Sullivan County Real Estate

Farmhouses

Farmhouses, whether stylishly renovated, new reproductions, or ones that have seen better days and, in Realtor-speak, are just waiting for your tender loving care, have enduring appeal among New York second home buyers. There's something warm and cozy about a farmhouse that beckons as an antidote to the sharp edges and shrill cacaphony of the city, with their rocking chair porches, porch swings and fireplaces to warm against the winter chill. (Yeah, I know I'm laying it on thick here, but 'tis the season to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house.)

Here in Sullivan County, farmhouses range in price from smaller 'eyebrow' styles on a couple of acres needing TLC at around $150,000 to magnificantly renovated ones on large acreage pushing close to a million. The classic "Love, Valour, Compassion" farmhouse (rent the DVD) with a barn and pond on 20 to 40 acres would run in the $600's. They're rarely available, but a great example of one in Fremont on 43 acres sold this past June for $650,000. Originally built in 1890, the 2,390 sq. ft. 3 bedroom house was beautifully renovated, was set well back from the road surrounded by meadows and had views and a pond. When I work with new farmhouse shoppers, this is typically the ideal they have in mind, but with the expectation of a much lower price point. That constellation of factors approaching farmhouse perfection, though, doesn't come together in lower price ranges.

That doesn't mean that those in search of a classic farmhouse can't find some very appealing options at lower prices. It's a matter of tradeoffs — setting, size, condition, acreage or location. At the lowest price points, farmhouses may be quite small with lower ceiling heights, located on busier roads rather than on country back roads, need substantial work or have been "remuddled" over the years and will take some love to bring back the charm. One particularly appealing farmhouse on the market right now in the moderate price range is MLS 32713 near Callicoon (asking price: $259,000). The house is on 4 acres with a large, well established organic vetegable garden and a partially renovated barn currently used as a yoga studio. The downside? The house isn't set far off the road, but it is a country backroad.

In the slideshow at the left I've pulled together 15 modestly priced farmhouses ranging from $179K to $359K. They range in size, setting and style. A couple are newer 'reproduction' farmhouses, a few have been stylishly renovated and some are in more original or "remuddled" condition. I didn't include higher end farmhouses in this group. If you're shopping for that perfect farmhouse getaway that has it all, drop me an email and I'll pull those togethger for you. To see details on any of the houses in the slideshow, click on it as it rotates through or click here to see all of these in a single listing link.

Some Predictions for 2012

It's that time of the year, to look back and look ahead. At the end of 2011, we can breathe at least a little sigh of relief. It will still be a few weeks until the final end of year sales numbers are in, but it looks like sales volume and prices will be just about even with 2010. On one hand, treading water on the volume front is a little disappointing, given that the northeast region as a whole is showing a modest uptick in sales volume for 2011. But we didn't fall off a cliff, either, which is somewhat remarkable given the pall of gas drilling that has been casting a shadow over the western Catskills for the past couple of years.

So what do I think 2012 will look like? A lot hinges, in my opinion, on whether the gas drilling issue gets definitively resolved. Will gas drilling come to Sullivan County and, if so, where? The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation is expected to issue its drilling regulations in 2012, possibly in the third quarter, but could be as early as late spring. But the NY DEC isn't the only agency with regulatory authority for drilling in Sullivan County. The four state Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is also expected to rule on whether drilling can occur in the Delaware River Basin, and if so, under what terms. The third factor is the geology. This past year, some geologists have weighed in about whether the gas underlying Sullivan is economically extractable.

I think it's a given that the NY DEC will green light hydrofrack drilling in some form in this state in 2012. A green light from the DRBC is much less certain. If the DRBC says 'no' to drilling in the Delaware Basin, or makes it so onerous or expensive to do so, that would lift the pall of drilling over this area and could uncork second home demand in the west/northwest areas of Sullivan.

A red light to drilling here will likely mean more large raw land parcels will come to market, which would mean more land available for small organic farmers. Demand for land for small organic farms has been high all year, but there's been almost none on the market here. Land prices further east in the Hudson Valley are often too high for small start up farmers. and cheaper land further north is too far from the key NYC market. Sullivan County is well positioned to take advantage of this locavore farming trend, if cheaper land is available and the possibility of gas drilling is minimized.

Until there's resolution of the drilling issue, I expect the demand profile for Sullivan County real estate in 2012 to be similar to 2011. Interest in lakefront and lake-related properties will continue to be strong, which will hopefully bring more inventory to market. The throttle on lake sales here all year has been a lack of good inventory. However, the buyer focus on value will likely keep price appreciation on lake properties modest at best. Sellers who are waiting until their lake house which could have sold for $350,000 this year will pull $450,000 won't likely see that happening in 2012.

I also expect demand to remain high for vacation getaways with privacy in the $200,000 to $250,000 range, which was a sweet spot for buyers in 2011, as well as inexpensive cottages in places like Smallwood in the low $100's. Communities that offer land protection, like Wolf Lake, Black Forest, Merriewold and Edgewood Lake, will also likely have increasing appeal.

Current Market Conditions Report with November Data

I just posted my latest Current Market Conditions Report for Sullivan County Real Estate with sales data through Nov. 2011. Sales volume is holding steady, about on par with the previous month and previous yewar. Sales prices have been holding steady as well, with the average sales price up some over last year, while the median sales price is down a bit. All in all, it's a reasonably good picture given the lackluster economy. True, we're nowhere near the robust sales volume we saw during the peak of the market (annual sales are running about 500 units, compared to between 700 and 800 at the peak). Earlier in the year, market bears visiting this site were predicting that sales and prices would fall of the cliff, but that hasn't happened, taking a look at the year over year numbers.

Check out the latest Market Conditions Report and then drop on back here to share your thoughts on what's happening in the real estate market here.