Clifton Park and Albany NY Homes for Sale: September 2008

Come see this beautiful 2 Bed Lake House with an Office for only $179,000.  This is perfect for year round living.  The home features two decks, spectacular views and a two car garage.  The lake will keep you cool all summer and the wood burning fireplace is soap stone that will keep you warm all winter.  Call me for all the details (518)281-3951.

If you are looking for a Loft Style Condo in the Capital District, you have to see this Corner Unit 1424 SF, 2 Bed, 2 Bath condo.  IT features a gourmet kitchen with custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.  The unit has 14 foot ceilings, lots of windows and custom blinds.  The laundry room has HE front loading washer and dryer.  The bathrooms feature granite tops, dual shower heads, and ceramic tile all the way to the ceiling.  There is custom lighting throughout with dimmers in every room.  The building is completely secure and has a roof deck, workout room, storage units, and a bike storage room.  If loft style condos are for you and if you want the best, please call me for an appointment.  (518)281-3951 or email me at Lewisb@nycap.rr.com.

The Capital District Real Estate market is very stable when compared to most of the country.  Mostly due to the fact that Albany, NY is the Capital of NY.  It is also due to a lot of technology and research jobs in the market place.  Universities and Colleges that support all this are: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), SUNY Albany, SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, The Sage Colleges, St. Rose College, Siena College, Hudson Valley Community College, Skidmore College, and Union College.  For a "small" town like Albany, this is a lot of schools.

If you ever have questions about our marketplace, pleasedo not hesitate to contact me directly. 

Real estate in the Capital District is fairly stable when compared to other parts of the country.  Partly because we did not see the dramatic increases in home prices that much of the country saw these last few years.  The difficulty in our market is that many buyers now think they can "steal" listings because "the market is so bad right now!!!"  So, buyers are slow to act and when they do want to buy they think they can go in very low.  I did some analysis on 9/12/08 through the MLS and in the four counties of Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga the following single family statistics were compiled:

Active Listings:  5,406

YTD Sales:  4,669

Inventory:  9.8 months

Average List Price:  $241,311

Average Sale Price:  $234,772

Sales to List %:  97.3%

Average days on market:  81 days

If you have any questions about the Capital District Real Estate market, please be sure to let me know.

Thank you,

Lewis

I would like to thank Laurie Mindnich (www.activerain.com/laurieatoptionsrealty) for her blog today about not putting any hand carried flyers or marketing material in mailboxes.  She is correct that this is illegal.  As I read through the comments it got me thinking........  Here are two helpful Web sites in case you or your clients need them.

1) To avioid phone solicitations and prevent those unwanted telemarketing calls; The National Do Not Call registry can be found at www.donotcall.gov

The other is lesser known

2) In order to eliminate pre-approved credit card offers in the mail please visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call your financial institution for more details.  I signed up on this one a few months ago and they have all stopped!!!  This not only saves me the aggravation of having to shred everything, but it also prevents someone from getting my person information if they stole my mail.

Good luck and spread the word!!!

I was reading some blogs this morning about buyers and how they just keep looking.  This one he likes, she doesn't.  That one she likes, he doesn't.  The yard is too______.  The bathroom is too ______.  The kitchen is too _______.  It occurred to me that, personally, I am a very easy buyer.  My wife and I have moved across the country 5 times so the timing of my purchases was always very important.  What we learned is that there is no such thing as "the perfect house."  No matter where we have lived, there was always something we wished could have been different.  Now, we never regretted the decisions, just "wished."  This also got me thinking about people I have known that built their "dream home" so they could build exactly what they wanted and not have any regrets.  Well guess what; they too always said "I wished we would have ______________."  So, I hope this little blog helps you with those difficult buyers and gives you some ideas on how to address their tenuous search.  Good luck everybody!!!

I have waited three months to post this blog.  I typed it out several times but could not bring myself to click "POST".  Now, before I begin please understand that this is intended to help all of you AR Bloggers that need it.  It is not intended to offend anybody and it is not intended to be mean.  It is also important for you to know that I am NOT an English major, neither is my wife.  As a matter of fact, I flunked English my Junior year in High School and had to take it over in summer school (man was that the worst summer of my life!!!). Okay, drum roll please.....................Alot is TWO WORDS.  Spelled "a lot".  I see so many blogs where a lot of people spell it alot and it drives me crazy.  Now, allot is a correct word.  It is a form of the word allotment.  As in, "We have to allot these leads in a a fair and equitable manner to our agents."

I do sincerely hope that this post does not offend anybody as I really am just trying to help.

I currently "only" have two widgets in my blog.  I just tried copying a new widget into my "Blog Description" filed but it wouldn't let me.  It said I have more than 100 words and settings were not saved.  Now, some of you folks out there have a dozen little widget thingies on the side of your blogs....So, I don;t get it.  If you can help me, please comment away.....Thanks!!!

Below is a chart that I sent to my COI last week showing some statistics for the Capital District Real Estate Market.  To clarify, this only looks at single family homes in the four counties of Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga.  If you have any questions about our market, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you, Lew

So, I've been sleeping in a little too much lately.  I used to never have a problem with that because I always drove my kids to school.  But this year, my eldest son drives himself and our daughter to school and my younger son doesn't have to catch the bus until 8:30, so there is no way I'm driving him.  So last night I made a commitment to get my lazy butt out of bed and take our younger son to school anyway.  This way it gets me moving.

So, back to the title of this blog.........I had an appointment today to show a new client and his wife a real cute Cape here in the Capital District.  I talked to the listing agent and he indicated that the previous owner was a carpenter and that there is a lot (two words people!!!) of attention to detail.  So, I was excited for the showing.  All summer, I've been dressing "down" in khakis and golf shirts.  But today it was slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie to "impress" my new clients.  Well, wouldn't it figure that the listing agent called just as I was pulling out of the driveway and had to cancel the appointment!!!  But, I tell you, I'm feeling re-energized and serious about my business.  So, leave the jeans, shorts, or khakis at home and start dressing like the professional that you claim to be.  Good luck and happy selling!!!