About Putnam County, NY

$350,000 goes pretty far in Brewster these days. Today we closed on a listing at that very price which was quite uncommon: a Victorian manor house on 2 acres with a carriage house/garage and a view of the reservoir. It had been purchased in 2005 for $562,000 and restored before the economy tanked. An 1870 build (by circus entrepreneur Seth Howes), it had all the original moulding and trim, a root cellar, a greenhouse, a small out building, cobalt glass windows, porches, balconies, the original outhouse, and had been featured in some publications for its beauty and architectural note. As a matter of fact, the new owner is only the 4th owner since it was built during the Civil War reconstruction period!

The home is 2300 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The whole setting is private, secluded and wonderful, yet the location is convenient to the highways and the village of Brewster, just 5 minutes away by car.

The home was a short sale, and in the process of getting the approvals, we were able to procure for the seller a $7,000 relocation credit from the first lender. Happy endings all around-not easy, but happy all the same!

Carmel, NY is a community located in Putnam County, NY about an hour north of New York City. It is very close to Westchester County, but the cost of living, especially the cost of homes and property taxes, are often less than Westchester.

What can you get for $525,000 in Carmel? Well, we just sold this 3000 square foot 2001-built 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath colonial on nearly 2 acres this past week. Located on a cul de sac, it has a beautiful master suite, an additional 1300 finished square feet in the walkout basement, rocking chair porch, 2 car garage, fireplace, rear deck, rear patio, and an updated kitchen.

The subdivision is very close to the downtown area of Carmel, with Mahopac and Brewster a short drive away as well. I-684 is about 7 minutes away.

Our sellers got 100% of their asking price and the home spent just 81 days on the market. As you can see, in Carmel these days, $525,000 buys quite a nice home.

Often times I have clients stop in or call and say they want to buy foreclosures. Of course, the first things I ask are where? How much? Are you looking to flip? Are you looking to hold the property in the hopes it produces income? OR they will tell me the purchase would be not an investment but their primary palce of residemce. At that point I say Whoa!! It is a myth but yet common belief that foreclosures, R.E.O. , bank owned, and shortsales are the best deals around. Now dont get me wrong, there are some great deals that come along on the MLS via short sales, R.E.O. bank owned properties but more often than not these properties have been neglected to such disrepair it negates the whole concept of "good deal". If you are in the market to purchase a home for your primary residence the best thing you can do is go to a Real Estate Professional discuss your needs, wants and price range and I guarantee you will find most listings that come up are NOT solely Bank owned or R.E.O. or even shortsales. It will be a mix and the bottom line is you should focus on the value and whether or not the property works for you and your family not who currently owns it! Now if you ARE in the market for an investment property thats a whole different story! If you are serious about purchasing foreclosed properties you once again need to find a Real Estate Professional who will be able to focus on this for you. Buying Foreclosed properties is a FULL TIME JOB!! I suggest you hire an agent to work for you as a buyers agent. Yes you will be on the hook for commission however this truly is the only way to track down these foreclosed properties, contact the trustee and to be able to show up at the auctions at the right time is to have someone dedicated to the cause. Once again I say that there are "good deals" out there on properties that have not been foreclosed on. Especially if your investing in Multi-family and commercial properties. You should be on the look for a well maintained, fully occupied building with positive cash flow. the good news??? This market actually renders that a possibility. Call me today for a personal "good deal" consultation. My Cell is 914-330-7222. Jennifer Maher Broker Incline Real Property Services http://www.inclinerps.com

The Putnam residential market experienced a significant increase in activity in the second quarter, with transactions up 40.5% from last year and 48.4% from the first quarter. Although part of the increase is simply a Reflection of the weak activity in the early part of last year, following the financial crisis of late 2008, the 184 sales marked the second-highest level of transactions since the middle of 2007. This increase in activity, though, has still not stabilized pricing in Putnam, which continues to lag with the average down 2.3% and the median down 5.6%. Pricing in Putnam is now down to 2002-03 levels, down 30.0% from the height of the market in late 2007, and we expect that it has finally found its bottom.

SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

	Current Quarter Q2-2010	Prior Year Quarter Q2-2009	Change from Prior Year Quarter	Prior Quarter	Change from Prior Quarter
Total Closed Sales	184	131	40.5%	124	48.4%
Average Selling Price	338,742	346,637	-2.3%	337,395	0.4%
Median Selling Price	306,750	325,000	-5.6%	310,000	-1.0%
Average DOM	206	198	4.0%	231	-10.8%
Listing Discount	5.5%	5.8%	-5.2%	5.9%	-6.8%
Price Per Square Foot ($)	176	180	-2.2%	172	2.3%

Understanding the Data: Data in this Rockland County, NY Real Estate Market Overview comes from the local multiple listing systems (MLS), and includes all sales made by participating real estate brokers in the local areas. The "residential" compilations include all single-family homes, but do not include non-residential properties, raw land, or multi-family homes. The condominium and cooperative apartment compilations include only those types of properties.

"Total Closed Sales:" all reported closed title transfers.

"Average and Median Selling Price:" the average or median sales price of all the reported transactions in the time period.

"Average DOM:" the average "day son- market," or the time that a property was on the market from the last list date to the title transfer date. Note that "days-on-market" does not include any the time on market for any prior listings of the same property.

"Listing Discount:" the amount the seller discounted the price of the home from the last listed price to the sold price. Note that the listing discount is measured against the last listed price, and does not include discounts from the original price, or from prior listings.

"Price Per Square Foot:" the average price per square foot for those properties that list square footage.

Need assistance with Real Estate - Contact Anthony Stokes Pereira, BHG Rand Realty

I can help you with every aspect of buying or selling your home because I'm experienced, because I am a Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty Real Estate Professional . . .and because I care.

As your Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty Sales Professional, I will provide you with the information you need to make an educated decision.

The relationship between a home buyer or seller and their agent is based on trust, shared goals and understanding. I strive to continually improve and to do this I listen and take the needs and wants into consideration.

For assistance with any of your real estate needs, please contact me, whether it's to get started on helping you realize your goals and dreams, or just to ask a question - no pressure, no hassle, no obligation - just a friendly conversation. I would welcome the opportunity to make a difference for you.

Anthony Stokes Pereira Office: (845) 770-2188 Cell: (845) 538-7021 Fax: (845) 624-7137 Email: anthony.stokespereira@randrealty.com www.anthonystokespereira.com

For the 1st quarter of 2010 there were 28 sales in Mahopac. The median selling price of these homes was $325,000 with an average time on the market of 206 days. The current absorption rate is 9.67 months. The absorption rate is the number of weeks it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales and if no other listings came on the market.

Compare this data to the 1st quarter of 2009, the median selling price was $417,000 with an average days on the market of 208. This represents a 22% drop in median home selling price from 12 months ago this time. The median price in all of Putnam County was $295,000 compared to the 1^st quarter of 2009 which was $334,750

If we compare 1st quarter 2010 median sales price to all of 2009's median sales price which was $380,000, we will see that current the 1st quarter sales prices are down 15.5% from the median sales price for all of 2009.

That is a lot better than a 22% drop but it is not something to jump up and down about, well unless you are a buyer in this current market. Remember there are 2 sides to every sale, the buyer and the seller. Most sellers will feel the current market is a bummer in regards to home values but if you ask buyers they will tell you this is great and what could possibly be better than this? Consequently if you are a current seller who purchased their home prior to 2003 then you too should be happy because you will have made a decent profit because the market hit its peak at about 2006, 3 years after you bought your home for a nice low price.

The avg sq. footage of the current sold homes was 2,023 sq. feet, the average price per square foot was $174.86/sq. feet. If we do some math that equates to an average house price $353,741 which in my opinion is a very popular price right now. That price is not too far from the median sales price of $325,000 and that price range is an extremely popular price for 1st time home buyers who are trying to buy a home now to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit that expires very soon. This could explain why the $325,000 price range is moving more than anything else right now.

To put this all in perspective, the median sales price in Mahopac in the 1^st quarter for the year 2006 was $470,000 compared to the 1^st quarter of 2010 and a median sales price of $325,000, that is a drop in home values of about 31%. The median sales price 10 years ago in 2000 was $240,000. So if you bought your home in 2000 and even figuring in the 31% drop in the market from its peak in 2006 you will still realize a 35% profit on the sale of your home! Not bad.

I am expecting to see a little bit better numbers after the 2^nd quarter but overall the values are still down, how much lower will they go is all speculation at this point. What I and many others do know is that the values will not be going up for a VERY long time.

If you would like to know the value of YOUR home and would like a Free Home Evaluation please visit www.MahopacHomeValues.com . I would be happy to help.