Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update

I looked back to last year's blog about this time. It was "Basketball Day" and I wrote in orange...sigh....but like the housing market, SU will come back, too! The spring listings have started, and I must admit I've been among the crowd to bring them on. Currently there are 101 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service (even if they are in another county). Of these, 33 are in the village and 28 are waterfront. Ten - count 'em! - 10 new listings came on this past week. Of course, 3 were re-lists - an over 1M waterfront, an almost $450,000 town house with acreage, and a village home in need of care for the low $200,000s. The others were three waterfront homes ('tis the season) ranging in price from $525,000 to $985,000. Another has lake rights but looks lovely for the mid-$200,000. Going out a bit there's a very pretty newer home with acreage for around $500,000 but you can always stay in the village and enjoy my listing at 50 West Genesee Street for a mere $420,000 (yes, I am advertising it here...) There are no new contingent properties - the old three remain. Of the five marked "U" - under contract, do not show - one is new, a gorgeous village house that had incredible work put into it and listed almost at $700,000 and sold almost immediately. There are buyers out there. So far this year 10 properties have closed, and 3 are new in the past two weeks. One is a lake rights home that had been on the market for a bit, and closed in the lower $400,000, about 12% off its original list price. A poor house that stood vacant for a long time closed under $100,000 while it had been listed about $200,000 to begin. Staging could have helped it immensely. The third was a home in the town that closed around $200,000, about 10% off its list price. Last year we had closed 7 homes by this time. I think our improved number indicates a swing towards the market coming back in Skaneateles. And why not? Our homes are lovely, the lake is beautiful and pure, the village a great place to live as well as vacation. Plus mortgage rates are low - so come on down and see what we have to offer!

Mortgage Pre-approval

This past week I went back to class for my continuing education credits. The title of the course dealt with Buyer Agency, and since I hadn't taken anything like this is in a while, I thought it would be interesting. It was, very!

We had a wonderful small group of agents and a very mesmerizing educator, John J. Waugh. So we talked - and talked and talked.

Something I had been rolling around in my head because of the past week came up - mortgage pre-approval.

Money is always a touchy subject, and I learned early on that when money enters a conversation as it must in real estate, the world changes a bit. I prefer to send my buyers to a mortgage person, someone I know and trust or someone they know and trust, rather than qualify them for a mortgage myself. This used to be done all the time by agents, I am told, but the consensus in the class was that most "used" mortgage people to do it.

But it must be done. I had a conversation earlier in the week with an agent who told me a story about a client who absolutely refused to speak with anyone and still wanted to see higher end homes. She accommodated him/her for a bit, but then she had to insist on some verification. The person left in a huff, presumably to work with someone else... who one would hope would ask for the same verification eventually.

For every offer, I have on file a pre-approval or proof of funds if it's a cash deal. Often though, while I may have the documentation, other agents do not ask for it. Generally for mortgages I include it in the offer to bolster it. This was necessary in the good old days because there were other offers out there. Now agents are thrilled to get any offer, real or not, it seems. Either that, or they have come to trust that I have made my buyers do their homework or I wouldn't bring the offer.

This goes for every buyer, even people I know well. Recently I worked with a couple whose credit scores had been checked, approvals given, and were stellar buyers on the very high end. They knew the requirements and called one of the mortgage people I recommend. We were all shocked when the pre-approval was denied due to a blip in their credit not in their control (long story, not to be gone into here). My stellar buyers would have to wait a bit until the issue was resolved. But we are all so glad that the problem was identified early - before an offer was extended and accepted, before their current home went on the market.

I remember sitting with a gentleman a while back who was offering cash for a good-sized home. I needed to know he could buy it, and we sat in the empty office for a couple hours while he fished around through his files and came up with enough verification for me to go ahead with the offer. He told me his wife didn't know as much as I did afterwards. But we got the house, and I was able to negotiate from a strong position.

As uncomfortable as the money discussion can be, it is necessary.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

A few weeks ago Bob discovered The Art of Racing in the Rain among his papers. He had been given it by a friend whose dog, Lily, a Boston Terrier, he really liked. Somehow he hadn't read it and neither had I. But all things happen for a reason.

