According to results published by the New York State Association of Realtors, sales of single family homes in Ulster County rose 42.9% in the first quarter of 2010 when compared to the sales data from the first quarter of 2009. Could this be a prelude to a jump in Ulster County homes sales during the peak second quarter period as well?

With spring in full swing, key housing indicators revealed some encouraging signs for the Ulster County real estate market. March sales data indicated an increase in the number of homes sold in Ulster County and an increase in the median price. 84 homes were sold last month–representing a 35.5% jump from the same month last year. The median price rose 12.3% to $220,500. The number of purchase offers recorded (76) remained similar to last year’s March figure (79).

A survey by the Siena Research Institute revealed that 4.0% of those polled have plans to purchase a home compared to just 2.5% last year. The extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit Program has prompted some Ulster County home buyers to take advantage of the opportunity and to consider purchasing a home in the near future. We’re seeing many positive indicators that the housing market is rebounding, so it will be interesting to see home sales data after this first quarter of 2010.

Analysis of sold homes statistics in Ulster County showed some encouraging signs about the local real estate market. The number of homes sold in September of this year was higher than last year–108 homes sold in 2009 vs. 92 sold in 2008. There are an estimated 101 homes under contract which again represents a healthy increase of about 20% over last year. The median price is lower than last year, coming in at $215,000.

The Daily Feeman is reporting that Ulster County and a technology company in Stone Ridge are applying for a $4 million grant to bring high speed internet access to the most rural parts of Ulster County. Their plan is to bring high speed access to unserved and underserved remote areas in parts of Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive, Rochester, Shandaken, Shawangunk, Wawarsing and Woodstock.

Bringing internet access to these more secluded areas would present a huge opportunity to attract more weekend and second home owners to these beautiful, but less populated areas of Ulster County. Having high speed internet access could allow telecommuters to extend their weekends and work remotely by using their laptop and internet connection. It would also encourage others to become full-time residents since working almost completely from home is becoming more and more accepted by companies in the metro NYC area.

A look at the May 2009 Ulster County real estate data revealed a 27.6% year over year drop. The Ulster County MLS data indicated that 63 homes sold in May. The median price also dropped to $223,500–down 13.2% from last year. THat median price is actually up from previous months in 2009. Overall, this data continues to demonstrate the trend of declining sales and prices when comparing sales data from 2008 to 2009.

Analysis of data obtained for homes sold in Ulster County for the month of March showed some encouraging signs based on the number of homes sold. While the median price for March 2009 was $196,250 (13.4% less than March 2008), the amount of homes sold was flat. The fact the the number of homes sold was flat is very encouraging going into the spring season, which is often the busiest time of the year. The number of homes had been declining sharply prior to March.

The downward pattern continued in the month of February, as home sales and the median price dropped compared to the same month last year. The number of single family homes sold in Ulster County dropped to a total of 34 homes. That number represents a 44.3% decline over last year.

The median price also came in the at the lowest level in quite some time. The data showed that the median price was $192,500 in February 2009–a 18% drop and the first time the median is below the $200,000 mark in a while.

Ulster County Landowners have an opportunity from March 1-March 30 to submit an application to have their agricultural land included within a certified New York State Agricultural District.

A packet with documents should be submitted to the Ulster County Planning Board for consideration. That packet should include a completed worksheet, a copy of the tax map for the property and a description of the land.