I drive by this structure every day on the way to my real estate office in Woodstock and couldn’t resist digging up a video I created when Tropical Storm Irene came through. The flood was incredible so check out the photo and the water level in the video.

Taftsville Bridge Closed

It is sad to see what has become of the Taftsville Bridge and it will be 2014 before we see it again in all it’s glory. The photos below were taken just after the first of the year (January 13th 2012).  A mad dash has taken place to remove, store, and preserve half the bridge so the footings don’t take it all down river in the Spring time thaw.

Missing Half the Taftsville Bridge

It is surprising to see how lack of access to a local bridge affects behavior. Road running has significantly declined along River Road, Quechee is far removed and poorly accessible, business at the Taftsville Country Store is negatively affected, and a general sadness occurs when most drive by this historic landmark.

For the next couple years we will continue to see a barren but stubborn bridge standing to the testament of rugged construction and equally rugged individualism. We look forward to better days for all in 2012 and the bridge in 2014.

Moving into the new year, we’ve produced a couple of short promotional videos.  Here’s one that we just posted to our YouTube channel. Recognize anyone familiar?

October 2011

Friends and neighbors:

We are happy to share with you our “Snyder Bassette Real Estate Market Report” for the third quarter of 2011.

The full report, with all the tables and graphs, can be downloaded as a PDF file by clicking here:

Snyder Bassette Real Estate Market Report for 3rd Quarter 2011

• When we look at hard data – and look through the recent economic and stock market volatility and the turmoil from the Hurricane Irene flooding, it is clear that real estate sales activity is gradually improving.  For example, in 3Q2011, twenty-three (23) residential properties sold in the Greater Woodstock area vs. seventeen (17) in 3Q2010, or a 35% improvement.  This brings the YTD 2011 sold figure to sixty-two (62) residential properties vs. fifty-seven (57) in 2010, or a 9% improvement.  Overall, we expect year-over-year sales will be up, yet remain roughly in line with the average of the past three year of 81 sales per year.  This average is still down some 40% from the peak 3-years (2004-2006) when on average 134 residential properties sold in the area.

• The market for homes priced over $1 million also showed renewed signs of life this quarter, with six (6) sales of homes in that price range.  [Our firm had the buyer - and listing - for the most expensive home sold in Woodstock this quarter at $2.1 million, and the most expensive sale in Barnard this quarter.]  It is worth noting, though, that many of these six high-end deals were “inked” in the spring and early summer.  With the stock market first stumbling in early August and continuing to be volatile since then, activity on the high end has been more quiet.  We do anticipate another buying spree between here and year-end IF the markets can settle down (for more than a week or two) and the brewing national political storm does not kick up too much dust.  There are 45 beautiful high-end homes for sale in the area, so plenty of wonderful properties for buyers to choose from.

• There are still a lot of homes for sale in the area in all price ranges.  Specifically, there were 309 residential properties for sale across the seven towns, which is roughly in line with the number mid-summer.  Even though sales are picking up, so is the number of new homes coming on the market.  Thus, it continues to be a “buyers market”. We have been saying for more than a year that sellers must offer comparatively attractive pricing in order to get deals done.  This is evidenced again by the ratio of Sold to Last-listed-price, which average 85% this quarter.  Said differently, sellers conceded an additional 15% from their last list price vs. the long-term average concession of about 9%.  Homes already priced well have sold fairly tight to last list price, so the average can be misleading.  But overall, it is still a buyer’s market, so if you are a buyer, it is truly a great time to step up to the plate – with lots of great properties and attractive prices to choose from.

• We saw an uptick in the sale of homes in Barnard, Pomfret and Hartland this quarter. Normally, more homes with a Woodstock address sell than in other towns, which is to be expected given that there is a larger population and more homes to begin with.  On average, Woodstock accounts for approx. one-third (1/3) of the sales in the whole area.  YTD 2011, this has been closer to 50% (30 out of 62 sales).  Yet in the 3^rd quarter, Woodstock accounted for only twenty-six percent (26%) of sales, or 6 of 23 sales.  This is explained both by a temporary slowdown in the sale of Woodstock homes, and by an uptick of sales in Barnard, Pomfret and Hartland.  Specifically, Barnard had only two (2) sales in the first half of the year, but had six (6) sales in the 3^rd quarter.  Similarly, Pomfret – which had zero (0) sales in the first half, had three (3) sales in the 3^rd quarter.  And Hartland had six (6) sales in the 3^rd quarter, bringing the YTD total to twelve (12).  By contrast, Woodstock, which had twenty-four (24) sales in the first half, had only six (6) sales in the 3^rd quarter.