So I read it - set in Seattle, which made it fun, and about Enzo, a mixed something or other who was a very old dog and getting ready to die. The novel (by Garth Stein) is told from Enzo's point of view. And if you read it, I challenge you to ever look at a dog the same way again.

I started noticing Koko more - how she moved slowly, laboriously, took a long time to wake up and slept about 23 hours a day. She still knew when dinnertime rolled around and could be counted on to find me at 6:00 every night. Then she'd go back to sleep until it was time to go to bed.

Koko came to us through another agent, Hattie Peters. I worked at Gallinger when I started, and during that first year my mother moved in with us. Her dog, Dulcinea, passed on almost immediately and left her with Hermes, a Himalayan with attitude. It soon became apparent that my mother needed another dog, and we put the word out. Hattie's daughter volunteered to give us Koko, then 10 years old and getting a bit lost in the shuffle of kids and other dogs. She was little - about 12 pounds - and a "pomma-poo," or "mutt" as our vet, Doc Schnabel, pronounced.

Koko spent about three years at my mother's side getting petted and loved. They did everything together, and when my mother had to go to St. Camillus for extended stays, Koko would come and visit. She became a favorite on the unit.

My mother passed away in March of 2006 and Koko came to us. She quickly showed us that she would accommodate us and what we did. She ran with us and Boo, took extraordinary long walks through the fields or glen, and generally ran the much younger Boo into the ground. But if she saw Mr. Walsh at the lake, then in his 90s, slowly walking down the road, she would fall in with him at his feet, go at his pace.

She was a social dog. She had been raised on Otisco Lake and knew how to be a "camp" dog. She regularly made the rounds - the Browns gave out treats, Mary Kay kept Moses' food outside on her deck. The Gromes were always good for a party - in fact, one night I found her there, curled up in a stranger's lap, having walked in and made herself at home.

She didn't know she was small. Bob loves the story of her dragging a dead fish along the shore, proudly bringing it home. She road on my lap in the kayak, attacked the three goldies who took walks down the road, and always defended our property from high above on the deck. She would say hello to any dog she encountered on our early morning walks in the Village.

She survived two mastectomies, many teeth-cleanings, several eye infections, and a bout with a cancer that grew quickly under her tongue last May and threatened to return. She did not conquer her kidneys, however, and we lost her on Sunday.

We all agree that she is up there with my mother who is showing her off to my Aunt Grace. She has taken another walk with Mr. Walsh, and found where the treats are stashed. It's eternal sunshine, so there's no worry about finding a good place in the grass to lie down, if my mother ever lets her feet touch the grass, that is.

She will be missed. I was lucky to have the last couple weeks to stay home with her, doze with her in the chair by the fire, take her with Bob for one last walk into the fields.

Enzo helped, too. He proposed that dogs go on to become human, and if there were ever one dog who should, it would be Koko. She gave so very much to so very many people.

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update

Ah, spring! I took a lovely walk today by Hoopes Park in Auburn, just across the street from a rental property I listed. Such a great area - I almost miss being in a village or city. The sun was warm even though I was bundled up with my heated vest, a hat and gloves....It will come!

There are currently 104 single family homes listed as active on the multiple listing service in the Skaneateles area. Thirty of these are in the village. Six "new" properties came on the market in the past two weeks. Three are re-lists of homes that have been on the market before for varying lengths of time, and three are new. A very pretty home - think curb appeal - with renovations completed on the interior came on in the mid-$300,000 range. Another small home - also village - is in the mid-$100,000 and is very sweet. Not too far out of the village an almost new home with a finished basement is now available at the "hurry up and buy me NOW" price in the low $400,000s. My prediction, if the weather continues to get springier, is that there will be twice as many - I will bet 12! - homes being listed in the next 15 days.

The contingent homes didn't change, nor did the "under contract do not show" numbers. The pending homes, however, bring in two newcomers - both little houses in the village. I look forward to seeing what they close for in the future months.

