Predictions and Resolutions

As 2011 ends I must say it has been a banner year.  I generally have great years that end in "1".  Liam was born this year, ten years ago Bob proposed, ten years before that I started the process of finding my birthmother (at least conceptually).  I could go on... My business this year was fantastic - thank you all!  It was certainly the year of the referral - I think at least 10 of my deals involved agents sending people to me.  It was also the year of driving, with many thanks to Bob, while negotiating deals.  Thank you iPhone, too - I could not have done it without it!

We fell far short of my predicted 90 single family homes closed in 2011, probably at 70.  I know I have a couple closings coming up early in the year so as always I will think positively that next year will be better.  But I must also be more realistic, so I will predict 80 closed homes in the Skaneateles area next year.

I said SU football would be better than they were in 2010.  Not.  No bowl game for them, not even the late odd ones.  But they did provide a wonderful throwback evening with their win over then-ranked West Virginia in the Dome.  It was like going back in time...but then like all dreams, we had to wake up.  Next year a bowl game, for sure! 

I saw SU basketball going to the Final Four, but that was in my own head admittedly wishful thinking.  This year they will go and they will win it all.  Dion Waiters will be named the MVP of the tournament, even though he will still come off the bench. 

Last year a small notation about not rushing appeared in my blog, a resolution in passing.  I took it to heart though and concentrated on it.  I allowed extra time and really limited that awful rushed feeling by being early.  Alex's introduction to "Words with Friends" this past fall has been a great help.  When I am early, I usually have plays to make thanks to him, Summer, Trish, and someone named Mr. Teach with whom I started playing and who thought I was someone else.  Great way to pass the time - although please, not on an airplane!

This year is the year of organization.  My desk has always been a mess - I tell Jolanta not to attempt to clean it, and she (probably most gratefully) doesn't.  Not at the office - Patti Callahan, when she was the manager of Longley-Jones years ago, put it in my head that desks should be cleared when not in use to give a good impression of the office.  So mine is - there - but at home...So Bob, who shared the drawers of his desk (my parents' old one) bought me a desk for Christmas.  It's lovely! And it has HUGE drawers just ready to be filled with everything that is spread out around the house.  I can see myself writing more because I can enjoy it.

I always talk about de-cluttering, but I will do it this year.  Slowly things will leave - because it is a wonderful thing to give things away.  I see some that will stay, at least a while longer that I can't yet bear to send away - my mother's mug with a photo of her cat Hermione (the Himalayan before Hermes) on it, all things Christmas, favorite books (T.S. Eliot, the J.M. Barrie first editions), that little black dress that I WILL get into again).  But I can let more go.  Bob started the thought process by saying he would give me $1,000 instead of doing more garage sales to try to reach this number.  The Thrifty Shopper over in Auburn will see me weekly - I resolve!

I resolve to do the same amount of business that I did this year but net more money in the end with less stress.  The banks are awful, as I have said, so expectations must be lowered.  Sixty days to closing is a thing of the past.  We all try so hard, and whether it's the bank or the attorneys or other deals very rarely do we hit 60 days any more.  I resolve to find a way to make each and every closing less hectic.

I want to work smarter and by doing so spend more time with friends.  I met a friend for coffee at Creekside before Christmas, and we had six harrowing months to catch up on with each other.  My friends are important, and I want to enjoy them.  Remember "When I Say No I Feel Guilty"?  I do!  But by saying no to some things, I will be saying yes to others.

I did spend more time at the lake (another resolution) and I plan to be there even more this year, thanks to my iPhone.  As technology improves it allows for greater freedom.  But since I love this area so much it makes very little sense for me to travel far and wide.  A new car is coming - wait and see! - and driving that will be my vacation.

As this year ends and another begins, I am so thankful for everyone in my life and I look forward to a spectacular 2012.

Skaneateles Real Estate - Christmas Edition

What a great last two weeks it's been!  Alex, Rachel and Liam came to visit for Christmas.  Before that there were the cookies to make - I am guessing I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 dozen.  I had a marvelous time shopping at the mall and in the village, and with the weather cooperating I think it was easy.  Not the same spirit, when snowflakes fall and lights reflect off the snow, but a good time buying gifts that it turned out they actually liked! 

And not much was happening in real estate in Skaneateles.  There are only 110 active listings of which 31 are in the village and 24 are waterfront.  Only two new listings came on in the past two weeks - one is a re-list and the other is a builder's "to-be-built" in Parkside off West Elizabeth Street.  Of the six homes marked contingent, only one is new, a waterfront priced under $350,000.  There are no new additions to the "under contract, do not show" or pending categories.

The real news is the end of year closings.  We have had four - wow! - since December 15th.  Three are in the village, and all took reductions of varying amounts;  two came down in price by 20% and the other two by 10% from their original list prices.  But all closed within eight months of listing, which incudes the 60 to 75 days it generally takes after the offer is made.  We now have 68 sold and closed homes in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service for the year.  I am sure there must be one or two others that will show up in the next week or so.  Next year I will provide an analysis and the final closings.

So enjoy the New Year and the celebrations!  Drive carefully, sing loudly, and revel in our lack of snow but look forward to a very snowy January which will find you safe and warm.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

This is the cookie edition.  I started last week for our annual family Christmas, having pulled together my Christmas cards and gotten them out.  I needed to bake, which is my way of relaxing.  Not the eating - just the baking.  The first ones - other than a quick rolled cookie cutter cookie - was a new recipe I wanted to try out.  I had found it in the Post Standard (http://www.syracuse.com/) on their annual page of contributions of favorite recipes.  It is peppermint - Rachel loves peppermint - and it was great.  They baked up beautifully and, I am told, they taste great.  I will make more and the next time add a chocolate kiss in the middle.  Yum!

There are currently 114 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, of which 32 are in the village and 26 are considered waterfront.  Three new listings came on - well, two are re-lists but one is a very pretty Village home priced in the mid-$300,000.

There are still six homes marked contingent, and eight marked pending.  In the "under contract, do not show" there is a new waterfront property - excellent!  Maybe a Christmas present?  I have known that to happen.....

We now have 64 sold and closed properties for the year.  Two new ones were just added - both in the Village.  Each started much higher and then came down and finally were sold.  They demonstrate that there are great deals out there, just waiting for your offer.

Enjoy the next week - go see some houses - buy the presents, bake the cookies, enjoy the lack of snow (over 50 inches last year by this time!) and celebrate the holidays in style!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

We saw Hugo, the film in 3-D, last week.  I doubt a film's setting was ever so powerful for me.  Maybe it was the beginning of the real estate bug, but when I was younger I would attend plays and sketch out the sets.  My playbills contained drawings, all the way back to Stratford and probably before.  Now that 3-D has "come into the picture," as it were, my interest is even more pronounced.  If I do leave for France, it will be that film that sent me packing. 

But back to the prosaic, and a cold drizzly day in Central New York.  When the snow comes it will be welcome.  There are currently only 115 active listings in the single family homes Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 32 are in the village, 28 are waterfront, and a new subset of waterfront in the village has two homes.  One actually new listing (at least not for a long while) came on - a little home listed around $100,000.  Two others that have "been out there" in various forms also re-appeared with lower prices.

