DUTCHESS COUNTY REAL ESTATE

Every year around this time sellers question me about putting their home on the market at holiday time, or in some cases taking it off the market temporarily. If they definitely need to sell quickly, I discourage these sellers from waiting. This time of the year, potential buyers are also serious buyers. In fact, alot of relocations happen this time of year. Rule of thumb...keep decorating to a minimal. Selling your home around the holiday season gives every homeowner the long awaited and legitimate reason for simplifying! Avoid the garish colors of bright red and green and keep colors subtle. Use white lights. Fresh pine adds fragrance and warmth but the aroma of snicker doodle cookies baking is also a good choice. I love to market homes around the holiday...I like to use catch phrases too - Ready to "wrap" things up for the holidays???  Got any catch phrases of your own? I would certainly love to have my agent friends share their ideas. 

LOCATED IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, THIS CIRCA 1881 HISTORIC VICTORIAN BOASTS ALL THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS. GENEROUSLY SIZED ROOMS, HDWD FLOORS, DECORATIVE MOLDINGS, HIGH CEILINGS, 3 FIREPLACES, FRENCH DOORS, ROCKING CHAIR PORCH, FINISHED WALK-UP, MASTER SUITE W/SITTING AREA & FIREPLACE. SECOND FLOOR SUNROOM W/CATSKILL VIEWS. NEW ROOF & GUTTERS. CLOSE TO METRO NORTH TRAIN STATION, HOSPITALS AND LOCAL COLLEGES.. OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY!

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I started out reluctant to host an open house today (the Sunday before Thanksgiving). First let me preface this in saying the property has been on the market for a little over a year. I was the original listing agent, and after two 6 month listing periods (with another agent in the middle), I am back in the picture. Now, in regard to hosting today's open house, I had flashbacks of making the same efforts (three open houses) a year ago and getting little results - one time, only one inquisitive neighbor stopped in. So, I headed off feeling a little under the weather and unenthusiatic with a bag packed with reading materials. I was prepared to listen to the clock tick away. Now, by media accounts the market is supposedly worse than last year so comparing to previous experiences with this listing I expected to be hanging out reading Rachel Ray's Thanksgiving recipes and at least enjoying some down time. However, I am very happy to report that I had 3 potential buyers stop in, two who I identified to be either very interested in this particular property and/or ready, willing able - and very eager buyers (good leads). The property sits in a rural country setting and off the beaten path, and the temperature here today was in the 30's. To see more action under these conditions compared to one year earlier is a very positive sign. Of course, today's list price is much more attractive than a year ago too - this certainly helps! There's no denying this is a price driven market but regardless of price, it certainly wasn't the kind of day that I would have expected increased activity compared to a year ago. All along, I have been very optimistic about our region. I have posted earlier blogs saying that our region appears to be much healthier than what is being reported nationwide and that our local market was already experiencing a slow-down beginning 3-4 years ago, much before the sub-prime lending crisis. I am cautiously optimistic that today was a good sign, backed by local MLS statistics which I posted last week. Could we be headed out of the doom & gloom? Perhaps our local market was the first of many to be subjected to a decline and maybe today is proof that things really are beginning to change. Could we now be one of the first markets to start seeing improvement? After all, it is the Sunday before Thanksgiving as I write this. Who would have thunk it? I would love to hear from my agent friends - are you seeing better open house activity these days too?      

Virgin blogger here. My first session and probably the first of many blogs to come. I am an Associate Broker and ABR in Dutchess County, NY (Hudson Valley Region - midway between NY City and Albany). These are indeed adventurous times. Right now, our region is a little healthier than in other parts of the country but one of the greatest challenges we have as agents here is reassuring buyers that it really is a good time to buy. We do not have a local news station so our community relies on news from national broadcasts and news sources of nearby major city affiliates. The media does not paint a pretty picture, nor do they emphasize enough that certain markets are worse off than others - all the hype is scaring off ready willing and able home buyers. While consumer confidence is at an all time low and the real estate market is sluggish nationwide, our local economy is pretty healthy. Home prices here actually started adjusting 3-4 years ago - before the sub-prime lending crisis. Our local MLS statistics actually show prices have started to stabilize recently and may even be increasing slightly. I have started to share this information with buyers to help give them reassurance that right now is a great time to buy. Afterall, timing is everything!