Real estate really ‘crazy’

Fleeing virus, buyers leave NYC for Manor

 By Jenson Skalda | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – With the Covid-19 outbreak, many people have been coming up to Livingston Manor and the Catskills to take refuge. Manor Ink decided to explore what is actually happening from the perspective of three Livingston Manor real estate companies: RM Farm Real Estate, Carole Edwards Realty and Country House Realty.

“It’s crazy. There have been a lot of people buying and renting homes,” said Gina Molinet, owner of RM Farm Real Estate.

“Both the vacation rental business and the real estate business have really changed since mid-March with the onset of COVID-19,“ said Jennifer Grimes. Grimes owns Country House Realty as well as Red Cottage Realty vacation rentals. “We went from low occupancy in March and April, almost straight vertical to 100-percent occupancy. And it started suddenly. In March, we would typically have people who come up for a few days or a long weekend from the city. And suddenly we started getting week-long and two week bookings, followed quickly by month-long bookings for some people.

“As soon as schools in New York City were closed, people literally hightailed it up here. They weren’t asking if the rental has a hot tub, or whether it is close to hiking or good restaurants. They were all asking, ‘How is the Internet service? Can we video chat, can we do video conferencing? Can we Zoom?’” Grimes said that people from the city don’t realize that you can’t rely on satellite connections for robust video conferencing. “We had to explain that to them, and it meant that those properties that were the last to rent are still the last to rent even now.”

Rentals now occupied by their owners

Part of the skyrocketing occupancy happened where homeowners themselves wanted to quarantine in their own houses. “About 25 percent of our houses functionally went off the market when the owners decided to move in themselves. And that also is still the case,” notes Grimes. Out of her 56 rental properties, none is available through Labor Day.

Looking at the window display of RM Farm Realty, one might think there are still lots of properties for sale in our area, but many of the new listings are getting sold really quickly. “Livingston Manor, Roscoe and Narrowsburg are hot spots,” said Molinet. “People are looking for large parcels of land off the main roads. Older listings for sale are left behind and not bought.”

Some of the buyers are so eager to purchase, they are offering over the listing price. “People have been looking for move-in ready,” said Ryan Edwards of Carole Edwards Realty. Kassie Carlson, new to RM Farm Real Estate, described a tiny house on just two acres that had three bidders. “When a new owner looks out their home’s big picture window and sees vast farmland and mountains, they get the benefit of the country view, but don’t have to take care of it. That situation is very sought after,” she said.

Airbnb rentals changing market

With many people trying to move up to the area because of the coronavirus, there has been an increase in Airbnb renting, removing available long-term rental properties from the market altogether. “There are few, if any rental properties available now in the Town of Rockland,” said Edwards. “Property owners prefer Airbnb for short-term rentals for a number of reasons. First, they can charge more, and potentially make more profit if they fill most weekends. Second, they can see reviews of potential renters in advance so they can be confident their properties will be treated with respect. The downside for our community is that we have almost no rental property available for families who want to stay in the area but need to make a change in their living arrangement for any number of reasons.”

“While you might think that with the new boom in people coming up to the Catskills, the brokers have hit gold. But many deals are not being made, or they are taking months to go through,” said Molinet. It was especially difficult to close a sale when realtors were closed down completely. “We did continue to have some closings that were remote, where there were no walk-throughs. And the buyers just had to be good with that,” noted Grimes. “And there were no in-person signing of documents. So it was kind of incredible. A lot of lawyers were not really set up to do that, but most of those we dealt with were, and that’s how we closed some deals during the pandemic.”

It makes sense that with low inventory of houses for sale, new construction will eventually increase. “I expect land prices to skyrocket in the fall. Land will be in high demand as new construction takes over,” said Edwards.