As I drove up East Lake Road tonight towards the village, I saw many homes that have been on the market for a while that I have shown or know a bit about. They all seem to be "priced right," but then they haven't sold so I guess, as some say, the market has "rejected" them. I know they are good homes with great features - so why do they sit? I am not sure - location? condition? fear? I have to believe people are simply not willing to take on homes that aren't "safe bets." But then again, what is that? The eternal question - why some things sell and others don't!
Into the fray this week....There are currently 150 homes in the Skaneateles area that are on the market. Of these, 44 are in the village and 35 are waterfront. (Remember the days when there would be only five or six homes out there? We all had our lists of potential buyers, and when a property came on - or we got wind of it coming on - we would rush to the phones...ah, the good old days!)
One new one came on in the village and it is a smashing home by all accounts. Priced well over a million dollars, it has location and condition certainly as well as the ephemeral "penache." Lovely, just lovely!
Six are currently listed as sold but continue to show - one new one was added to this list, a "town" property actually in Spafford. There are still the same three under contract, but do not show, and now only three pended - always a good sign because that means some have moved to the sold column.
As indeed they have! We have 51 single family homes that have closed so far this year as we enter the fall buyong season. The latest three include a town property close to the village with views, originally priced in the low $300,000. A small village home also sold, once the price dropped under $200,000. My lovely 50 West Genesee Street has a new owner too! Hooray!
Analyzing these three new sales, the good news is that they each came in within 15% of their list price. Either agents are getting better at pricing, or the owners are more realistic. Or simply these were the right prices for the current market. In any case - congratulations to the new owners!
