I know this update is a day later than usual, but yesterday was not a usual day. We elected a President. I am still in awe of the process and the numbers that turned out, both voters and in that Chicago Park. We watched MSNBC most of the night, so I don't know what everyone else saw, but Jesse Jackson's face with tears streaming down said it all.
On to real estate, which I firmly believe will pick up now that the election and uncertainty are over. I've had three calls already this Wednesday morning for showings on my listings!
There are currently only - I love saying only - 129 listings in the Skaneateles area marked as active. Last week there were 137 so some have fallen off or been rented or simply withdrawn for the winter. There have been 13 withdrawals this past month which seems high to me.
The 2 new listings are interesting for what they say about the economy and the expectations of the sellers. Both are village re-lists. One came down $20,000 or the 10% I suggested a while back would sell almost all the properties. The original list price last year was about $80,000 higher! Pricing, pricing.... The second re-list went up $10,000. I know people who believe this works. I'll keep an eye on it.
There are 8 single family homes listed as contingent and I just put one of them into the pending column to add to the 11 that were already there. Close within a month? Mine will, but I can't speak for the others. Some have extremely delayed closings into the late spring, I do know that.
There was one new closure - lake rights, wouldn't you know it! The sale came in within 5% of the list price and was a fairly rapid sale. There are now 45 closings this year as compared to laster year's 84 at this time. Either this year is gaining, or the slowdown started about this time in 2007. That would make us a year into it and coming out. Hooray!
Did you see the comment I published on the last update? One of the blog's avid readers suggested that 10 feet of waterfront sold for $300,000. Amazing! Skaneateles has a lot of money and more money is coming in every day. My guess is that this 10 feet improves someone's property and it's worth it to buy privacy. Let's hope that we don't get to the point where every last inch is developed and privacy becomes a rarity. Frankly, the village homes and waterfront can't be found anywhere else - but then, I'm a mite partial.
