David Knudsen Licensed Associate Broker Catskills Buyer Agency — Sullivan County Real Estate
On Friday evening, there was an informational seminar on gas drilling at the Liberty High School about gas drilling, sponsored by Catskillmountainkeeper.org and the Sullivan County Division of Planning and Environmental Management. The meeting was very informative. The tone of the meeting wasn’t “Stop the Drilling”, because drilling here is almost inevitable as Sullivan County…
DetailsThis week, the NY State Legislature approved a financing package for Louis Cappelli’s redevelopment of the Concord that will pave the way for the Westchester-based developer to green light his ambitious $1 billion “Enertainment City” project for the old Concord Hotel site in Kiamesha Lake. (See article in this week’s Sullivan County Democrat.) Without the…
DetailsAt a friend’s house for dinner last weekend, the conversation, as often happens, turned to real estate. Someone asked me what I would invest in at the moment. I think they were surprised by my answer. I said ‘I thought that, with skyrocketing energy prices, the total ‘energy cost profile’ of a home will become…
DetailsThe National Association of Realtors just released the national existing home sales figures for May. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted rate for existing home sales rose 2.0% over April. Regionally, in the northeast the sales pick-up was 4.6% over April. On the price front, the median sales price year over year was off 6.3%, while in…
DetailsThere's been quite a bit of commenting on this blog lately about my assertion that some parts of the market are picking up, notably the moderate range of the second home market. I've also been seeing more weakness in the traditionally "primary" home market. Its always hard to define those terms, though. Also, there has…
DetailsEvery month I run some preliminary sales numbers in the middle of the month to see how things are shaping up. This month (June) was a real surprise. While sales numbers continue well below 2007 levels, the average and median sales prices are moving up. Looking at preliminary 3 month data (from Apr. 1), the…
DetailsTypepad, the company where I host this blog, had problems today. This blog, along with lots of others hosted by Typepad, was down for most of the day. Sorry, folks. If you're reading this, its back up.
Livingston Manor is the featured location in the Havens feature in today's New York Times. (Havens is in Friday's Escapes section.) Online here. Its a nice article that captures the feel of the hamlet and the real estate examples they cite are pretty realistic.
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts opens for its third season this Saturday, June 14th with the True Colors Tour. The True Colors Tour includes performances by Cyndi Lauper, the B52's, Rosie O'Donnell, the Cliks, Debora Cox and host Carson Kressley. Doors open at 3:30 and the performance starts at 6PM. More information and…
DetailsA HIghland township resident asked me to pass along that there will be a public hearing in Highland Township on June 24th at 6:30PM at the Highland Township hall. It appears that Highland Township may be considering a moratorium on gas drilling until more information can be gathered about the potential impact on gas drilling…
DetailsA major storm whipped through Sullivan County on Tuesday night, bringing down trees and snapping power lines. The hardest hit area appears to be Bethel Township, from Kauneonga Lake down through Smallwood and into Chapin Estate. There aren't a lot of reports of property damage, but a large number of homes are without power. NYSEG…
DetailsHey, everybody, I just posted the latest Current Market Conditions Report, including single family sales and inventory data through May, 2008. Please check it out and come back here to add your comments on the current real estate market here in Sullivan County.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes the country so appealing for city folks. As I mentioned in the blog post below, there are the cows and turkeys and deer and lakes and tomatoes. Sure, we have fresh air and fresh vegetables. But one of the greatest gifts that the country gives to…
DetailsMy last couple of posts have had a 'sky is falling' tone, reflecting a combination of frustration over oil prices and this country's leadership. Sometimes, though, I lose sight of the forest for the trees. Yesterday (Saturday) was just beautiful here — a hot summer day, clear, green and with lots in bloom. On my…
DetailsThe logical follow-up to my oil freak out rant (below) is "So What's the Impact?" One thing I've definitely noticed in my 7 years selling real estate here is that uncertainty and anxiety is the bane of real estate. People are more comfortable making big decisions when they feel settled, and postpone big decisions when…
DetailsAnybody else shaken by yesterday's $11 single day jump in the price of a barrel of oil? On Tues. and Wed., oil was heading down, into the low $120's a barrel, and then, boom, up to $139 in two days. Then the Dow drops 395 points, its biggest single day loss in 15 months. Yesterday…
DetailsIt will be a few days before I have the full Market Conditions Report out with May's closed sales data. Its not looking that bad. Sales are way down from a year earlier (the 91 single family sales in the Sullivan MLS for the 3 month period ending May 31 are off 43% from a…
DetailsA couple of posts back, I wrote about the importance of momentum for a new listing and gave two examples of houses that built great momentum fast. Both of those houses had something else going for them, though, besides a good price or marketing. They both had a great narrative. By that, I mean a…
DetailsThanks to a client who sent me this link to an article in today's New York Times, Letters From the Home Front: A Real Estate Deal from Two Sides. The sample letters from a buyer to a seller, and the reply from a seller to the buyer, are interesting, because they tend to sum up…
DetailsRealtors can talk endlessly about why some houses sell and others don’t. Price, slow market, and lack of curb appeal usually top the culprits for non-sellers. But there’s an important factor that we don’t often consider: momentum. When a new listing comes on the market, if its in a market segment with active customers and…
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