Skaneateles Real Estate - The October Update

Ah, October!  One of my very favorite months...I went out to the lake today and going down East Lake Road the trees positively glowed.  And today really wasn't the most beautiful of days - we had those last week!  I told Bob what I loved about this time of year was the light - that painter's gray with sunshine topping the trees.  It all foreshadows the winter months to come, but I find myself thinking more and more about cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing....but there are houses to sell...and deals to make before I ski.

                                                                   
                                                                  50 West Genesee

There are currently (as of the 15th) 92 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  Of these, ONLY 17 are in the Village and 26 are waterfront.  I stress the the "only" because that is a low number, and usually about the same as waterfront properties...but the Village is selling!

This period covers the days between September 18th and October 15th.  During that time only four - four! - single family homes came on the market.  Two were in the Village and the two others were in the town, none waterfront.  Nothing was re-listed, which is a hopeful sign that things are moving without having to re-list.

There are 23 properties listed in the under contract category.  "Surprise" - 8 are Village homes, and one each for waterfront and the town.  The median list price of these homes is $244,000.  Just drive up Onondaga Street - they all seem to have sold within weeks of each other, and I am sure account for the slightly lower price.

And now my favorite paragraph - the SOLD paragraph.  We have (drum roll please) 85 homes that have closed year-to-October 15th.  Eleven are new - and oddly 3 in the Village and 8 in the town.  But think of that - in the same time frame 11 closed while only 4 came on the market - a reversal of trends?  Time to buy?  Of course!  And the median price of the sold listings is $297,000...more like it!

Last year at this time there were 95 sold and closed homes.  But let's remember that last year was a record year, and not reflective of the previous decade.  In fact, in 2011 there were only 55 closings by mid-October, but with the (almost) same median price.  That's a huge difference!  I am glad we are on the up side of it!

So if you are out there wondering what to do this weekend, please stop by my open house at 54 Onondaga Street between 12:00 and 2:00 on Sunday.  I know we just had the first open a couple weeks ago, but the sellers took to heart the comments made at the brokers' open and have worked feverishly to make a few recommended changes.  One of the changes is the price - $325,000.