561-B Heritage Hills, Somers NY 10589

It’s been a while since I posted my last blog here, and it has really been a very busy time in real estate. Many first time buyers were trying to get the Federal Tax Credit before it expired on April 30th, so the activity level in my office definitely picked up across all different price ranges! It felt like a spring market for a change! During that time, my listing in Putnam Valley received an offer and was in contract in under two weeks, and yes, those were the first time buyers feeling the pressure of beating the deadlines! 

2BR/2BTH/1 Car Garage/1470 sq ft 

Offered for sale at $365,000! 

561B Heritage Hills

 

Today I’ve put a new listing on a market – it is a 2BR/2BTH condo unit in Heritage Hills of Somers. 

I’ve written about this topic already few months ago, and now Journal News picked up the story about Westchester and upstate New York having a misfortune of being the highest taxed region in the nation!

Here is an excerpt from the online edition of The Journal News (4/19/2010):

Live in Westchester County and you pay the highest property taxes in the nation, with a median bill of $8,404 a year. Live in upstate New York, and you also have an unenviable distinction. Sixteen upstate counties — including Orleans, Monroe, Erie and Cortland — pay the highest property taxes compared with home values in the country, according to the U.S. census. In all, New York’s taxpayers pay property-tax bills that are 79 percent above the national average, a 2008 state report found. Property-tax levies grew 60 percent between 1995 and 2005, more than twice the inflation rate , the state Comptroller’s Office said.

The article from last Sunday’s paper includes nice charts and graphs – go to your local library to get your hands on it! If you can’t find it – I do have copies that I can mail, fax or scan/email you. Just drop me a note!

Real Estate Industry News/Trends

Sales Pace Moves From Walk to Trot; New York Times

Housing Starts, Permits Rise In March; Bloomberg

Behind The Foreclosure Numbers: “Strategic Defaults”; CBS News

Home Builders Optimistic About April, Not Beyond; USA Today

Foreclosures Rise In Spite Of Aid Program’s Efforts; USA Today

Defaults Rise In Loan Modification Program; NY Times

More Homeowners Get Help Though Many Disqualified; Yahoo! News

Home Loan Demand Slumps To Lowest In 3 Months; Reuters

Will Tax Credit Help First-Time Buyers Ignite Home Sales?; USA Today

More Homeowners Keep Up With Their Mortgage; USA Today

Should We Be More Optimistic About Housing?; Wall Street Journal Blog

Homeowners Making Sacrifices In Tough Economy; NY Times

Don’t Bet The Farm On The Housing Recovery; NY Times

Second Mortgages Vex Borrowers; Wall Street Journal

Is It Smarter To Rent Or Buy Your Home?; Forbes

Who Says The Economy Is Rebounding?; Fortune Magazine

Jobless Claims In U.S. Unexpectedly Rose Last Week; Bloomberg

New Jobs Fan Rising Economic Optimism; USA Today

Banks Resist Plans To Reduce Mortgage Balances; NY Times

Interest Rates Have Nowhere To Go But Up; NY Times

Wow, March was a busy month for real estate in Mahopac! The numbers improved significantly since February 2010, with unit sales up 367%, median sales price up 47%, average sales price up 53%, and supply of inventory down -78%! Comparing 3rd Q 2010 with 3rd Q 2009 the sales went up 180%!!!

Market Profile & Trends Overview (please note that that these numbers reflect single family homes only in Mahopac school district):

Total properties currently for sale: 174
March new listings: 45
Median list price of all current listings: $480,950
Average list price of all current listings: $550,166
March properties sold: 14
March median sales price: $331,750
March average sales price: $363,911
March average days on market: 186
March sold price per square foot: $183
March months supply of inventory: 12.4

Asking price: $290,000

My associate Debbie Demelis and I recently listed a new house in Putnam Valley (55 Spruce Knolls). It is a super affordable ranch with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths, lovingly maintained by original owners, and perfect for first time home buyers wishing to build equity, or current homeowners looking to downsize!

55 Spruce Knolls, Putnam Valley, NY 10579

3 Bedrooms/2 Baths/1352 sq ft/0.9 acre/built 1965

Tax: $7,775 (after STAR of $1,258)

Over 38 months worth of housing inventory is currently on the market!

The real estate market in Carmel experienced significant slowdown in February, just as surrounding towns. Below is the vital statistics for single family homes in Carmel school district for February 2010.

Market Profile & Trends Overview

Investors With Cash Are Buying Houses; USA Today

How Many Homes Do Banks Have Up Their Sleeves?; Wall Street Journal

Existing U.S. Home Sales Fell In February For Third Month; Bloomberg

NYTimes.com Launches The Next Level Of Real Estate Search; MarketWatch

Bank Of America Will Cut Mortgage Loan Amount For Underwater Homes; USA Today

6 Housing Trends In A Still-Shaky Market; Money Magazine

The real estate market in Mahopac showed signs of freezing in February (not surprising, given the weather we’be been experiencing!) Just as in surrounding towns, the pace of sales slowed down considerably, while supply of inventory increased. As of end of February, absorption rate in Mahopac was 54.7 months! That is how long it would take to sell all currently listed houses WITHOUT any new ones coming on the market.

The market is down -73% in number of sales in February 2010 vs. February 2009! It is also down -51% in median sales price comparing with February 2009!

And here is the rest of the vital statistics for Mahopac Real Estate (as relates to single family houses only, in Mahopac school district).

Market Profile & Trends Overview:

As of February 28, supply of inventory in Somers school district was 53.5 months! That’s how long it would take to sell all currently active listings (based on the sale numbers from prior months), if nothing else comes on the market! This number reflects a huge drop in sold homes and increase of inventory since January 2010.  

Coldwell Banker Somers office

 

Here are the vital numbers for Somers real estate (Somers school district, single family houses only)