Monday, March 31, 2008

Skaneateles Real Estate - The Weekly Update

It's time to "monitor and adjust." I realized last week that while homes may sell, the people who input the closings may not do so for a while, so it's better to look at closings from a year's point of view.

This year since the first of January I see 13 closings for Skaneateles as published through the multiple listing service. There were 7 in January, 3 each in February and March. Of these, 6 were village homes, 3 were waterfront (even in the winter!). A couple were technically not in Skaneateles, but listed in the area because of the lake. Prices ranged from $117,900 to $825,000. Generally, the sale price was about 7% to 10% off the list price.

This last fact is difficult to generalize. Several homes have gone through cycles of listings, starting at a higher price and coming down as Realtors changed, as time went on and the homes became "shelf worn." The 10% figure might not be accurate in these cases from the initial pricing, just as the house which sells within the first day at a fire sale price does not accurately reflect what is happening.

Last week I forgot to publish the average price for a home in Skaneateles, which was $558,000 according to the paper. In reference to this week's number - $549,300 - the difference is minimal. Both are well above last year's average of $484,800. Not too many communities outside of central New York are able to boast an increase of over 11%!

Currently there are 94 active single family homes listed in the Skaneateles area. The lowest price is $114,900 and the waterfront on the west side remains the highest at about 3.5M, although there is a second one on the east side which is nudging it.

What to take away from this? Skaneateles is still a good investment!