We have some good trends going here. Please read on!
Currently there are 139 active listings in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service. Eight new ones came on since the last update a week ago. Four are new construction, and actually re-lists with a price in the mid-$400,000 range. Another is a re-list of a beautifully executed remodel of an older home. Then there's a ranch under $200,000 in the village, a small ranch. There's also a ranch under $200,000 outside of the village with a choice of 10 acres or 17 (of course the price is a bit higher). This is a prime example of "Skaneateles area" listing - not in the county or the school district, just the area. Hey - but it will get more looks this way!
This week there are no new sales or pending properties, from what I can see. Certainly there must be some no one is talking about yet. This I believe!
But there are two new closings, bring the number of closed properties so far this year to a robust 24. Remember the trend I mentioned? Last year at this time there were only 16 closed properties. We now have a clear indicator that the worm, as they say, has turned.
But before we all get carried away, I want to introduce a term - absorption rate. At this rate of sales and with these current active listings, we have a supply of homes to last us 23 months. (The number of homes sold divided by 4 months, then the active listings divided by that number.) The ideal absorption rate is somewhere around 6 months of inventory - in our case, this would be about 36-40 homes. We had close to that when I first started, and yes, business was brisk. It was a sellers' market and today of course buyers rule. But the trend is certainly better - last year we would have been dividing active listings by 4 - children could be conceived, born and attend pre-school before the inventory was depleted!
The homes that closed, by the way, were both village homes. One came in at about 7% under the original list price and the other at about 60% of the original price. To test your acumen - which one do you think was on the market longer?
To address the comment of "Where is Calemad?" The development is actually called Parcell Woods and is in Cayuga County but Skaneateles Schools. Take Old Seneca west from the town. It will turn into Franklin Street Road. About two miles out Parcell Road is on the right - follow that out a brief half mile to Calemad. These are great homes with goodly amounts of land around them. If you get lost, call my cell! Or better yet - let me show you!
