Two Adorables

I know a lot of folks aren't quite in the mood right now to buy a house. But I figure that even if you don't want to eat right now, I can still try to tempt you with some tasty nibbles. There are two houses that have come on the market recently that I think are just adorable. (Click here to see the two listings.) One is over on Midway near White Sulphur Springs that was on the market a year or so ago, and I was kind of sad when it went off the market, because it was my favorite "affordable" range farmhouse to show. We'll, it back on and at $179,000. The second house is a renovation of a 1930's Craftsman on Plank Road in Mongaup Valley, within walking distance to a public access point for Swinging Bridge reservoir. Earlier this year I sold a house behind this one, and every time I drove past this house, I always thought, "What an adorable house. They are doing such a nice renovation."

Comments

[bix]

The market was down another 5 pct. today. Any place to hang a noose in these houses?

Seriously, they look good but I wonder what is wrong with the 179K one. If there is nothing wrong with it, why didn't it sell? I saw absolutely zero farmhouses on so much acreage in a good area for that price. (A big above... which I bought.)

[bix]

I meant a "bit" above (and smaller acreage, but nicer house...)

[~Avedon]

First house in WSS worth about 145 to 155k.

Second house in Mongaup on one-third acre worth 159k to 169k.

Let's see what they really go for - not what they're offered for!

Discretionary is the key word.

Do you really need it with winter, the holidays and more uncertainty ahead?

~Avedon

[Julia]

In 2000-2001, they would have sold for 59-89K.
While salaries today are the same as they were then (down if you calculate for inflation), how can 179k be justified?

This is the Great Deflation. Avedon, you are too generous.

Julia

[Mary Ellen]

They're both great houses, and very reasonably priced. Love the WWS one. Where the heck can you get a nice house for 179?!

[Reg]

As with the Pond Eddy house in a prior post, can anyone really justify nearly $5500/year in taxes on a $180K house?

[ross]

1/3 of an acre is a pretty hard sell up here.

[Uncle Weatherbee]

David Knudsen!

As a buyer's broker - what do YOU think these two homes are really worth in today's market?

Uncle Weatherbee

[andy]

If Avedon is correct, Dave K's page on "what houses up here cost" is way off, even as recently revised. Hard to sort out the truth sometimes.

[~Avedon.]

"First house in WSS worth about 145 to 155k."

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

Take a look at Sullivan MLS# 23160

In White Sulphur Springs.

3BR / 2 Bath on 2 acres.

Looks to be a four-square style.

Now offered for 119k.

That's what Dave's choices are nice eye candy but their offering price is way off.

Tasteful photos and staging though!

~Avedon.

[DBerg]

I think all realtors need to advise their clients a 50% price reduction across the board.
Sounds horrible but it's basically what is needed just to ignite the slightest interest in Sullivan county again.
We just don't see it any other way. If this depression persists, I see more than half of all SC realtors out of business within a years time (or modified business model, ie. part-time as a side thing etc..)

[Mister Nick]

I'm pretty sure David's not allowed to post things in public like what he thinks a house is "really worth" without getting in trouble.

The Craftsman is an interesting house though, nicely renovated and tasteful, though on no land at all and with close neighbors. Very curious to see what it ends up selling for.

Also interesting, looking up the property history for it reveals that it's been owned by the same family since at least 1949, possibly even before that. Same exact name now as in 1949 actually, though would presume it's now a son or grandson as the history shows a couple non arms-length transactions over the years with the same last name...

[Bill]

"I think all realtors need to advise their clients a 50% price reduction across the board.
Sounds horrible but it's basically what is needed just to ignite the slightest interest in Sullivan county again.
We just don't see it any other way. If this depression persists, I see more than half of all SC realtors out of business within a years time (or modified business model, ie. part-time as a side thing etc..)"

I think you're understating it. Sullivan County is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.

What do I mean, "biblical"?

What I mean is Old Testament, all you Realtors out there, real wrath of God type stuff.

Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!

Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...

The dead rising from the grave!

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

[Stephen]

Bill's right. In fact, there likely won't even be any houses to sell, as the hungry survivors will have eaten all the houses... and not just the lakefront properties.

[bix]

I'm curious to know the basis of Avedon's calculation. Comparables? I was in the market for a similar house last spring and pickings were slim. One had a similar price and it was rickety and was on a major road.

[David Knudsen]

Avedon, without seeing the houses and settings, I don't know how you can make those generalizations. 23160 has low ceilings heights, is not as 'charming' inside, and the setting isn't as appealing as the house in WSS — its across from a mobile home, while the WSS house is across from a nice horse pasture and a more upscale log home. You just can't make these comparisons by looking at MLS listings.

Bill, I personally think your comments are just kind of out of left field. Right now, pretty much nobody is buying anything, in any major consumer category. Nobody has a crystal ball about where prices will level out to rekindle demand, nor do we know where salaries might be going. The situation right now is too fluid.

And please note I didn't make any comments about what I thought either one of these houses might sell at. In this market, it seems as though each sale is kind of setting its own 'market value' — what a buyer and seller are able to come to agreement at.

[David Knudsen]

Andy, I think my revised "What houses cost up here" is reasonably accurate, for the types of houses that people seen to want (when they're in a buying mood.) When I write about "in town charmers", I'm thinking of the more country hamlets and villages like Jeffersonville, Callicoon and Narrowsburg. Prices will likely be substantially lower in Liberty, Monticello or Fallsburg, or for an intown house in a flood area in Livingston Manor.

[David Knudsen]

...and where does all this apparent anger directed at Realtors come from? It's not just any single comment, but an underlying tone in a lot of comments. Realtors aren't solely, or even primarily, responsible for what's happening in the real estate market (and the economy overall.) A lot of folks were riding real high for a number of years — Realtors, lenders, title companies, appraisers, and, yes, homeowners who were thrilled at seeing their home values skyrocket. But if you want to lay blame, it should probably be laid at the feet of the neo-con, laissez faire "capitalism uber alles" free market types all the way back to Milton Friedman.

[Stephen]

Dave, I think Bill was being sarcastic. Riffing off the hyperbolic doom and gloom comments from the peanut gallery.

[Cucuzza]

Not sure where the optimism originates from in this new era. But... it reminds me of a garden and flower pot obsessed lady who just glows a woodstock-like free spirit about everything in life.

Lost my retirement savings....ohh well, who cares!
Can't afford to pay junior's last year of med school... ohh well, who cares
GM and a bunch of other American icons are in route to chapter 11....ohh well, still alive here!
Economy is in a cesspool....ohh well, plant more daisies!

[ross]

david - haven't you noticed every topic gets bombarded with anger and end of the world posts? It's by no means limited to realtors, who may or may not deserve a extra little attention.

[Bill]

Dave, I'm not making fun of you. I'm making fun of the idiots who post gloom and doom scenarios all day long. I'm on your side. Maybe you should see my quotes in their original context:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w91-GMc3j7I

[friday910]

"...Right now, pretty much nobody is buying anything, in any major consumer category. Nobody has a crystal ball about where prices will level out to rekindle demand, nor do we know where salaries might be going. The situation right now is too fluid."

So if nobody is buying, and there is no movement, how can you call it "fluid"? Usually in a "fluid" things are moving. Or maybe you wanted to say that it was fluid alright, but then, a couple of months ago the temperatures dropped below freezing, and now everything is "solid".