The contingency category shows three new "sales."  (Not closed until they are CLOSED!)  A marvelous waterfront property, new construction in the village, and a home I swore would sell last summer but only did now (in the village also) were marked as contingent.  I am sure everyone is thrilled - buyers, sellers, agents...

There was also movement in the "under contract, do not show" category.  A home that has been on the market for a bit in the village now shows a "U" in the listings, as does a "to-be-built" in the town. 

We also have a newly closed house in the town, purchased rapidly and closed within about 5% of its list price.  That brings to 62 the actual number of sold single family homes this year.

Now, our dear friend of the blog, JT, has raised the "median" versus "mean" discussion again.  The Post-Standard publishes on occasion the average (mean) prices of homes in the individual towns.  Skaneateles is once again in the mid-$400,000 range, but that is misleading, she says, and I agree.  We had a HUGE sale of waterfront-village property a few months back and that has skewed the numbers tremendously.  The median list price of SOLD homes is still hovering around the $300,000 level - which means that there were an equal number of homes listed above the price as well as below the price.  A look at the actual sales prices of these homes shows the same approximately.   The current median price of active homes is $400,000 - certainly a discrepancy between reality and the active market price.  Thanks, JT!

                                                      Closed for $3,000,000 earlier this year.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

So November is going to leave us with only .6 inches of recorded snow on record.  Usually it's about 10 inches, and the long winter begins.  But hardly any snow is good news - I hope that when the snow does arrive - December 24th after Alex, Rachel and Liam (and all travelers) are safe and snug - we have a good lot of it, enough for snowshoeing and skiing.

Currently there are only (!) 127 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 37 are in the village and 30 are waterfront.  Absolutely nothing new came on the market this past week.  I went back and checked for the month of November - only two homes that were not re-lists appeared.

But houses are selling.  This past week three homes were placed in the contingent column, two in the village and one new construction.  The total is now seven.  In the "under contract, do not show" group one new one came on, a very pretty certain shake shingled home in the town.  It joins five others in this category.

Nothing new in the pending group; the total is still seven.  But the good news is that there are 20 homes waiting to close, with at least half of them, I hope, closing before the end of the year.  I hope so, because we only have 61 so far, year-to-date.  Still, that means we are down to a two-year supply.  This is a better statistic than in the past.

So if you are looking for a place to enjoy a quiet Sunday afternoon, please come visit my open house at 1153 Old Seneca Turnpike.  It has a new roof on both the house and the adorable garage, and will be open from 1:00 to 3:00.  I call it a Santa Fe home, because I first saw it a day or so before going on vacation in 2010 to Santa Fe - and there it was, a most pleasant surprise.  I had always wondered what was behind the arched door - and I found more arched doors, two fireplaces, a great kitchen, a loft and so very rich painting.  I'll serve something with a southwest flavor for the open....have to work on that.  But please come - the new price is $199,000 to buy or $1,300 per month to rent (and it will be taken off the market for a lengthy lease).   The doors are open....

The Third Twenty

Difficult day.  I just could not read or hear any more about Syracuse University.  I had turned on CNN at lunch and there was Suzanne Malveaux with several reports.  I decided to work out to an old movie, "A Man Called Peter."  It's the true story of a Scottish immigrant who becomes a Washington, D.C. much-beloved minister.  The film is from 1955 - and as far removed from SU and its issues as could be.  I needed that.

But here are the next twenty homes that have closed in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, listed here in no particular order.

807 Britcher Road - $78,000
1690 Amerman Road - $153,000

724 Reynolds Road - $189,900

7022 North Glen Haven Road - $464,500

57 Jordan Street - $330,000

2355 West Lake Road - $220,000

4491 Jordan Road - $157,000

8 Lakeview Circle - $360,000

895 Andrews Road - $325,000

54 Onondaga Street - $220,000

2530 West Lake Road - $1,875,262

50 West Genesee Street - $395,000

14 Prentiss Drive - $800,000

3543 Millrun Terrace - $305,000

73 State Street - $249,900

11 Day Lane - $765,000

8A Gayle Road - $1,107,850

2317 Bockes Road - $225,000

2985 Benson Road - $575,000

57 Leitch Avenue - $195,000

All right!  Now - let's close another 20 before the end of the year!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

Happy Thanksgiving!  It is a glorious day here in Central New York!  Bob and I started a new tradition today to celebrate.  We decided to walk where we haven't gone before, and this year we chose the Creekwalk in Syracuse.  We parked the car in Armory Square by the Redhouse, and then followed the yellow line that led us out of the Square and over to Onondaga Creek.  While it wasn't Riverside Park on the West Side in Manhattan, we did see several joggers, other people with dogs (yes, Boo came with us) and a few walkers.  We ran into an old friend, Peter, whom we hadn't seen in a while and had a wonderful catching up talk.  Try the Creekwalk - it really shows you the city from a different angle, and also shows the possibilities.

Currently there are 135 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 39 are in the Village and 30 are waterfront.  Only one new property came on the market, and that is a re-list. 

Four properties are marked contingent, and one is new, a pretty home outside of the town but still in Skaneateles Schools.  Five are now under contract, do not show, including a new Village home.  Seven have been pended, with nothing new.  Altogether, there are 61 homes now listed as sold, the most recent one being a waterfront home closing well over a million dollars.

It's a shortened version, I know - but I have three more pies to make!  Enjoy the day!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

It's been an exhausting day, and I am still in the village at my desk at 7:50 pm.  One of my listings appears to have sold, another is rented, a third property went under contract with one of my most prolific clients, and I wrote a purchase offer.  All this and the dentist's office as well as physical therapy.  I retreated at 4:00 to make phone calls and have a latte lite at Dunkin' Donuts, but the two pumpkin munchkins did nothing to give me more energy.  The cole slaw and baked beans from Doug's at 7:20 helped, though.

There are currently 141 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, with 41 in the Village and 32 considered waterfront.  There have been no new additions - there were no houses open this week for Tuesday's brokers' open, and now I know why. 

Of the contingent properties, three can continue to be shown and two of them are in the village.  Of the four that can't, two more are village homes.  The pending category yields eight altogether, of which three are village homes.  I mention this because there appears to be a higher proportion of homes in the village that are selling.

Congratulations to everyone - we have reached the third group of twenty with three closings this past week.  One is waterfront (and not truly Skaneateles, but on the lake and in the MLS), another is in the town, and the third is village.  Within the week I will publish the list and their selling prices, all a matter of public record.

Just to continue with the evening's theme, one-quarter (15) of the closed single family homes are village homes.  Which bears out the reason the contracted properties appear to be disproportionate.  Almost half of those waiting to close are village homes (7).  Conjectures, anyone? 

Celebrate the Season

On Monday I started a quick program of physical therapy to take all the twists and pains out of my legs and get me ready for cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing.  The office next to the therapist's office was under construction, and Christmas music was wafting over.  Kevin Gretsky, the therapist, and the rest of his clients, including me, were growling.  We had hardly had Halloween, and here it comes again!  Too soon!  Kevin asked the workers to tone it down, and they did, not without some good-natured kidding. 

On Wednesday when I went back it was blessedly silent.  Since it was generally the same group, Kevin told us that someone who lived a ways away had received a flyer from Nordstrom's (http://www.nordstrom.com/) stating that they "would NOT be decking their stores' halls until November 27th."  The flyer then wished everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Hooray!  Vindication!

