You've heard it all before, but I assure you things are moving again!
I had an open house this weekend. Same house - 3802 Knightsbridge - as a month ago. Turnout was dismal then, but this time I was busy throughout the two hours. And then just as I was packing up a couple showed up and we went off to see another home for comparison's sake. The agent of that home said it had a real offer on it - after almost two years and many reductions. The next day lovely 11 Onondaga was shown twice, and one family was looking because their home had just sold!
There are the same number of listings - 129 - active in the computer for the Skaneateles area as last week. Two fell away somehow and were replaced by (1) a re-list of a waterfront property in the 2M range, now reduced by 10% which seems to be the magic number and (2) a re-list in the mid$300,000s in the town. There were no new "sales" as in contingent sales, and only 1 new closing. This was a village 2 (yes, 2!) bedroom home that sold in the mid-$300,000s within 5% of its list price almost immediately. It was one of those homes that people wait for and when it arrives, they pounce and apparently were able to pounce.
We now have 48 closed single family homes this year as compared with 87 last year. We're doing better percentage-wise - certainly well above the 50% mark where we were through most of the year.
I happened to look at land for sale today. There are 87 pieces of property, most of them building lots, for sale in the Skaneateles area. This year to date 11 have closed. Last year at this time there were 16 closings, thanks in part to Butters Farm.
Around here it's 60 days to closing, we like to say. That's 60 days from the time of purchase offer through inspection through mortgage commitment to closing date. Everything slows around the holidays. Everything meaning attorneys and mortgage people and banks. We Realtors keep going, or at least most of us do. It's always good to start the new year with sales in our pockets - or for me, the bottom drawer.