The biggest change were the closed homes. There are now 7 for the year, and three of them are new. A small place in need of a great deal of work closed just above $50,000, but that was above the list price. A pretty home on the village edge settled for a little bit under their list price, in the low $300,000 range. A big home built out in a community not too far from town was finished in the low $600,000. Gorgeous!

I thought I'd take a look at lots and land this week. There are currently 56 lots listed of varying sizes. In the past two years only 18 have sold and closed, and except for five, all were either in Butters Farm or Parkside. One was listed as waterfront, but in Lakeview Circle. We have many fine builders in our area and really beautiful land - I hope this trend changes a bit, but it is rational following my discussions on gas prices and return to village living. If you are one of the people who want to strike out and get away from it all - have I got the land for you!

Happy Spring!

Gas Prices and Real Estate

So gas is going up again, thanks to the Middle East unrest and the - how do I say it - interests of the oil companies in their profit margin.

It has happened in the past, of course. I remember the long lines in the 70s, getting on the Thruway to buy gas so I could get to work. Driving away from gas stations because I was afraid I would run out of gas while waiting.

It's not that bad, now. Several years ago I was working with a client to buy a gas station, and I asked the owner about pricing around the time of Katrina. "Oh, we're all getting rich," he explained. Lovely, I thought.

But here we go again, and I thought I'd compile a few things that I predict will happen in the next several weeks.

I will receive an e-mail about how to stop the prices from rising. I already have, actually. This one involves not buying gas from Exxon or Mobil to force their prices downward and to start the trend. I don't now. I generally pick up gas when I'm over in Auburn because it's about 10 to 15 cents cheaper there at the Kwik-fill or Hess, and I can use my credit card that gives me another 1 to 3% off.

People who list their homes and happen to be closer to gas stations, groceries, and amenities will tout that proximity. I spoke with people last night who told me they would be listing soon and their house will sell because they are within half a mile of the mall. And since timing is everything - you know, I bet they do!

I remember years ago selling a home in Marcellus. The couple I was working with stood in front of a vacant lot with the builder. A woman walked by, carrying a bag of groceries from the local market, obviously on her way home from the store. My buyer just watched her progress, from the village end to her home down the way, and I knew then what she was thinking. "I can walk to the store. I want to walk to the store." They built their house.

Inevitably people will begin to think longer about living outside of the village, or in close proximity to the village. The drive down the lake to Borodino, for example, will feel longer and more expensive because of the higher price of gas. But the actual numbers tell the tale.

If it's seven miles to Borodino, or past Mandana on the west, and the drive is done twice a day, then an extra 28 miles will be driven. If this translates into mileage, then a car like my Scion will take an extra gallon of gas or another $5.00 (let's be high) per day. That's $150 more per month, $1800 per year. Just in gas alone, not counting wear and tear, etc. But if a home is assessed at $200,000 in Spafford or Skaneateles, then the rate is about 3% for taxes (rounding, rounding all the time). This is $6,000 per year.

If, however, the choice is made to be in the village, not only will the price of the house increase, but the village taxes will weigh in - so, let's say, $300,000 at 3% - already the increase over the town home is $3,000, not even adding the village tax. Of course there's the village electric, too, to offset the tax.....

Gas prices will increase and decrease, cars will be touted for their efficiency, and homes will be compared for proximity and their amenities... It's all in how you look at it, and where you really want to be! Thank goodness there are choices!

Decisions, Decisions!

On one of those rare occasions (hah!) when I can't sleep in the middle of the night, I read Newsweek from cover to cover. The article that stayed with me in the morning was "I Can't Think!" You can find it at http://www.Newsweek.com/stories.html for March 7th. Or just search for "The Science of Making Decisions" and the article by Sharon Begley comes right up.

The basic premise is that there is just too much information out there right now and that information prevents not only good decision-making but hampers any decision-making. How this relates to real estate is so very simple and so obvious that I see it daily.

