Thursday, January 10, 2008

State of the Finger Lakes



Most people think we had a wind storm yesterday. Actually, it was me on a whirlwind tour of the Finger Lakes. I had clients yesterday from Costa Rica that love summers on the Finger Lakes and so we looked at property on five of the lakes. So this seems like an excellent time to give a market report.

Conesus Lake continues to offer some of the most reasonable waterfront property. Currently, there are only ten pieces of property on the market. We found everything from an adorable house on a tiny lot with with only 25 feet of frontage for less than $240,000 to a breathtaking lot with 130 feet of waterfront land and a so-so house for $370,000.

Honeoye Lake had the slimmest pickings with only one current listing, a 3 bedroom ranch for $269,000.

I had forgotten just how beautiful the southwestern tip of Canandaigua Lake is! Had I not had a car full of clients, I would probably still be sitting on the side of the road snapping photographs. The thing about Canandaigua Lake is it is easy to drop a cool million on a house with decent frontage. Currently, there are 16 homes listed, with a 5,000 sq foot beauty listed for $3.5 million as the most expensive home in the Eastern Finger Lakes (curious? click here for details www.RochestersBestHomes.com/720955 ) A less expensive way to own Canandaigua is to purchase property at Bristol Harbor or one of the other communities, but you will be sharing the lake frontage. A 2 bedroom home at Bristol Harbor is currently listed for $179,900.

Next, we visited Kueka Lake, where we learned an important lesson. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. From the photos, I thought we would be looking at an attractive waterfront home. The home was attractive, BUT it was a short hike to the lake and the waterfront was actually across the road. What do you expect for a mere $450,000? Thirty six properties are currently being offered on Kueka, ranging from $73,000 (a 1963 mobile home) to $1,098,000 for a 2005 built contemporary home with 3 bedroom and 4 baths (peek at www.RochestersBestHomes.com/726899 ) Average time on the market for the current listings is 144 days and average asking price is $515,000.


Our final stop yesterday was Seneca Lake. As we drove along the lake, the sun was low in the horizon and lake was bluer than blue. Simply gorgeous, even this time of the year! This was my first time to show property on this lake and so I'm not as familiar with it. I plan to explore the area more thoroughly this spring. Currently, there are 24 offerings on Seneca, with two listing in excess of $2.5 million. Current time on the market averages 126 days.

Without a doubt, it's early in the year for waterfront property shopping. Traditionally, inventory starts increasing between March and June. If you want to be kept up to date on Finger Lakes real estate offerings, drop me an e-mail or give me a call.
Mary Shelsby, ReMax First

No comments: