Cochecton Makes UK's Guardian

Thanks to Michael McSweeney for forwarding this on. A friend of his in the UK noticed this article in the Guardian about an NYC couple who renovated a little house in Cochecton, right here in lil 'ole Sullivan County. The article really captures why so many city folks have chosen Sullivan County as their getaway. Definitely worth a read.

Comments

[Reg]

Cute article. Just one issue with it: Under two hours? By helicopter, perhaps.

[David Knudsen]

Depends when you go. I've made it a number of times from the GW Bridge to western Sullivan in under 2 hours — but not on Friday afternoons or evenings. The big issue, though, is how long it takes to get to the GW.

[bix]

Today I made it to the GW bridge from North Branch in 1 hr. 45 minutes. And that was with a five minute delay on Rt 17. New land speed record for me. Two hrs. five minutes door to door.

[o.k. harris]

Dave -
Housing starts are off ***40 %*** from 2007 - the lowest on record.

The news came out this morning. Check out bllomberg, yahoo finance, seeking alpha...

Roubini expects housing prices to fall another 15% to 20% from where they currently are which would be peak to trough of roughly 40 to 50%.

You mention a cool UK article about two artsy dudes from the city which is eye candy to few and fails to see the big picture.

Calling all buyers...if you like the prices NOW - you'll love the prices in Spring / Summer 2009!

o.k. harris

[VIDEO CLIP]

http://www.bloomberg.com/avp/avp.asxx?clip=mms://media2.bloomberg.com/cache/vC6A2kpBh6Ts.asf&vCat=/av&RND=194364450

[BlackRock]

Most artsy fartsy yuppies don't know how to shop around.
They window shop and take life very superficially.

[Julio]

Hey, where did everyone go?

Is anything selling anymore?

Seems like a post-nuclear attack.

Julio

[Mary Ellen]

We're all still here.
Loved the article. I have been crazy busy renting my place for '09. So much so that I've started renting our other house (the family's house)on the same property. About half of these folks say they are looking for a place in the area, but it's difficult to tell if they are serious, or if it's just conversation.
Everytime I start telling anyone how nice SC is, that Roubini guy appears in the sky on a broom, and I think he's got flying monkeys, too.

[bel]

dave,
our office hasn't sold a thing since early sept.
we might be out of business real soon.

bel

[Hobart]

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/16/depression_2009_what_would_it_look_like/?page=full

[Julio]

Locals are starting a revolution against city slickers

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081120/NEWS/81120007

[mal]

Julio, how on earth do you interpret the arrest on a 14-year-old girl for torching an abandoned bungalow as evidence of revolution by locals against city people?! Besides, did you even notice that the event was not even in Sullivan county?

[Mrs. Frieda P. Yayger]

The number of apartments that went into contract or had accepted offers in October plunged by 20 percent compared with September, and by 62 percent compared with October 2007, according to figures provided by the Corcoran Group, a residential real estate firm.

And in the Big Apple where many of our clients come from for a discretionary purchase?

Lets see...in the today's New York Times,we find that:

==========

"There were 577 listings with signed contracts or accepted offers this October, compared with 1,588 a year earlier, according to the data.

At the same time, the number of Manhattan listings rose to the highest level in several years, up 20 percent since August and 33 percent since October 2007, according to figures provided by Jonathan Miller, the president of Miller Samuel, an appraisal firm that prepares market studies for another brokerage firm, Prudential Douglas Elliman."

At:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/realestate/23deal2.html?ref=business

===========

Where the heck is our host?

Sincerely,
Mrs. Frieda P. Yayger

[David Knudsen]

I"m still here. NO surprise that sales are down in Manhattan for October. They're down everywhere. I think October '08 will go down as the 'lost month' in real estate — as well as autos, electronics and anything else that costs more than $9.99. As one real estate agent commented in last Sunday's NY Times, "Nobody wants to buy a sweater, much less an apartment."

[crumley]

As somebody asutely said -

Buyers, if you like the prices now....you'll absolutely LOVE the prices in the second and third quarter of 2009.

What's the rush?

===================

MLS # 22254

Offered for $74,900

Recently sold for... $30,000!

60% off listing.

Bethel cabin with fireplace / hardwood floors.

[cfranch]

these are the types of comments i want to hear especially from real estate folks who always tend to believe anytime is the time to buy. a real bottom will not form unless we get extreme negativity and some panic selling.

[nnn]

http://www.sc-democrat.com/news/11November/21/news.htm

[bix]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. I hope that's a good sampling of the opinion of large landowners in Jeff. Sensible gent.

[David Knudsen]

Before you get all hot and bothered about MLS 22254, the asking price has been $49,900 since April (it came on the market initially in late January.) So it actually sold for 40% off of asking price, and I've seen other things go for discounts in that range. Keep in mind that there are a few drawbacks on this particular house --- its a small (550 sq. ft.) seasonal (no winter use) cottage on .11 acre. I'm not saying it wasn't a good deal, but there are usually some drawbacks to the lowest priced houses here.

[Tracy]

Actually, the 22254 cottage that sold for $30K was on the market for several years under different MLS numbers. We took a contractor to look at it two summers ago (when $79K seemed like a steal for a seasonal!) and he told us that it was in very bad condition structurally and that he wouldn't even want to touch it. The cottage is a really cute Smallwood cabin with lots of potential -- and a beautiful stone fireplace, but it will certainly take an additional investment far more than the sale price to bring it up to habitable condition. $30K sounds just about right for what the buyer got.