed.  Gone are the 150 active listings...welcome to the new world of real estate in Skaneateles!

Open House Alert! March 30th - 50 West Genesee Street

I love this photo!  The house looks just like this - such a pretty flow...hardwoods, the stairs going up with the stained glass at the landing.  Under the stairs is a hiding place for little ones.  You look through from the front hall to the dining room, into the kitchen and then over the family/office room out onto the deck.  

Gorgeous wooden trim too.

With spring arriving on Sunday - which it will!  I promise! - I will open the front doors once again.  I might even find a way to put a chair on the porch for people-watching.

I was in the house yesterday showing it and we realized that with all the leaves off you can get a very good view of the lake (in the distance, and snow-covered) through the trees from the third floor.  I often wonder if people go by and think of it as only a two-story home.  The third gets left out, but that's where the media room or playroom could be.  Yesterday we talked about building another bath up there in the closet area - a fourth full bath that would be!  And looking out the back, over the garage, you can see the houses on the hills now that there are absolutely no leaves on the trees.  It's fun to try to identify the streets and specific homes.

The price is $390,000; the hours are 1:00 to 3:00.  Have lunch at the Sherwood and walk the couple blocks west to #50, explore it, and then walk back to discuss it over pie or creme brulee or a glass of sherry at the Inn.  If you go to Gilda's, try the dates (my favorite).

Whatever you decide, stop in!  I would love to know that you read about the open house on this blog!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Still Winter Update

So - it's March 13th and this is the view from my kitchen.  The table lets us know how much snow has fallen - yesterday morning there was nothing on it but birdseed.  The chair you see in the background was where I sat to get a bit of a tan (50 degrees!) just two days ago.  That was after I came home from my brokers' open at 51 Calemad in the Fiat with the top down.  I try to explain this to my "Words with Friends" friend in Australia.  I imagine her just shaking her head.  Why not?  We all do!

Needless to say the winter has been slow.  Currently there are only 61 single family homes listed in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 14 are in the Village and 17 are considered waterfront.  Since reporting last about four weeks ago only six first-time listings have come on the market. Three others were re-listed, getting ready for spring.  None of the new listings are in the Village.  They range in price from under $200,000 to 2.5 million for waterfront with acreage.  Two of the new listings are homes to be built by a builder.

Homes have managed to sell.  Five homes have gone under contract, two in the Village.  Another is waterfront and two others are homes in the town.  I've shown homes and had my listings shown, but there are usually issues related to weather or timing.  Now that Daylight Savings Time is here - and maybe spring around the corner? - I expect things to pick up.

The very good news is that homes have closed.  We have 12 now, year-to-date.  Seven closed in the past month this means.  Three were waterfront, one was in the Village, another was a newly built Village home, and the others were in the town.  Even though this is a small sample, the median price is well over $300,000. Last year 14 homes had sold and closed by now and the year before the number was 13....we are in good shape!  Inventory must improve to make it a banner year again.

So I wish you all well.  Tomorrow the temperature goes up into the 40s, Syracuse University starts its March madness with the ACC Tournament, I plan on one (at least!) of my listings selling this weekend, and I look forward to walking Charlie through the Village.  And getting there with the top down on the Fiat, too!