Update on the current Pawling Real Estate Market,

Time flies when you’re having fun! I can’t believe its January and the snow is starting to fly.

I was out shoveling the white stuff thinking about a nice warm trip to a Caribbean beach somewhere, then it hit me – what about all those holiday gifts that I have to pay for? Well in any event back to work, maybe I can sneak out of here in February.

The Real Estate market has seen an uptick as of late. I noticed right after the election in November my business began to pick up. More so with buyers than sellers, I was getting calls and e-mails from listings posted on the major Real Estate websites. Many agents in my office were seeing the same sort of increase as well.

During one of our office meetings the consensus was interesting to say the least. We talked about some potential reasons for activity. I think one major issue is that the public knows that Real Estate has been taking a beating for a long time. As you all know, prices are way down and interest rates continue to be at historic lows. With the looming federal deficit, talks of the fiscal cliff, and stock market uncertainty, perhaps the only place to go with your money is Real Estate.

It’s still early and prices have not gone up in this area, but in other parts of the country we are starting to see small increases. We all know there are other factors still suppressing the market – job growth, job security, foreclosures, and consumer confidence – just to name a few. We could be wrong, but we are all starting to get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, we are indeed turning the corner. The big question is, will this trend continue or is it just a blip on the radar screen?

Typically we see a slowdown this time of year. As the weather continues to get colder so does the real estate market. So for now we seem to be bucking the trend. Buyers who are looking this time of year are my favorites because they are serious, if folks are looking at houses when its zero degrees outside, you know there is a good reason.

Here are some statistics fromWestchester/Putnam Multiple Listing Service regarding the number of homes currently on the market in Pawling in a given price range, and the number of solds in the last 6 months as of 12/27/12:

$200,000  to $300,000          18 Active on the market and 7 Sold

$300,000  to $400,000          13 Active on the market and  8 Sold

$400,000  to $500,000          11 Active on the market and  2 Sold

$500,000  to $600,000          4 Active on the market and  1 Sold

$600,000  to $1,000,000       9 Active on the market and 2 Sold

In Summary, looking at the numbers above and comparing them to my last report, they look much better. The number of overall actives has come down and the number of sold homes has risen quite a bit. Now keep in mind there are sellers out there who may have wanted their homes off the market for the holidays and the remaining winter as well. Those homes will most likely come back on in the spring. But the bottom line is there are more sold homes in this report than in the last. Actually looking back over my last three reports the number of solds in Pawling has been on the increase. Let’s hope this trend continues, at least now it feels like were heading in the right direction.

Good Luck everyone, and stay warm!

Prudential Serls

14C East Main Street