• On a personal note, John and I are happy to report that our firm had a very successful quarter, and just crossed $11 million in closed sales this year for the two of us. During the third quarter, we had the buyer (and listing) for the most expensive homes sold in both Woodstock ($2,100,000) and in Barnard ($775,000). Interestingly, we also had the least expensive home sale in Woodstock ($300,000) during the quarter. We now have nearly 50 properties for sale in the Greater Woodstock area.  Few of our sales have been straightforward…let’s just say we chalked up a few more war stories on what it took to get deals done.  Our business approach seeks to combine cutting edge online/web marketing – nationally and internationally – with excellence in old-school relationship management, networking, deal/negotiations skills  - and hard work.

Please contact either of us at any time. John Snyder’s cellphone is 802.280.5406 and his email is JohnS@SnyderBassette.com.  John Bassette’s cellphone is 802.280.5977 and his email is JohnB@SnyderBassette.com. Our office phone is 802 457-2600.  We are happy to consult on any real estate related matter.

We are taking new listings and look forward to hearing from you.

With best regards,

John Snyder                       John Bassette

John Snyder recently had a black bear visit his house in Woodstock VT. Real estate just sometimes needs to take a back seat to a hungry bear. Take a peek and enjoy the view……then, let us know if we can help with  a large land parcel in the Woodstock area? Maybe you can see your bear too!

Snyder Bassette Real Estate Market Report 1st Quarter 2011 Greater Woodstock VT Real Estate – The 1^st quarter of 2011 brought a continuation of improved real estate sales that began in the 4^th quarter of 2010.  Because winter is typically slower for real estate sales, the best insight can be gained by comparing the 1st quarter of 2011 versus the same quarter of 2010.  On that basis, over the same period last year, with twenty (20) house sales in the quarter compared with only thirteen (13) in the 1^st quarter of 2010.  While most of these sales were of lower priced houses (evidenced by the median house price of $288,000), there was a private (non-MLS) sale of a home on Elm Street in the Woodstock village for $3.6 million, continuing the positive tone for high end sales that began in the 4^th quarter of 2010.

Further, the ratio of the Sold-Price to the Last-Listed-Price improved from 88% in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 90% in the first quarter of 2011.  Said differently, sellers only conceded an additional 10% to get their houses sold vs 12% in the prior quarter.  This is nearly in line with the 10-year average of 91% and  a dramatic improvement over the 84% experienced in the 1^st quarter of 2010.  This improvement can be explained both by stronger offers and by more realistic listing prices as sellers have more fully accepted that prices have fallen from the peak levels of 5 years ago.  Competitive pricing has been key to selling your home in this market.

As of April 4, 2011, there were 255 houses for sale across the seven towns that comprise the Greater Woodstock real estate market, which is an improvement from year-end 2010 when 284 houses were actively listed for sale.  This decrease is partly explained by good sales during the first quarter, and partly by sellers taking a “listing pause” during mud season to avoid showings during the messiest time of year.  Based on our own conversations with potential sellers, we expect the number of houses for sale to increase further as we come into summer.  Thus our forecast continues to call for ongoing, modest improvement in real estate sales during 2011.  We believe pricing will remain flat for at least two years because of the ongoing imbalance in supply and demand:  255 houses are actively on the market – and more to come this spring – versus the 10-year average number of homes sold per year at 112.  So, there is still more than two years’ worth of homes for sale.    (It is worth noting that the real estate industry generally considers a six-month supply of homes for sale to be the balance-point between a “buyers” and a “sellers” market.) We are still safely forecasting that the local real estate market around the Greater Woodstock area will continue to be a “buyers” market during 2011 and likely into 2012.  The segment of the market that is in the greatest supply-demand imbalance is in the market for homes priced over $1 million, where there are forty-eight (48) homes for sale versus six (6) sales last year and seventeen (17) in the peak year of 2007.  Depending what you use in the denominator, there is somewhere between a three (3) and five (5) year supply of $1 million+ homes for sale in the Greater Woodstock area.

For buyers, we continue to believe that right now is the best buying opportunity of a lifetime – with reduced prices, an excellent selection of properties for sale – and historically low interest rates.    We strongly believe that real estate and particularly Vermont real estate is a very solid long-term investment.

On a personal note, John and I continue to find success selling homes, have four (4) homes contingent for sale and are actively working with our own buyers across all price ranges, and have several buyers looking for land.  We continue to invest heavily in our online marketing technology and recently added the 12-year old www.woodstockvtrealestate.com domain name to our web presence.  We offer sincere thanks to our many clients and friends for their continued support.  We look forward to a mutually profitable 2011.

Please contact either of us at any time.  John Bassette’s cellphone is 802.280.5977 and his email is JohnB@SnyderBassette.com.  John Snyder’s cellphone is 802.280.5406 and his email is JohnS@SnyderBassette.com.  Our office phone is 802 457-2600.  We are happy to consult on any real estate related matter.

We are taking new listings and look forward to hearing from you.

With best regards,

John Snyder                       John Bassette