Hudson Valley Real Estate (in a Nutshell)

Posted Sep 20, 2007 @ 12:45 pm, Viewed by 506 Visitors, Read 532 Times.

Nobody really knows exactly where the Hudson Valley Area starts and stops. As the term becomes more marketable it seems that it takes on a life of its’ own and grows in every direction along the Hudson River. From a real estate perspective, second-home buyers looking for the most bang for their buck are looking on the west side of the river heading more north into the Catskills, in search of more home buying value. Ulster and Sullivan Counties seem to be the destination of choice. Delaware County to the northwest, and Greene County, are second choices when selecting a second home.

 
The east side of the river has a second-home market located mostly in Dutchess County. This area is popular with commuters working in the lower quarter of New York State and facilitated again by access to the New York State Thruway.
 
Another form of access is the Metro North Train system which runs along the east side of the river, making it easier to get to places like Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck and Hudson. This is helpful to city dwellers looking to leave a car upstate. For the most part, the train is right on the Hudson, so there are more picturesque towns along the river on the west side, like Saugerties or Catskill showcasing more farmland, hills and mountains.

Hudson Valley Real Estate

 

Our Second Home Market

 

When people living in the city start their search for a second home in the Ulster County or Hudson Valley area, they all start out looking for the same thing . . . an old stone house with character, on private property set back from the road and isolated from the neighbors, preferably with an open floor plan, near some sort of water feature like a lake, river or creek,  high speed internet access not to mention near a small town that is less than 2 hours from New York City. . . and oh yeah . . . it also has to have a stunning view.
 
Not totally a pipe dream. With the recent change in the Hudson Valley market, there are a lot more homes on the market than there have been in recent years.  Sellers are starting to be more realistic with their asking price. The down-side is that even buyers that have a million dollars to spend still have to make compromises.  Unfortunately when that type of home was built in 18th-century, they tended to place them close to the road, or did not design their layouts with 21st-century tastes, like an open floor plan or wiring for high-speed internet.
 
But with nearly double the amount of listings on the market compared to 2 years ago, buyers are more likely to have the majority of their criteria met. Buyers can also take their time in putting in an offer not to have to worry about having to compete with other buyers lined up for the same property.
 

More about Pricing in the Hudson Valley Market

 
To be kind to our industry and not to scare off customer we use terms like “Plateau” and “leveled off” when talking about current market conditions. The reality is that MLS listing history and advertising are all telling the same story . . . price reductions.
 
According to Tim Sweeney, co-owner of the Ulster County real estate agency Prudential Nutshell Realty, Stone Ridge, New York, sellers are reducing prices to meet buyer demand resulting in a higher percentage of list to sale price and realistic sellers are getting over 90% of what they are asking.
 
In Ulster County and throughout the Hudson Valley, there more homes available in the $250,000 to $350,000 range that meet many second-home buyers’ basic criteria, the only catch is to not limit yourself to 1 and a half hour commute and maybe drive one or two more exits up the NYS Thruway.  For $350,000 to $500,000, you can get more property, a bigger house and, and if you have a good REALTOR, a view.

Lou Lynch
Associate Broker / Technology Director

Lou Lynch is an Ulster County real estate advisor and local area expert providing stellar home buyer and seller services in the Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York.

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