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The Post-Standard News |
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Post-Standard,
The (Syracuse, NY) July 22, 2003 ESPECIALLY ON SKANEATELES LAKE, WHERE ASKING PRICE AVERAGES $780,043. Pam Greene Staff writer Less than a quarter of a
million dollars will buy a 2,900-square-foot house on the Seneca River in
Lysander. Pay an extra $75,000, and a shopper can pick up a house less
than half that size on Skaneateles Lake.
The same amount of money will buy very different properties,
depending on the body of water on which the house is located, a review of
more than 200 waterfront homes for sale in the four counties around
Syracuse shows. The average asking price for a waterfront house on
Skaneateles Lake is $780,043. Six miles away on Owasco
Lake, the price is more than half a million dollars less: $219,521.
And for houses four miles east of Skaneateles Lake, on
Otisco Lake, it is even lower: $170,000.
"It's like going to Wal-Mart or Lord & Taylor," said
Skaneateles broker Linda Roche. "It's what buyers are willing to
pay and the quality they perceive. ... It's why people drive Fords and
Mercedes."
A lot of factors contribute to the price extremes from one
waterfront to another, real estate experts say.
Clarity and cleanliness of the water and proximity to shopping and
other conveniences loom large. So do school systems and community activity
and spirit, they say.
Then there's status. If an area develops a reputation that it's
elite, buyers will begin to believe it, said Cornell University psychology
professor Daryl J. Bem. Even if the perception is false, eventually it
will become reality as people buy into an area's reputation, he said.
"Prices of real estate are subjectively based on status," Bem said.
"Some communities are more desirable than others ... for no objective
reason."
Elaine Palmer, who spent more than $400,000 for a 3,100-square-foot
house on the east side of Skaneateles Lake last June, said
the value of buying on Skaneateles Lake is more than just
its reputation.
While homes are expensive, the property owners can send their
children to a good school district, she said. Plus, the village is quaint
and offers family and cultural activities.
It's an ideal community in which to raise her two children and,
therefore, worth the extra cost, she said.
If selling and asking prices are indicators, two lakefront
communities tower over others in the status department.
The average price of three waterfront homes that sold this year on
Skaneateles Lake is $736,666. And on Cazenovia Lake
seven waterfront homes sold this year for an average of $385,628.
By contrast, the average selling price of a waterfront property
this year in Central New York is $171,000, a review of 108 homes sold
through June 30 shows.
The average asking price for seven waterfront homes currently on
the market on Skaneateles Lake is $780,043. Far to the east
in the four-county area, 11 homes on the shores of Cazenovia Lake
are priced at an average of $756,173.
Generally, waterfront property in the four counties is priced far
lower than on Skaneateles and Cazenovia lakes. The asking
prices on other lakes and rivers hover far below $300,000, listings
gleaned from Realtor.com show.
Average asking prices on more than a dozen other major lakes
and rivers in Central New York range from $247,133 on Cayuga Lake
to $179,800 in the Tuscarora Lake/Erieville Reservoir/Eatonbrook
Reservoir area to $103,416 on the Oneida River.
Most waterfront property shoppers want houses priced between
$125,000 and $300,000, according to Mary McNeill, a broker with Re/Max
Masters in Fayetteville. Waterfront homes in that price range rarely
linger on the market, she said. Several other agents who deal in
waterfront properties agree with that assessment.
People who buy homes in this price range are looking for the most
bang for their buck, the agents say.
Paula and Alex Roberts bought their retirement home on Lake
Shore Road in Cicero on Oneida Lake for $69,300.
The house was originally 900 square feet until the couple ripped
down most of the house and rebuilt a 2,100-square-foot house around it.
While they invested more than $100,000 in the reconstruction costs, the
Robertses say their investment bought them the feeling that they are
forever on vacation.
Plus, they said, they have the convenience of living close to
Syracuse. They moved into their dream house three months ago.
While reputation, shopping and pristine water help enhance the
value of property on Skaneateles and Cazenovia lakes, some
waterfronts offer other advantages.
Houses on Oneida and Cross lakes and the Seneca, Oneida and
Oswego rivers offer access to the state canal system, which runs from
Buffalo to Albany and up to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence
Seaway.
A homeowner on these lakes and rivers can travel to the
Atlantic Ocean and beyond if he or she wants.
Most boaters in Central New York have crafts 16 to 24 feet long,
not ocean-worthy, said Paula Lee Aldridge, an agent with Weichert Realtors
in Cicero. Still, the ability to travel to other destinations along the
canal system helps attract buyers, she said.
Debbie Moriarty was never much of a boater until she and her
husband bought a $157,000 house on the Seneca River in Lysander three
years ago.
Her husband, James, bought a 19-foot Four Winns motorboat and now
cruises with the neighbors, she said. The advantage of living on the river
rather than on a lake, Moriarty said, is the ability to go anyplace
via boat.
The Moriartys travel along the river to the weekly concerts on
Paper Mill Island in Baldwinsville and enjoy taking friends to restaurants
by boat, she said.
The character of the property also can help determine the value,
real estate agents say. A level lot is considered more valuable than one
with a staircase leading to the water. Flood-prone lots are worth less
than those houses without flooding. More frontage on the water also equals
higher property value.
Still, location and prominence count most in the mix, real estate
experts say.
And waterfront dwellers around Central New York are taking a lesson
from Skaneateles about how to model their communities.
More communities are forming lake associations that promote
the businesses near the lakes and lobby government and the
community to preserve the quality of the lake's water,
Skaneateles broker Roche said. As effort, money and resources are
poured into other lakefront communities, Roche said, these areas will
skyrocket in value.
"People are taking an interest in their community like they never
have before," she said. "Other places are realizing they, too, have
something beautiful to offer, and some of the lakes that are
affordable will escalate as people realize what they have."
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