I have been inspired! I have a very good friend who has started a blog of her own: http://gyatazen.wordpress.com. She is originally from Vancouver, which is in the spotlight this month, and has traveled and lived throughout the world. I plan on following her blog because we don't see each other much, and I urge you to try it out. But on a snowy day I realize that the pleasure she is having writing her blog, I can also have while writing mine. The quiche is in the oven (spinach-ricotta from the original Moosewood cookbook), the dogs are asleep (it's Boo's fifth birthday today!) and my appointment to sell a little house isn't until this evening. Time to blog!
Currently there are 99 listings in the Skaneateles town and village areas of the multiple listing service. There is one new house, but with an interesting history that speaks volumes as they say about our volatile economy plus expectations plus difficulty of pricing. It originally started well over $300,000 on almost 8 acres, was eventually reduced to close to $200,000 on 4 acres, and now has 5 acres under $200,000. Still the same view! You just don't know until a unique property hits the market what buyers will tell you with their checkbooks. Mortgage companies, too, but that's another story for another snowy day.
There's nothing new in the contingent categories (continue to show, do not show) but there is one newly pended property, a gorgeous waterfront that just came on a few weeks ago.
But the big news is that two - count them! - two homes have been sold and closed in the past week. Hooray! One is a village property that came in under $400,000 despite a prime location and four bedrooms. The lack of a second full bathroom is always a difficult sale - trust me, I know! (My new listing in Owasco has three full baths....just FYI...open Sunday...)
The second closed property made two of my clients very sad because they each had been eying the house for a couple years, but neither was ready to purchase. It sold originally 6 years ago for $80,000, was placed on the market for just under $200,000 about 2 years ago, and closed for almost double the original price. A great paint job seems to have done the trick - it turned an old farmhouse (the original '04 pictures are of the incredible scenery, none of the interior) into an adorable cottage. Well done!
So we have our first two closings of the year. I can only hope - and work hard - to make this a fantastic next ten months!
