Roll Up Your Sleeves Buyers Are Back

Ah, how times change. A year ago, I was commenting that buyers I was working with all seemed to be looking for perfect, blemish free houses that were close to magazine ready. A lot of shoppers had unrealistic expectations of perfection, or were naggingly picky. I found myself having to stuff a sock in my mouth at times, to keep my wagging tongue from saying something I'd regret later in response to a comment about kitchen cabinets not being just the right color, or a house just needing way too much work (when what might have been needed is retiling a bathroom.) I recall having conversations with other Realtors, who also lamented that appointments weren't "happy", and that so many buyers seemed so disappointed with what they were seeing.

Fast forward to spring 2011. It's like a 180 degree change. For the past few months, almost every buyer I've been going out with is looking for something that isn't redone, that they can put their own stamp on. Given the choice of something at $200,000 that they can redo, or something equivalent at $275,000 that's "done", they're largely choosing the less expensive option that needs imagination and elbow grease. They're typically younger city couples with moderate incomes, who are shopping for a great deal that they can grow into over time.

Four of the five deals I currently have in the hopper are "elbow grease" houses, in need of freshening, updating or reconfiguring. Two of the three that my colleague Kathy has on tap are similar. Common to all of the houses is that they're solid with working systems, not handyman fixers. I'm not finding a lot of buyers interested in tackling a heavy lifting gut job.

Where these buyers are coming from is also interesting. Few hail from pricier trendster neighborhoods like Park Slope or Dumbo. More likely they're coming from Gowanus, Fort Greene, Bay Ridge or Inwood.

Working with these buyers has made selling real estate fun again. They're eager and excited, and see potential rather than problems. In many ways, it feels like 8 or 10 years ago, before Sullivan County hit the radar screens of the upwardly aspirational as the next big thing. A decade ago, Sullivan County was the second home choice for moderate income buyers from the city looking for a modest, affordable getaway. If the recent spate of buyers is any indication, we may be back to reclaiming that position.

Comments

[Solly Van Vactor]

Where is the audience for these posts?

I remember the days (a few years ago) when everybody had an opinion for Dave's threads.

Hello? Hello?

Is there anybody home?

[Mary E]

I thought the same thing. I was keeping quiet because I felt like too much of a 'regular' and a blog hog. I was happy to see that there's renewed interest in Sullivan county. I rent my farm and I've been as busy as ever, but now I tend to get the same families over and over every year, plus a few new ones.

I'm happy you're busy Dave-for awhile there you could hear the crickets.

[David Knudsen]

This blog still gets a reasonably high viewership, but commenting and back and forth debating is definitely down. I think the reason is Facebook and Twitter. They just suck up online interactive time, and a lot of folks now pick up posts through Facebook rather than on this and other blogs directly.

[Bix]

True, blogging is definitely down, as is message board use. The board (http://sullivancountybbs.proboards.com/index.cgi) I started up is dead.

But David, with all due respect, I personally think the reason is that you're now moderating comments. Commenting fell off dramatically after that started.

[David Knudsen]

Bix, I'm sure that starting to moderate comments had some impact. But it's been over two years since I put that in place (March 2009), and commenting stayed pretty high after that. There were also very, very few comments I didn't put through.

I think another factor, besides Facebook, is that real estate here doesn't have the high drama it did two years ago. Back then, the long comment threads often dealt with how much further the market was going to crash, with Armageddon predictions of the median sales price dropping lower and lower, paralleling the entire economy crashing. Then there were those who countered those predictions. But the end of the world scenario didn't happen. Yes, prices have fallen since Mar. 2009 --- but more in the range of 10%, not the 30% or 40% or more that the doom slingers were so gleefully predicting. Overall, we've settled into a rather ho hum market, neither fish nor fowl, not robust but not dead either. Without the drama, there isn't a lot to comment about.

[Gale Lichter]

David,

I am one of the guilty ones who follows your blog religiously, but never posts. I started reading your Catskill blog about two years ago when I was looking for a house in the Neversink area. My husband and I fall into that moderate income group buying $200,000 homes that you posted about, but we're a bit older, in our 50s. Buying a house in Sullivan county was a dream come true. The house we bought had no major structural problems, but was never updated. In fact, it looked like a mid-century time capsule with its pink tiled bathroom. My husband and I love it the way it is. I suppose we are "easy to please" having lived in a studio apartment for longer than I'd care to admit.

I am glad to hear that moderate income people are once again looking to buy second homes in the Catskills and that you enjoy working with this group. They will truly appreciate what Sullivan County has to offer.

Finally, I want to thank you for your suggestion to take the train to Middletown and use the park and ride there. It works very well for us. Who knew?

Galee