Despite my in-laws absolute joy over Christmas, so much so that Christmas is almost a year-round event, and despite the fact that they have brought Hobby House Toys to Skaneateles so we can share their joy, I think it should be one season at a time.  The altercation this week made me realize that I should practice what I preach and instead of grumbling at November, enjoy it.

I do love the colors, and have already donned my fall apron (purchased last year at Bittersweet Cottage) and made a pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins, as well as an apple and apple/cranberry pie.  We have pumpkin candles everywhere, and an orange light at the road plus strings of orange and purple lights on the porch.  Some day I will break down and make squash soup, just for the color.  Before my brokers' open at 3244 East Lake I went to the Skaneateles Bakery for some black bean and pumpkin soup - wonderful and filling! 

The weather cooperated beautifully, too.  I walked Boo up into the fields in the 60/70 degree temperatures we had.  I wrap a day-glo orange sweatchirt around my waist, and Boo wears his orange vest.  Last night while I waited for my salmon at Doug's I walked out onto the pier.  The moon was up and almost full, the waves crashed in the wind.  The flags across from the Sherwood Inn were blown horizontal, but are so firmly planted they will last in memory of the Veterans. 

After dinner (Bob had vegetarian black bean nachos from Bluewater) we went out for a walk in the moonlight, back up the trails to the fields.  The wind lessened in the woods, but it howled as we got to the hill.  And there the moon showed the hills and valleys, the woods beyond, as if it were daylight.  We walked back thoughtfully, kicking leaves as we went.

So this is the season to celebrate and not rush through.  At the Big M today I couldn't help but notice that their slide show on the cash registers showed the harvest and late fall scenes, in all their rich colors.  Kevin said his son doesn't know what a cornucopia is, and I can imagine that the Thanksgiving songs I grew up singing are almost lost.  Maybe not.  But even when the temperature drops, and the eventual rains and snows come in, it is still a season to celebrate.  Life is too short not to enjoy every minute.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

One of my friends added me to her Facebook friends and I confirmed the "friending," then got into the list of people whom I might know.  After about 15 minutes of requesting and seeing faces I hadn't seen in years, I had to back out.  There was the woman who had lived down the street from me in Syracuse when we were in about 5th grade at Sumner School, the Nottingham grads I hadn't thought of in years, the kids (now with families of their own) of relatives of friends, the clients who moved or decided not to move...Other Realtors, too.  If I missed anyone, I apologize!  The blog called, as did my day, and I had to stop.  I am not one to check Facebook on a regular basis, so please forgive me if I don't respond rapidly.  My e-mail or cell is always the better way to reach me.  But it is a pleasure to see old and new friends!

Currently there are 141 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 40 are in the Village and 31 are considered waterfront.  No new single family homes came on the market this past week, but three were re-listed.  The same number of contingent (6) and "under contract, do not show" (4) homes remain with no changes.  There are only 8 pending properties, and that usually signals closings.

There were two - a waterfront (actually lake rights) home in the village that came down in price but was sold rather rapidly, at least for this market.  A smaller home - priced under $100,000 - also closed, again, fairly quickly.  These two bring us to 57 closed for the year-to-date.

I wondered about the number of listings because it seems as if we have hovered around the 150 mark for quite a while so I went back to check.  This blog began in the spring of 2007 but the updates didn't start until the following year after I attended the RE/MAX convention and heard more about how blogs were being used.  So I went back to November of 2008 - right around President Obama's election, as I saw when I read some of that month's blogs. 

That month (the 5th actually) there were 129 active listings and I hadn't broken them out to village or waterfront at the time.  Nineteen were in the contingent or pending categories (we didn't have "under contract, do not show" then.)  I wrote about closings occurring within 60 days of contracts back then, so the assumption was that these would close before the end of the year.  There were only 45 closed at that time, so I was looking forward to about 64.  In actuality, there were 66.  I also wrote that we seemed to be at our low point, and that we were now coming out of it.  Which we did, to an extent.

What intrigued me was a comment I made about the number of lots on the market, "thanks in part to Butters Farm."  At that time, there were 87 active listings.  Today there are 52 active lots in the Skaneateles area.  Interesting - I think we can make the assumption (always troubling) that there has been a great deal of new construction in the area in the past three years.  But I think we also need to recognize that many people are simply waiting - until the economy does turn around, closings don't take 90 days, homes sell within three months of listing on a regular basis, and the number of active listings comes down.  It will happen.  The pendulum will swing back.  I have no doubts!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update (part two)

The world intervened, and so I decided to post and continue later....which is now!

There are 6 single family properties in Skaneateles marked contingent.  Three of these are new within the past week.  Two are waterfront, one which I would have thought would have gone much earlier but someone is getting a very good deal now, and another right on the water.  Also a village home is considered sold, but with the usual contingencies.

There are still four homes under contract that do not need to be shown any more, and of the 10 pending one is new.  Priced under $100,000, this one went straight to pending.

We now have 55 properties that have sold and closed this year.  One is new - a home that has been on the market for a bit and again, someone got a great bargain.  As of this time last year, there where 59 closed sales and we ended up with 75 for the year.  This means that in the next 8 weeks there will - presumably - be a lot of closings!

And don't forget my open at 3244 East Lake - $295,000!  You can also see 1153 Old Seneca Turnpike this weekend.  Roxanne Plummer from RE/MAX will hold it open, both for sale and for rent:

1153 Old Seneca Turnpike

$218,000 (includes the upcoming new roof)

$1,300 plus utilities for rent

Open 1:00 to 3:00, Sunday, November 6th

I thought I'd take the time to see how the other areas are doing in comparison to 2010.  Camillus is within 2% of their past performance, but Elbridge is off by about 30%, and the same with Marcellus.  This makes us - as in Skaneateles - look quite good.  I checked Syracuse - 631 for 2010, year-to-date, and 540 so far.  Lately everything seems to have picked up, so the year should end with a very loud real estate cheer!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

When I started this blog three years ago I said I would write about my experiences as a Realtor in the lovely lakeside village of Skaneateles.  I think I've veered off the path a bit, talking a lot about the houses and not as much about the people or my thoughts and feelings, always afraid of offending.  But today started out filled with emotion and I want to share that, because emotion has been so much a part of this job.

I received an early morning text - I check, because Alex and I are playing "Words with Friends" and he is about to beat me (for the first time, I might add...)  The text stated - and I could feel the excitement - that clients I have known for years have finally prevailed with their bank and will be cleared to buy something soon.  This has been a huge undertaking, and their persistance to not allow the bank to ride roughshod over them has vindicated them and their credit.  Such joy!

The next text was about the passing of a friend/client's family member...so very sad. 

It's not just a job - it's a lifestyle, of becoming involved with people on a very intimate level.  And caring about their lives, hoping to relieve stress, helping with decision-making but always knowing it's not my decision.  In the past few weeks I have heard dozens of times (a bit of hyperbole) "I couldn't do what you do!"  A doctor who deals with life and death every day tells me she wouldn't have my job for anything.  I wouldn't have hers...but I do deal with life and death, illness and money woes all the time.  And I am blessed with the clients I have and the clients I will have in the future.

Back to the houses....there are currently 139 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service, of which 40 are in the Village and 30 are waterfront.  There's a new waterfront that just came on for under a million and my listing at 3244 East Lake Road which will be open Sunday, from 1:00 to 3:00.  I call it a "storybook home" - if you saw The Player, the Altman film from several years ago, there's a scene in which the young couple stands in front of their idyllic home - and it looks just like this one!  

3244 East Lake Road - Open 1:00 to 3:00 Sunday, November 6th



Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

"Inundated!"  That was my word for the rental market this past week.  So many calls for the two properties I have listed in Skaneateles - each $1,300, each 3 bedrooms.  Last Sunday I held two open houses and told people to come - one couple came to both, and another took an application for one of the homes.  People insisted that they see these homes - but then didn't come.  The rental market is a difficult one - but I wasn't alone.  The "inundated" also came from another agent who was beset with calls.  So many people can't buy, for one reason or another, that they want to rent.  And what better place to rent than in Skaneateles?

Currently there are 146 active single family residences for sale in the Skaneateles area.  Of these, 46 are in the Village and 31 are considered waterfront.  This week there were no new listings - just a re-list with a HUGE drop in price for a waterfront home.  There were also no new contingent sales, so the number remains at seven.

But there were pendings - of the 10 in the multiple listing service for Skaneateles, three went mostly straight to pending.  One is a village home that has had the price drop over the past year, and the other two had lakefront.  Again, fairly long times on the market with drops in price.

We remain at 54 sales for the year.

About those rentals....15 show that they were rented since the beginning of the year, two are currently contingent, and there are only 10 on the market.  These range from a low of $795 to $2,900.  The highest priced rental this year went for $5,500 per month - but for a home well worth it.  I wish the selling market was as hot - I'd love to see 100 homes on the market with 150 closings this year to date.

2208 Coon Hill Road

If you are out and about this weekend, stop by both of my Coon Hill listings - open Sunday, 1:00 to 3:00.  Just a very short two miles down East Lake to a left on Coon Hill Road.  I will buy you a "drink" at the Welsh bar!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

Last night as I came home from the office I thought I might have left my cell phone there which would not have been good.  It wasn't in its cupholder, and as it was dark by then, I had to pull over into Butters Farm.  The cell was on the seat, once I turned on the lights, but rather than back up and out I continued up the hill to do the loop back to Jordan Road.  I usually go up that way in the daytime to show houses, rarely at night.  It was lovely - most of the homes had spectacular lighting, and with the landscaping and fall decorations it was really beautiful.  One of those "not taking the straight way home" moments that proved worthwhile.

Currently in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service there are 150 homes listed as active, with 47 of them in the village.  These numbers have been fairly constant for a long time now.  There are 33 homes considered to be waterfront as well.

Two new listings came on, both in the $300,000 plus range.  One is a village home, fairly newly built, and the other a small camp. 

There are four properties marked contingent - one is a sweet Village home which I've hoped would sell, as have others I know.  I am glad it has a contract on it.  The other categories - under contract, do not show, and pended both have five homes listed.

BUT!  We have two new closings this past week which should raise the average price of a home in Skaneateles a great deal.  One is a waterfront estate that closed close to its asking price of well above one million, and the other is a magnificent country home above half a million dollars.  We now have 54 homes that have closed so far this year.

I decided to see what the median price of the closed properties is - and it turned out to be about $300,000.  Of these, 13 are Village homes and 11 are waterfront.  Three homes closed above one million. 

If you add Spafford, then four homes this year in Onondaga County have closed above a million and all of them are Skaneateles properties.  The same (4 each!) could be said for 2010 and 2009.  In 2008 there were only three by this time of year - and yes, all Skaneateles.  Finally going back to 2007 there were 11 homes closing above a million - again, all Skaneateles!  It takes five years of records - 2006 - before another town, Dewitt, can claim a million dollar home.

We live in an expensive town - at least in Onondaga County and most probably all of Central New York.  The financial problems have touched us, too - the numbers bear that out with the precipitous drop from 2007 to 2008.  But the homes are still as lovely, the lake is still as pure.  These fall days can still take your breath away!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

So the rant continues.  I went in to a closing this morning.  Correction - I started driving in to a closing this morning but received a call as I drove up Old Seneca Turnpike outside of Marcellus.  All the paperwork hadn't arrived from the mortgage company - Wells-Fargo - so we would be delayed an hour.  Not a big deal, but since we had had a difficult time getting to this point, a bit worrisome.  They are located out west, in a different time zone...maybe that was it.

I went back to the lake, did a bit of work there, took a phone call or two, then headed into Syracuse to be in time for the now-10:00 closing.  My clients met me in the coffee shop.  "Another half hour."  So we talked and shared a few stories.

The seller's attorney arrived for 10:30.  Still no documents, but we caught up a bit.  I decided that waiting around was not going to make things happen, so I left.  I went out to Pier One and shopped, then as I was leaving (at noon) I got a text that said "Fifteen minutes."  Hooray!  I texted the agent on the selling side and went in to the city.

My clients had made it upstairs to the bank attorney's office by then and they were indeed signing papers.  But they were still waiting for Wells-Fargo's documents, just getting ready.  I left again at 1:00, at their urging. 

They finally closed at 3:30.  The very sad part of all this is that their purchase was the first in a series of four homes that depended on their closing. 

Buying a home should be a joyous occasion.  It should be the culmination of a process and after months of dreaming it should be thrilling.  This was far from it, and the bank was to blame in this case.  How sad that makes me -

But there are currently 151 properties listed as active in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, 47 are in the Village and 32 are considered waterfront. 

Four brand new listings came on the market this week.  Two are mine, as it happens.  One is listed for $218,000 and also for rent on Old Seneca Turnpike at the corner of Highland.  It is truly a fun home - all arches, fireplaces, steps, and colorful!  The other one is at 1650 Coon Hill Road ($179,000), towards the East Lake end of the road.  It is next to the fire station - and no, the siren does not sound there any more!  It has hardwoods, four levels of living space, and a deep back yard.  It will be open this Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00. The other two listings are in the higher range - a village home on a quiet cul-de-sac has come on for around $600,000 while a waterfront property is at the half million mark.

Sorry - no new contingent or under contract, do not show homes this week.  One has gone to pending, however.  So there are currently 15 homes altogether in these categories.

We do have a new closing, though, bringing the year-to-date number to 52.  A sizeable waterfront home in the village closed, within 10 per cent of its original list price and six months from the date of listing. 

So please do not let my sad tale of woe dissuade you from buying a home.  I went to two other closings today, too - and they were in and out in just over an hour.  Of course this was a local bank, with a local mortgage person hovering to make sure all went well.  And it did!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

Just getting this out there.....a bit of a rant.  For the past two weeks several of my properties have been ready to close, but have not closed due primarily to bank issues.  This goes across the board - national mortgage lenders, local banks, and even a credit union have held up families from moving.  In one case, four families have been affected due to the need to close the first so the others can close.  Issues have ranged from mitigating the radon (after the bank had seen the contract weeks and weeks ago and apparently said a credit at closing was possible) to asking for more information at the last minute.  We have not - thank goodness - gotten to the closing table only to leave and go home to packed trucks.  But it has been disheartening.

I will report that one attorney, who shall remain nameless in this blog, has told me that he/she will not deal with either Bank of America or Wells-Fargo.  His/her approval for any contract these days states that explicitly:  "I approve...as long as the mortgage will not be sought from either of these companies."  (I paraphrase.)  A cautionary word to the wise......and yes, do not give credits for radon, just get it done! 

Back to Skaneateles and the real estate market....There are currently 145 homes listed and active, of which 45 are in the village and 32 are on the water.  Five new homes came on this past week.  Two in the village - lower $300,000 and upper $100,000 range, as their sizes dictate their prices.  In the country you can choose a smaller home in the mid-$100,000, a larger home with substantial garage space and some acreage in the mid-$200,000 or go for more acreage, more square footage and look at one in the $400,000 plus range.

Six are considered contingent, but continue to show.  One new one that was listed around $500,000 and is a waterfront property is newly added to this category.  There is nothing new in the "under contract, do not show" area but there are five waiting to close.

One little camp went straight to pending, joing four others.

Unfortunately there are no new closings - we are stuck at 51, but this is better than 2010 and 2008.  Hooray!

Good news to end this blog - my in-laws have opened Hobby House Toys at 7 Jordan Street, next to the Irish Store.  Please stop in and say hello to Sue and John - and buy a toy while you are there, too.  Then go out and buy a house to put it in.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

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 new one added (lake rights also).  Two were marked under contract, do not show.  One of these was a previous "C" and the other went right to "U."  This one had just been listed, too. 

Only three are pended, and the number and homes remain the same.  Nothing new sales-wise, but this Friday is the end of the month and I can guess that there will be action to report, if not next week but the week after.  I know several attorneys whose calendars are swamped.

So go play in this absolutely lovely fall weather - the sun is out, the day feels fresh, and I am on my way to lunch at Creekside with an old friend!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

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 good old days!) 

One new one came on in the village and it is a smashing home by all accounts.  Priced well over a million dollars, it has location and condition certainly as well as the ephemeral "penache."  Lovely, just lovely!

Six are currently listed as sold but continue to show - one new one was added to this list, a "town" property actually in Spafford.  There are still the same three under contract, but do not show, and now only three pended - always a good sign because that means some have moved to the sold column.

As indeed they have!  We have 51 single family homes that have closed so far this year as we enter the fall buyong season.  The latest three include a town property close to the village with views, originally priced in the low $300,000.  A small village home also sold, once the price dropped under $200,000.  My lovely 50 West Genesee Street has a new owner too!  Hooray!

Analyzing these three new sales, the good news is that they each came in within 15% of their list price.  Either agents are getting better at pricing, or the owners are more realistic.  Or simply these were the right prices for the current market.  In any case - congratulations to the new owners!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

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 gas station where I met people looking for faster routes coming from Albany.  And there I heard it, the classic response to "Wow, what a lot of rain we've had!"  "Could have been snow!"

Meanwhile homes in Skaneateles were listed and sold this past week.  Currently there are 150 single family homes listed in the multiple listing service.  Of these, 44 are in the Village and 34 are considered waterfront.  I am not going to itemize re-lists any more, only the new listings that come on the market.  A beautiful high-end home outside of Skaneateles (actuallly in Spafford) was listed above $600,000.  Another pretty Village home came on, around $300,000.  In the town not too far out is a new split level, on the market in the mid-$200,000 range.

Five homes are considered under contract but they still can be shown.  One of these, listed under $200,000 and in the Village, was just marked contingent.  There are no new "Under contract - do not show" homes (currently 3 in the category) or "pended" homes (6).

Our closings for the year stand at 48.  Interestingly, 10 were Village homes and 9 were waterfront.  These percentages are just slightly above the current breakdown of active homes.

The fall selling season has just begun!  If you would like to check out one of my listings, 5 Palmer Drive, please come to the open house this Sunday from 12:00 to 2:00.  Signs will be up directing you from Genesee Street and Academy because it is hard to find and very private.  Please tell me you read about the open on this blog - I would love it!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update (sort of)

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 properties have closed.  This compares with last year's 46 by this date.  The year before a whopping 59 were done.  Of course, that makes up for the previous 2008 of only 32 (ouch!)  Average those two years and you find 45/46 as the midpoint, oddly similar to 2010 and 2011.

The update is back and will be found on your computer next week about this time!  Thank you for your patience!

The Second Twenty

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

Back on Track

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 ads are due.  A little structure has never hurt me, and will help.  Monitor and adjust!

The Update - A Lot Late

But we will play catch-up.

I must say that really only the blog has suffered due to Liam's birth.  I never thought I would be so consumed but I am.  I still managed to find time to sell, buy and close properties with my clients in the last few weeks - just not the time to write about them.

So - since I did the research and then got interrupted by The Call to go to Manhattan "now!" I will start with what I pulled together.  This is the second half of the update - what sold and closed between (gulp!) June 16th and July 13th in Skaneateles.

Two new properties were marked contingent, both larger village homes bringing the number of contingent properties to 7 in all.  "Under contract but do not show any more" is a tiny waterfront - can't wait to know what it did actually sell for!  There are 12 pending - a larger waterfront is new to this list.

What has closed is the most interesting part of this update.  As of July 13th, there were 29 closed single family homes in the Skaneateles area.  Eight - wow! - were new.  Four were listed and sold under $200,000.  A fifth home was a mid-range waterfront property that dropped its price to accommodate a sale - something that has been happening a bit these days.  Two other newer homes just outside the village both sold in the mid-$400,000.  And then there's The Big One, closing for 3 million dollars, right on the water with acreage in the village.  Congratulations to the new owners! 

So slowly we will get back to a new normal.  Slowly.  Patience, I am told, is a virtue.

Our News

We welcome to our family Liam Jude Brooks-Barr born the morning of July 15th in Manhattan to Alex and Rachel.  He is our first grandbaby - and what a beautiful baby he is!  He weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz and has gained an ounce over the past day.  He was 22 inches, just an inch shorter than Alex was when he was born in Seattle.  Both were born under the full moon.

"You are Never Old, Until Regrets take the Place of Dreams"

So I have fallen down on my writing.  I could claim busy-ness, and I certainly have been.  Over the weekend I was gone both days from before 8:30 to about 8:00 at night.  I keep returning exhausted, but when houses are selling one goes with the flow.  Because the spigot can be turned off, as quickly as our pond drained a week ago.  "Fish" was left high and dry - literally - but I rescued him and gave him a whole new world in my in-laws' pond....what a fish story!

The reality is that about a month ago I was speaking with an agent who said I should be careful, that in writing about homes I am in danger of violating a listing agreement.  In our contracts we present to the owners they have the right - and all do - to say they do not want third party comments about their homes.  It's a new clause, and I routinely check it.  But she said that I was walking a thin line with this blog.  

Now, for the most part I am complimentary, and I do not identify homes or properties unless they are my listings.  The agent agreed that I was careful - she reads my blog, as do other Realtors - but she put that seed of doubt in my head.  Where it stayed.  And grew a bit, so that when I did have time to sit down I chose not to write.  It wasn't a fear as much as a lessening of desire to write.  It had stopped being fun.  I had to worry about being censored by the Board.  It takes the fun out of writing, especially my style of conversational, stream of consciousness with little editing, style of writing. 

Yesterday a story appeared in the Post-Standard (and you can go on-line to read it at http://www.syracuse.com/ under Health and Fitness) written by Kathleen Poliquin about a young woman who gave birth to a baby 8 months ago and endured incredible medical hardships, but will compete in a Triathlon this summer.  Amazing.  Her belief system contains the following sentence:  "The biggest consequence of fear is missed opportunities." 

So I am banishing fear and pushing ahead.  If agents or sellers recognize their homes and do not like what I wrote, please tell me.  I will be conscious and conscientious, but I want to write this blog.

Today I read that an old friend had passed away.  He was a writer, a professional writer.  So this blog is for you, Nick!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of)

Welcome to the Third of July - the day that is second only to Christmas Eve in my family.  This is the day when flares are lit around the lakes and the celebration for the Fourth of July begins.  Salt potatoes are the starch du jour, Bob's watermelon-shrimp-avocado dish takes center stage, and the world is magical for one glorious summer evening.

So if you are thinking of moving to Skaneateles, or moving around within the Skaneateles area - please consider these new listings.  In the village you could move to a lovely stucco home now on the market in the mid-$300,000 range or go smaller up the street for a granited kitchen in the mid-$200,000. 

4519 Jordan Road

If you want to put in some work, you could buy the little one we just listed (see photo) for $39,900 in the Falls - it is gutted and ready for you.  Or the unfinished 4,000sf home now listed in the mid-$200,000 just outside on the east.  Remodeled and done on five acres - there's a new one for just over $300,000.  If you want gorgeous on more than five acres, look to one listed at just over $500,000.  Only one waterfront came on these past two weeks - but the location is superb and the price under a million.  For relatively new construction, go beyond Skaneateles' borders but within the school district to one priced to sell under $400,000.  Or go down the lake for about $200,000 and I think a view.  And a small one right in the village was re-listed, and that was also remodeled but priced in the mid $100,000 range.

Ten new ones, that should make, with three in the village.  All the listings together in the area equal 145 - so you have 145 opportunities to live in Skaneateles which on this Fourth of July weekend is jumping.

The First Twenty - 2011

After many long days I now have a brief moment to write this blog.  It's truly remarkable how busy summers can be - not just the mowing and getting the camp ready, but all the wonderful events.  I've been to a wedding shower in Rochester for our nephew, then a graduation for our niece.  We also found time to go to the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Owasco to see "Anything Goes" with Bob's mother.  Of course that meant eating out at Connie's (any excuse!).  All that in the past week on top of 12 hour days which included two open houses and countless showings.  What a marvelous time of year!

So here we are, in no known order, just as they came up in computer.  All are listed as being in Skaneateles, although a couple are in Sennett with Skaneateles Schools, and another in Spafford.  Some are village (3) and some are waterfront (4) and two are lake rights.  The prices are their sales prices.

3391 East Lake Road - $430,000

2052 West Lake Road - $752,000

1000 Jewett Road - $95,000

3104 West Lake Road - $242,000

33 Calemad Drive - $442,600

1575 Tracy Drive - $305,000

1863 Sugar Maple Lane - $105,100

2489 East Lake Road - $850,000

2875 East Lake Road - $310,000

2104 West Lake Road - $270,000

7 Wicklow Drive - $325,000

2542 East Lake Road - $164,300

3663 Fisher Road - $199,000

12 Prentiss Drive - $685,000

1531 Thornton Heights - $370,000

4135 Jordan Road - $118,000

3809 Gully Road - $99,000

180 East Genesee Street - $235,000

4179 NW Townline Road - $55,000

Lot 8 Calemad - $613,700

Since we already have 3 more towards the next 20, maybe we can sell and close 17 more in record time!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of)

It's been longer than I like to go as far as writing here.  No excuse.  I simply was extremely busy, had friends in over the weekend for dinner at Bluewater on Friday and Rosalie's on Saturday.  As I get older I realize that the friends I had as a girl are the ones I am more likely to stay in touch with - which is odd in a way, because as I look at our stats we are vastly different.  Life style - only four of the eight are married (still), five of us have grown children, only one is a grandmother, and only three of us have full-time jobs.  We all agree on having pets, dogs and cats and even horses, and that may be the only thing.  Plus we like each other mostly, and can generally pick up where we left off.  My world is certainly richer for their continuing presence.

But back to Skaneateles and the new listings that have appeared in the past 16 days.  The listings can be summed up by saying they are half re-lists - houses that have been refreshed to appear newly listed either after being leased or with a price drop or simply "because."  Just as a new one came on in the village for slightly under $400,000 (and has a very decidedly "cool" factor) another one was re-listed at about the same price.  There are now 43 village homes on the market.

Outside of the village 9 listings came on the market.  Five are re-lists, ranging in price from under $200,000 to well over a million dollars.  Two are waterfront.  The new ones are in the $250,000 to $400,000 range - even the one with lake rights and the other right on the water (think small, very small...) 

Because guilt has caught up with me, I will continue on with the contingent properties.  There are 14 in all - I don't remember a time when there were so many! - and four of them are new.  A pretty village property that's been dropping its price fairly regularly is now marked contingent, a house in the town that came on with a very good price is also gone after just a few weeks, and a smaller one with one of the lowest prices is also marked contingent.  A beautiful waterfront home listed under two million - but just - is also as sold as "contingent" can be.

Nothing new in the "under contract, do not show" listings.  There are 8 marked pending, including two new ones that went directly there, one a waterfront property and the other with acreage.  Cash is good these days, and while I have no knowledge that this is what the financing is, going directly to pending often means just that.

We now have over 20 homes sold and closed this year.  This compares with 27 in 2010, 38 in 2009, and only 19 in 2008 by this date in June.  Three new ones were reported.  One sold over its list price, another sold just about at its list price, and a third came in at about 20% of its original price.  Really can't predict a trend here at all - except that the right pricing brings buyers.  Not always true, because each house is different, but the adage about "if you lower the price far enough someone will buy it!"

So things have slowed enough to be able to report the update in one blog - but soon the contingents will turn into pendings that will turn into solds.  My prediction:  that it won't take five and a half months to close the next 20!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of) - Part Two



2220 Glencove Road

 I was speaking with the owner today of this wonderful home and we were looking at pricing in Onondaga County.  I told her that over the past few months I've kept an eye on the Post-Standard's Sunday Home page and the property's that have closed.  Each week I am amazed that the prices aren't higher.  The paper publishes the 5 highest-priced houses that sold the past week - generally the fifth house is somewhere around the $300,000 level.  I checked it out on the ML for verification - only 28 homes have sold in the past 12 months in Onondaga County over $500,000.  So we "monitored and adjusted" the price of this Otisco Lake waterfront year-round home to $449,000.  Come and get it!

But what's been happening in Skaneateles?  I've been so busy that the poor second half of this blog got pushed back and back.  (Yes, busy with listings and offers!)  I will catch us up to the minute - this minute, before I go take another listing (so cute - and under $100,000!) 

New contingent, continue to show properties are homes in the village, the town and waterfront.  The village home that sold is listed above $500,000 - so there's another one to add to the list when it closes.  A second one is above a million, and is also waterfront.  Another waterfront a bit farther down the lake has also sold presumably for over 500K also.  Two homes in the town, both around $200,000, and a third another 100K up are marked newly contingent.  That brings to 10 - a lot!

One new one went directly to under contract, do not show - listed around $200,000 also.  The pended property that's new is in the same ballpark.  Together the "U" and "P" categories equal another 10, just waiting to close.

We now have 18 closed properties for the year as reported through today, June 6th.  Two are new, one that's been listed for well over 6 months and the other for only a few months, and waterfront at that.  Both closed within 15% of their initial list price.  Only two more to go and I will publish the list of houses with their closed prices.

But until then - go play!  A lovely June is a gift - before the summer, while the flowers still bloom, and before all the craziness of vacations and graduations and parties take hold.  Just relax, mow and play!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of)

This will take two blogs!  The number of new listings is very high.  I am sure people waited until it felt like spring and got summer instead.

The first group belongs to the village.  Of the current 43 properties listed in the Skaneateles Village area of the multiple listing service, two new ones came on.  One is a smaller village home with a great yard for $269,000.  The other is my listing of 5 Palmer Place, an adorable home tucked away behind Leitch and Academy.  The price is $366,000.

Five new waterfronts came on the market over the past 18 days.  There is one small one at the far end of the lake for under 200K.  Moving up the lake towards the village, but still fairly far down is a camp for $445,000.  Getting closer yet are two cottages right on the water for about $700,000.  Almost to the village - well, about 3 miles out - is another camp (a true camp, as the agent admits) for almost $800,000.  The final home is a multimilllion dollar (as in 3M) luxury home.

That leaves ten more town, not waterfront, places.  Two small ones just north of the village are in the low $100,000 range.  Four other homes that suggest affordable family living are priced in the $250,000 to $350,000 range, in varying stages of work that needs to be done.  Two others are re-lists, with prices staying relatively the same.  Another at $425,000 has pretty much only a view to recommend it - but what a view!  Still another is a classic brick, in the mid $500,000.  The last is a luxury home on 12 acres - sorry, no waterfront - for over 2M.

Next week - I will check the listings sooner!  Stay tuned for another blog with the contingent, pending, and sold listings!

Ten Minutes to Go!

I am sitting in the office in the Village watching the world go by.  I met with people this morning who took a careful look at a house for well over two hours.  We thought we would see more today, but they preferred to go out exploring on their own.  I wasn't sure what to do next - I had well over another hour until my next appointment - but then I got a call about a contract coming in.  So I am in the office, doing a goodly bit of work prior to leaving again.

It's amazing how much can be accomplished in a short period of time if there are no interruptions.  I processed the contract, printed it, called the agent to ask questions, called the owners to tell them and request a time to meet, printed flyers and the disclosures for tomorrow's open house at 5 Palmer Place in Skaneateles - check it out on http://realtor.com/ or http://cnyrealtor.com/ - and still had time to write this blog!

And no, I do not feel rushed at all.  I've left enough time to get to my next appointment, I know where it is without the Tom-Tom Bob gave me for Christmas, and I know the property I am showing.  (Just gorgeous - with VIEWS!)  The world is a good place, today, here, in the Village, on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

The New Listing Watch

I am about to put on a new listing, just waiting for the paperwork.  It is such a lengthy project at times, and this is one of those times.  I can't remember when we first started talking about listing this home, easily months if not a year or so ago.  It's an estate, and because of that there are four children involved who all contributed to the process.

The woman with whom I've dealt the most, one of the sisters, and I have corresponded for years since she and her family purchased a camp through me.  We rarely see each other, but when we do it's like Old Home Days.  As with so many of my clients, she has become a friend more than a client.  So this was a great opportunity for us to spend more time together on a mutual project.

Since we started, the home has been vacated by its family tenant, the papers and belongings of her father have been removed I am sure quite tearfully.  It's always the hardest part of letting a home go because we all seem to be so involved with where we live, it defines us so much.

We had a pre-listing inspection done in early April which gave the family a new "To Do" list which they did.  We met several times about presentation.  Last weekend I came over with Jolanta and she cleaned it so the hardwoods would shine and the windows would show off the lovely view of the lake and village. 

Throughout it all we watched carefully the progress of other village homes, the pricing and the reductions.  We think we have found a number that is manageable and reflects the location - prime! - and the home itself. 

So now the draft of the listing is written, the photos all taken when the sun was out and the flowers were in bloom, the signs are on the floor of the back seat of the Scion, the open house riders resting on the seat.  The lockbox is ready to go - and so am I!  Once I hit the "submit" button the listing will be there for all the agents to see and I will hurriedly put in the photos and the open house (Sunday, 12:00 to 2:00).

We are launched!

Doug's on a Thursday Evening

I went out to the lake today to mow.  It's a new project this year to force me into some much-needed exercise and also to visit the lake.  I can get overwhelmed, and not make it out there, but this year I am determined not to miss summer.  So I mow with my electric mower, (I call it vacuuming the lawn) and get very hot and very sweaty....and stay current with the phone and e-mails thanks to my new iPhone.

On the way back through the village I stopped at Doug's for salmon, 2 cole slaws and a fish sandwich for Bob.  I happened to get Mark Edwards, the owner, to write my order.  He took a moment to tell me how much he enjoyed this blog.  I felt so guilty, because, like the lake, there are times when I don't write for days at a time.  But hearing his praise - even though he didn't buy his beautiful new house with me - sent me to the computer.  (Salmon takes a while - and they know that I will be back to get it.)

I forget sometimes that real estate is about people, too.  I forget that what I do, how I express the world around me, matters.  Thank you, Mark, for reminding me.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of) - Part Two

This is the second half of the update for May 1st through the 13th or so.  I like the split - it makes it manageable.  The first half was the plethora of new listings, and now I will explore the contingent, under contract, pending and sold listings.

There are currently 6 homes marked contingent under Skaneateles.  Three of these are new, and ALL of them were listed in the mid-$100,000 range.  Coincidence?  I think not!  I think this is the range in which people may be buying a first home and therefore have nothing to sell.   They are all on the periphery of Skaneateles and each one has a bit of land.  Two of them need a bit of work and those are the ones whose price was reduced from previous attempts at sales.

The two that are under contract or pending (of the 7 altogether) are in the mid-$300,000.  Nothing remarkable here - the coincidence of price is just that.

We now have 16 closed sales for the year.  Three of these occurred in the past two weeks.  One is a village home that was listed, I believe, for at least two-plus years with two different Realtors.  I showed it multiple times and it closed about 10% under its list price.  The second one was a newly built home that I loved, and it came in right around its list price of $450,000.  Builders generally stick to their prices which are reflective of their costs.  The third was a home previously listed and now sold by the listing agent - lake rights, in need of work - but rented while it was marketed around $300,000.  Again, a 10% reduction brought the sale.

Since this is not very long, I want to check some of our neighboring communities.  As it stands now, Skaneateles has exactly the same number of closed homes as last year!  Marcellus has only 14, as compared with 18 the previous year.  Camillus is also going the wrong way, with only 53 as compared with 63 for the beginning of 2010.  Elbridge is basically Elbridge, with 8 this year and 7 last year.

