An Update on the Current Pawling Real Estate Market

With the change of seasons generally there are changes in real estate market activity. September and October tend to be busier than November and December. Once we get closer to holidays, the public’s mindset starts to change to family and friends. The hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving and Christmas begins to take over the lives of people who are looking for homes. Many buyers and sellers are preparing there homes, cars, and families for the holidays and winter months ahead.

In my Prudential Office we have seen business trail off in the last week or so. The amount of showings of our properties has been on a decline. We have had an increased number of buyer calls and walk-ins of late. So business in Pawling seems to be streaky at best. I also think the weather has had an impact on us as well. It’s not all doom and gloom however!

This e-mail, which I would like to share, was just sent to us from our corporate offices.

This statement sums it up perfectly; anyone who is considering a purchase and is sitting on the sidelines could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime!

“A Home Buyers Market Like no Other

It’s one thing for a marketer to crow about “a deal of a lifetime.” But when it comes to buying a home, the data’s starting to add up nine ways to Sunday that now may be a better time than anyone has or is likely ever to see in their lifetime to spring for a home purchase, if, IF, IF … one can qualify for the now-endangered, once-common American Home Loan.”

Business Week‘s Kathleen M. Howley reports that people “who survive the scrutiny of mortgage lenders are getting the best deal of the five-year U.S. housing bust–and perhaps the best deals of a generation–after a 31 percent decline in home prices since 2006. It’s the bright side of an otherwise bleak real estate market: Good houses at cheap prices are plentiful, and mortgage rates are at record lows–an average of 3.94 percent for 30-year loans during the first week of October.”

Here are some statistics from Westchester Putnam MLS 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 October 21, 2011

$200,000 to $300,000        26 Active on the market and 7 Sold

$300,000 to $400,000        25 Active on the market and 3 Sold

$400,000  to $500,000        13 Active on the market and  2 Sold

$500,000  to $600,000        7 Active on the market and  1 Sold

$600,000  to $1,000,000     25 Active on the market and  1 Sold

Again pricing is key if you are a seller. You’re home has to look like a great deal compared to other homes on the market to lure that occasional buyer into submitting an offer!

If you’re a buyer in good standing with a lender, you are definitely in the driver’s seat.

Good luck in your real estate endeavors!

Todd Kessman

Prudential Serls

14C East Main Street