Seems we have hit a bit of stasis, but now that the Super Bowl is over, the snow turning to ice, and Billings, Montana posting 56 degree weather today which is certain to head our way in the next week - things will change.
There are currently 117 active listings, the same as last week. Three new ones came on but they are all re-lists. All three dropped their prices, ranging from a high of almost 25% from the original list price to a mere 5%. Two are under $200,000 and the third is waterfront/lake rights over $500,000. No property is immune from price reductions, it seems.
There are 6 properties marked contingent, two of which are new. Both are village homes in the $350,000 - $500,000 range. One was listed for a year and dropped the price 10% and the other must have had the right price (I know it had the right location) because it sold in a week. It will be interesting to see what the actual sale prices are; generally the quicker the sale, the closer to the list price.
Eleven properties are pended. As I "turn the pages" I see every one with startling green grass!
We now have 3 closed single family homes in 2009. The new one sold for almost 30% under the original list price, almost 20 months after it was first listed. For some reason the under $300,000 homes seem to be taking the bigger hit in price reductions. I can only surmise that it's because the buyers are less likely to be in a position to take a chance. They are more dependent on jobs and have fewer assets. If anyone else has a competing theory please chime in!
I thought it would be interesting to break down the number of active listings this week and see what actually was out there. I saw a long list of "Calemad" new homes for sale, the road in the subdivision just outside the county line but in Skaneateles Schools. There are altogether 33 active homes I would call new construction - built between 2006 and 2009. Waterfront homes - both on the water and lake rights - come in at 40. That leaves village and town existing houses at 44. I'll keep an eye on these divisions, each about a third of the total active listings as the months go by. My guess: waterfront sales will outdistance existing homes and leave new construction far behind. Anyone else have a differing viewpoint? But again, a lot of it is in the pricing!