I have one solution for that - buy my listing at 1 Orchard in Marcellus please!  Only $125,000 - and everyone who has seen it agrees it is wonderfully decorated and masterfully maintained.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update (sort of)

There is so much going on and I love every minute of it!  I heard from an old e-mail friend (never have laid eyes on him) about my listing down Firelane 21B, now that summer is almost here.  I told him I was "crazy busy" and he said that's a good thing.  I do agree!

One of the crazy things this week was Tuesday, the day of the brokers' opens.  In Skaneateles alone, there were 11 houses, and a friend said he counted 12 actually.  I ran through 6 of them before going off to my dentist appointment with Dr. Swartwood (teeth are fine, for once!).  I kept thinking back to the winter, and how there were weeks without a single home open.  I heard from some people that other agents brought buyers with them.  The world is changing - things are moving.

There are currently 134 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.   Of these, 44 are in the village and 40 are published as waterfront.  Now here's a spoiler alert!  After I finish writing about the new listings, I will tell you what the median (as in middle) prices of these four categories are:  village, waterfront, neither WF or village, overall.  Try to guess the prices - it's an interesting exercise.

Three new properties came on in the village.  A cute little house sort of tucked away is on the market in the mid-$200,000 range.  Another massive place has the unheard-of price in the lower $300,000.  This is possibly an early sign of a trend - sell it now, do not "try it higher."  The agent hopes for multiple offers at this price.  We will see.  The last is a re-list that had tried it higher, unfortunately, and is now around 300K.

Of the 8 listings in the town, three are re-lists at about the same price.  Two are waterfront - above half a million and the other above a million.  A gorgeous estate not too far down the lake is now under that half million mark.  Two beautiful watefront properties appeared - both going towards the two million dollar mark.  A newer home whose similar neighbor had sold several years ago is now listed about the same price, $300,000.  I tried to see a house just outside the village that has always intrigued me on Tuesday, but the sign was down and the doors were locked - price towards $600,000.  Too many open houses out there - and the agents holding them open were also trying to run around!

Back to my stats that I love so much - guesses in?  The median price for waterfront is $990,000.  Wow!  That means that about 20 are listed above this - and yes, 20 below.  Village homes have a median price of $365,000, which I think is an interesting number, personally.  If you remove village and waterfront from the criteria, then the price drops to $310,000 (town, not on the water.)  Overall - of all those 134 active listings - the median price in Skaneateles is: $413,000 - again, a personally interesting number.

So let's consider this as Part One of the update.  I have to go sell a house!

Photo Op

After the events of this week, this photo of a pretty Skaneateles Village home sums it all up, I think.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

I know it's supposed to be rainy days and Mondays that "always get me down," according to Karen Carpenter - but this is Tuesday and it's raining and raining.  I'm not really down, just want to share a few things that are on the edge.

Bob made leek pesto on Sunday night and marinated the shrimp in it and then grilled them outside.  You remember Sunday - it was sunny and I got a bit of a tan.  Leeks are special to us because they were right under our noses on our hillside for years and we had no idea what we were seeing.  A friend, Mike, told us about them - to look for the leaves that are similar to tulips, then gently pull them out.  The bulb is like a garlic or onion with its own special flavor.  Since then - just last year - Bob has become a leek fiend.  This year we had to wait longer for them to be ready, but now there's a plastic container filled with them in the fridge.  The shrimp are lying on the leaves, just for presentation purposes, in the picture.  He also made a leek and potato soup that was magnificent.  Thanks, Mike, yet again!

I've wanted to say thank you to Kimmie, my sometime godchild and Alex's babysitter, for a while now.  I rarely see her any more, but she told me at her grandmother's funeral that she reads my blog and I know will read this.  She sent me this amazing card after Koko left us last month.  Bob opened it before I got home and he was excited.   "This looks just like Koko!" he said.  And it does - even though Kimmie never met her.  I keep the card with others on our bulletin board in the kitchen, and every time I see it I think of them both - and Kimmie's pug, whom I've never met.  And how far we all have come over the years.  Good thoughts.

Lastly, thank goodness for Panera Bread!  I had a broker's open today at my new listing at 158 Shire Way in Camillus and offered a chance for a $25 gift certificate to Panera Bread - so of course afterwards I had to go get it.  (Jeannine Larose from our office in Skaneateles won it - she doesn't know yet.)  I went to the other opens in Skaneateles - the ranch on Crow Hill and Peter Babbles' listing on Hawthorne Woods - and then ran back to Camillus.  I had earned both a coffee and a pastry for my many times there, and chose a croissant.  I made phone calls and texted and sent e-mails on my new iPhone and never felt like I was sitting too long.  The rain poured down outside, but inside the fire kept us patrons warm.  I can't wait until the new Panera Bread goes in by Staples on Grant Ave in Sennett!   http://www.panerabread.com/

Otisco Lake

The View from Glencove

I went out there today to check our camp after the floods and the wind storms.  Patches, our neighbor's dog, greeted Boo and me on the road.  The place looked fit and fine - certainly ready to be opened up and aired out though.  I also went through my listing on Glencove, wanting to make sure that it was sound.  As I put the key in the lock I heard music playing.  No one was supposed to be there today and I was surprised, to say the least.  I opened up and tiptoed in, calling so I wouldn't take anyone unawares.  It was only the radio - sigh!

Otisco Lake is about 6 or 7 miles long, depending on whether you count the south end beyond the old Causeway, or the north end in the narrows.  It's about a mile wide, and only 30 to 40 minutes southwest of Syracuse.  I can attest that Skaneateles is 15 minutes away from the west side.  And yet it is mostly a forgotten lake.

When Alex was little he was upset that Otisco wasn't considered one of the Finger Lakes proper.  Someone must have told him that - not me!  We thought about the legend that a giant had swooped down and with his fingers carved out the lakes and that is why they are called the Finger Lakes.  I placated Alex by saying that there were no rules where giants were concerned - he might have had 6 fingers or even more. 

And if you'd like to own a place...back to the subject...there are only 6 properties available at this time.  The smallest is on the market in the low $100,000 range.  For that you get a very steep access hill to the camp, 50 feet of lakefront, no running water (read also no septic or outhouse?) but it does have electricity and a great view.  The most expensive is my lovely Glencove listing at $494,000.  It's a three story home, rebuilt from the bottom up in 1991, with four bedrooms and three full baths, over 100 feet of lakefront and half an acre of land (double lot).  It's designed for year-round cozy living and in the Marcellus School District. 

The other four are basically camps of all sizes.  The square foot costs range from a low of $149 to $339.  Last year there were 13 camps listed for most of the summer - maybe more will come on the market.

In the past 24 months 17 properties on the lake have closed.  A small one south of the Causeway closed at $55,000 and needed a lot of work, but it at least had a holding tank.  The most expensive closed at $420,000 fairly rapidly and was built new in 2009.  While we don't have the huge houses and lakefronts that Skaneateles boasts, we also do not have the high prices.

As Boo and I left today I went north to drive into Marcellus and put up signs for my open house this Sunday at 1 Orchard Street.  (Just saying.)  Along the west side in the Narrows whole pine trees - five or six? - had been uprooted by the winds and just lay there.  The winds must have swept over and caught them just right, or they were waterlogged from all that rain.  We considered ourselves lucky, Boo and I, that we had no damage and neither did our neighbors.  It wasn't always that way after a major storm....but that's another blog....