Sullivan County Real Estate

4G in Sullivan?

I was on the phone with Warren Blumenthal from Catskill Sales Associates this morning. Warren knows I'm a connectivity junkie for anything related to cell and internet coverage in Sullivan County. So he mentioned that he has a 4G Verizon phone (a Motorola Razr), which has been operating on 3G in Sullivan ... until just a few days ago. He said, out of the blue a few days ago, his phone lit up with the 4G indicator. He mentioned he had talked to Verizon a few weeks ago, and the person he spoke with indicated that 4G was coming soon. But "soon" in Verizon-speak is a very open ended term. So getting a 4G signal was a BIG surprise.

Warren isn't sure which tower it's coming off of, or how widespread the 4G signal may be. He's going to do a little drive around testing. But it's a really good sign that Sullivan is on the Verizon 4G upgrade rollout sooner rather than later. If it turns out there's 4G on my road, too, I'll be upgrading my phone in the next week, and will be checking for 4G everywhere I go in Sullivan.

Has anybody else with a 4G Verizon phone picked up a 4G signal in Sullivan? If so, can you post on here where you're picking it up?

UPDATE: Jan 27. I looked at the latest Verizon 4G coverage map this morning (it's different than yesterday.) The darkest 4G areas are around Liberty and South Fallsburg, so it looks like they lit up towers in those areas. 4G signals must extend quite a distance, because there are small patches of coverage on high points quite far from each of those towers. Warren's house, on Beechwoods Road outside of Jeffesonville, is on one of those patches. But the towers around Jeffesonville do not seem to be lit with 4G yet. But the good news is that it looks like they are rolling out 4G in Sullivan.

Latest Current Market Conditions Report with December Data is Up

I just posted my latest Current Market Conditions Report for Sullivan County Real Estate with sales data through December, 2011. This month's report also has full year data for 2010 and 2011. For the full years, both sales volume and prices were relatively flat. But that's not such bad news, as there wasn't a huge drop off in either, which had been predicted by some market watchers. Also, the price trend has been moving steadily up through 2011 since bottoming out in January 2011. So the overall picture, while not robust, seems to be moving more up than down.

Please check out the latest Current Market Conditions Report and then drop back here to share your comments on what you're seeing in the Sullivan County real estate market.

Hunting Property is Hot

For the past month, one of the top requests I've been getting is for hunting property --- raw land with 20 plus acres, cabins on 20 or more acres, or cabins on 5 to 10 acres that back up to state land. The price point among these buyers is remarkably consistent --- they're looking at about $100,000 for something with a cabin, or $50,000 or so for raw land. Unfortunately, it isn't that achieveable price wise here in Sullivan. Even going into the $150,000 to $200,000 range for a cabin or house with some acreage, pickings are slim.

I'm not sure how these buyers are fixing their price range, but I suspect it has something to do with a listing in Delaware County about 5 miles north of Roscoe that shows up in the MLS and online searches. It's a house on 32 acres listed for $89,900. It's on Route 7 (Rockland Road), not a back country setting, and the house needs some work. It's generated a lot of interest and multple bids.

But this is the exception rather than the rule. Something that occurs periodically in different property categories is that s single bargain priced listing can drive interest. I see it in the lakefront space all the time. Occasionally there will be a 'lakefront' listing in the $150,000 to $175,000 range, and it will spur inquiries from buyers looking for lakefront houses under $200,000. That $150,000 lakefront house may have some significant drawbacks, in terms of what many people think of as their dream lakefront getaway. It may be on a very small, shallower 'lake', be seasonal rather than winterized for year round use, or have significant structural issues. But it still sets the expectation of getting a lakefront getaway for $150,000. Until the listing drops out of the MLS, either because it sells or expires, it will generate a regular stream of inquiries for lakefront houses in that range.

That's what I think is going on with this property north of Roscoe. It's single handedly driving this interest in hunting camps in the $100,000 range. The listing came on the market on November 12th, and shortly thereafter this regular stream of inquiries started. Some reference this house, some don't. But even if they don't mention this particular house, these buyers have likely seen it online and that's generated the interest.

 

The Weather

The weather, or more specifically, the lack of winter, is the main topic of conversation here. The most common phrase I hear is "Can you believe this weather? or some variation thereof, followed shortly thereafter by "I'm not complaining, mind you." That is, unless you're an ice fisherman, cross country skier, planner of a winter ice carnival or owner of a ski hill.

This warm, snowless winter didn't really hit me as until this past weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I was showing lake property. None of the lakes are frozen over, and they only have a narrow ribbon of ice around their edges. With the leaves off the trees, and overcast skies, everything looks a little gray and sad. While people complain bitterly about snow, as a Realtor I like it (in moderation). A coating of snow freshens and brightens everything. The winter wonderland look can be magical, and is certainly more appealing than this seemingly endless extension to a post foliage fall.

So, let it snow! Of course, in a month I may come to eat my words if we get those huge dumps that shut everything down and keep city folks from driving up. But I hope we get some winter soon.