In the olden days, say 2005 and before, a buyer would contact me and give me his/her criteria for a house. I would probe a bit deeper - what is important, how long will you stay, what is the current status of finances, needs...and then I'd go looking. After listening, I would pull up 5 or 6 houses and we'd see them. Generally within two searches the house would appear that was "perfect" or close enough and an offer would be made. The important part was the listening, I always thought - and still do to a certain extent.

Aiding and abetting this process was the knowledge that there were few houses that met the initial criteria, at least around Skaneateles. In a single day we could see all the 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath homes (and usually we had to go to the 1 bath homes, as most of you know) in the village or close to it. Always there was the fear that if the buyer didn't buy, someone else would...and generally did. Homes sat on the market for maybe three months. Maybe.

Then the world changed. Information became plentiful via the internet - thank you Zillow and all the other outlets. At first it seemed as if this was a good thing - hey - the more information you can give an engineer, the better, right? Well, maybe.

Options also opened up. Instead of just existing homes, now there were the "to be builts" or the lots available without a specific builder. The numbers grew exponentially. Showings became compartmentalized: one day for existing, older homes, another for under construction, a third for build your own. As homes came on the market, the initial tour became three days of existing homes.

Begley's article states that people can hold in their memory roughly 7 numbers, as in the 7 digit phone number. I think this can apply to real estate as well - 7 homes at the very most in one day - more and all is lost. "Was that the one with the fireplace?" "What was the floor in the kitchen?" and often "Gee, I don't remember that one at all!" It happens!

"It is easier," states Joanne Cantor, author of Conquer Cyber Overload, "to look for more and more information than sit back and think about how it all fits together." And that's what buyers do.

Until they get scared that nothing will work, and they hurriedly make a choice. Generally, the researchers assert, this choice is less appropriate and meets fewer needs than the others available. Even if they like the choice, the amount of information still out there creates anxiety that this was not the best choice.

Enter the unconscious! In several experiments, the researchers showed that if the subjects did not engage their critical brain, they made good choices. They "fell in love" as we like to say, rather than opted for the facts. One of the more fun experiments cited by the article had people researching strawberry jam to such an extent they ended up choosing the jam that didn't taste good but looked the best on paper. There is something wrong here when that happens....

In the past few years I have experienced clients who both overwork the information or ignore it, and all points in-between. When I think of the people who bought after months and months of searching (and information-gathering) and the people who took the first house they saw because they fell in love, I have to say that both groups are pleased with their decisions still to this day. And that is my job, or part of it after all - to find good homes for my clients - however long it takes!

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Bi-Monthly Update

With great sadness I want to note the passing of Bob Feldmann last month. He owned the hardware store in the village which used to be where Kinney's now stands. He was an institution in the town. His wife, Shirley, worked at Gallinger Real Estate when I started there, and as far as I know is still an active agent now that it's Realty USA. I knew the family for years - they attended my church in Syracuse when I was a kid. Bob was so much a part of the village-scape when I would be there summers as an adult, and finally when I moved back in 1990. In the past few years when I walked West Lake Street I liked to look up and see Bob mowing or just enjoying the view from his porch. He will be missed.

But real estate awaits, and does not end. Maybe slows down a bit, but we all do at times...Currently there are only 105 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. Thirty of these are in the village - and without going through every listing there may be some listed twice, once as town and then again as village. No one wants to miss a sale, or a look from a potential buyer!

Three "new" properties came on in the past two weeks - two are re-lists, one on the water the other in the Falls. The third listing is a ranch in the mid-$100,000 range not far out of the village.

Five single family homes are marked contingent, as in under contract but continue to show. Two are newly marked - a sweet little home just outside the village in the low $100,000 and a village property that has been listed for a couple years and may hopefully have found itself a new family. A good sign, both of these!

There are nine properties listed as under contract, do not show or pending closure. None are new, unfortunately.

We now have 4 closed properties for the year - hooray! The last is a small camp that closed in the high $300,000, about 18% under its original list price. But hey - I see a pattern! Of the four sold, three (count 'em!) are WATERFRONT! That, as the saying goes, is "HUGE!"