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Chautauqua Lake real estate by Rick & Julia McMahon of Real Estate Advantage. Lakefront, vacation and second homes, local market updates and community news. Serving buyers and sellers since 1992.
POSTED: April 18, 2009 JAMESTOWN - While the housing market continues to stammer across the nation, at least one local real estate firm is reporting a banner year in 2008. The locally-owned Real Estate Advantage firm, with corporate headquarters located at 800 Fairmount Avenue, WE, Jamestown, recorded a banner year, distinguishing the firm as the area's market share leader based on data obtained from the Chautauqua County Board of Realtors, Inc., Multiple Listing Service. Real Estate Advantage reported 465 real estate transactions in 2008, acquiring 21 percent of the real estate market in the area. Real Estate Advantage co-owner and licensed real estate broker Richard Benedetto, stated although the market has been troubled nationally, local real estate sales continues to thrive. "Despite the tightened real estate market, we managed to have another good year," Benedetto said. "This is a tribute to the dedication of our experienced agents who really care about our customer's needs." The housing market looks even brighter in 2009 as this year's tax credit found in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will certainly have a positive impact on the local housing market. The new federal credit is designed to boost sales in the nation's sagging housing market. "The refundable first-time homebuyer government stimulus check of up to $8,000 is the centerpiece of housing incentives," Benedetto said. "The government housing stimulus checks are federal incentives to help revitalized the housing market, prevent foreclosures, and strengthen the economy. Using these and other sources of funds, we can help buyers by offering in-house bank financing and mange the entire home sale process from start to finish." Rules for 2009 first-time homebuyers tax credit applies only to first-time homebuyers and some previous home owners, defined as those who have not owned a home within the previous three tax years. The homebuyer's stimulus check does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold within three years. The stimulus check is available only for home purchased between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2009. The stimulus check is restricted by income; phases out for individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or above and for married couples with a combined adjusted gross income of $150,000 or above. Stimulus check is for up to 10 percent of the purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. "For example, a buyer of a $150,000 home could receive a tax credit of a maximum of $8,000, while a first time buyer of a $70,000 home would be eligible for a stimulus check of $7,000," Benedetto said. "Another great benefit of the stimulus check is that homebuyers can take advantage of the tax credit on their 2008 tax return even when they have purchased the home in 2009." Homebuyers can take advantage of this filing exception in one of three ways: closing on the home prior to April 15, 2009, getting an extension to file taxes later in the year or filing an amended return. Benedetto advises, "If people are considering the purchase of a home and want to take advantage of the federal stimulus check, we can help them get started. The new stimulus check is only available on purchases made this year, so we caution homebuyers to act soon." Real Estate Advantage, specializing in residential, vacation and commercial property a full service premier real estate firm serving the western New York vicinity. Richard Benedetto and Earl Johnson, brokers and co-owners of Real Estate Advantage, along with the sales associates' team are widely known and respected for their in-depth market knowledge and represent home buyers and sellers. Real Estate Advantage has offices in Jamestown and Bemus Point. "The agents at Real Estate Advantage love where they work and are committed and passionate about delivering the best possible real estate experience," said Earl Johnson, co-owner and broker at Real Estate Advantage. "That's the kind of company we've always strived to provide our community." Real Estate Advantage provides a full-time support staff Monday through Saturday and 24-hour voice mail service. To take advantage of the federal housing stimulus check or to learn more about the credit, contact the Real Estate Advantage firm at 484-2020. For more information, visit www.REAhomesearch.com. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com | |||
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com |
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By Dennis Phillips dphillips@post-journal.com POSTED: April 5, 2009 MAYVILLE Despite a slumping housing market, Jonathan Wood, WoodCrest Golf Course and Development owner, is continuing his plan to build homes along his golf course to bring people back to nature in the woods of Chautauqua County. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: http://www.chautauqualakehomes.com/ | |||
By Leann Austin editorial@post-journal.com POSTED: March 31, 2009 In September and the beginning of October, the eggs are brought inside and placed in incubators. Around the first of the year, the eggs are all hatched out, according to Barry Hohmann of the New York State Fish Hatchery. The streams are stocked with brown, brook and rainbow trout starting the second or third week of March and stocking continues through April, May and the first week of June. Once the fish in the outside ponds are stocked out, the smaller fish inside are moved out in their place. This is the time of year to see the most fish at the hatchery, Hohmann said. By May, thousands of fish have been moved out. The majority of the fish are stocked in the waters of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, with some going to Wyoming and Erie counties. The vast majority stays in the Southern Tier, Hohmann said. There are 75 streams stocked by the fish hatchery and most of them are done twice and some three times. The department stocked 250,000 trout this spring. In the fall, they will stock the bigger breeders after they have taken their eggs. The crew will take up to five million eggs. The small fish inside are fed for 10 hours continuously, while the larger ones outside are fed twice a day. The brown trout are placed under cover, gradually reducing the amount of daylight to which they are exposed. Then when the covers are removed, the fish believe it's time to breed again out of their season. The large breeder fish are taken to the lakes only because they are too big for the streams to accommodate. Randolph's Fish Hatchery is one of 12 in New York state - not all of which are trout hatcheries. Hohmann said Randolph's hatchery supplies a lot of the other hatcheries with eggs. The eggs are taken twice from the breeders and then they are stocked out. The average size of a stocked fish is 8-10 inches. The majority of those stocked are brown trout. The department works on the ''Put-Grow-Take'' strategy, said Hohmann. They hope that the anglers will catch the fish, and some will hold over and have time to grow in the streams where they are transferred. Another small group may also breed in the streams. The streams are surveyed in July and August by the fishery crew out of Allegany during the worst possible conditions in the summer, to see if that particular stream is capable of supporting the fish. The theory is that if the stream can support the fish during the worst possible time of year, it can support them year round. Once the steams are surveyed they put in a recommendation to the hatchery as to how many more fish the stream could support. They report the amount of wild fish already in the streams, the water temperature, and conditions. The fish hatchery has three trucks on the road every day at this time of year, in preparation for the first day of trout season. Each truck holds six 250-gallon tanks; each of which holds approximately 1,000 fish per tank, depending on the size of the fish. The fish are sampled and weighed by displacement. The Randolph Fish Hatchery is funded by the purchase of conservation licenses and is open to the public. Tours are given all year. There is someone on the grounds to answer questions between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Anyone interested in booking a tour for their group, club, troop or organization can contact the Fish Hatchery at 358-4755. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: http://www.chautauqualakehomes.com/ | |||
By GENE PAUSZEK, OBSERVER Outdoors ColumnistPOSTED: March 25, 2009 Ice fishing is all but a recent memory, but there is plenty of opportunity to wet a line while standing on terra firma. All reports point to plenty of trout in area streams and trubutaries. Gerri Begier at Bill's Hooks reports anglers have been doing very well locally using flies, as well as eggs. Look for good concentrations of trout as long as the water levels remain comfortable for the fish as well as the temperature. Lee Weber in Evans reports the creeks out toward Sturgeon Point and farther east also are "loaded with trout and fishermen." Eggs, minnows (both live and salted) and artificial presentations like flies are all taking fish. Weber also commented that he has increased his inventory of flies due to the ever increasing demand for these minute food simulators. From a personal view point, many feel it is encouraging to note that more and more fishermen are embracing the concept of fair hooking fish as opposed to foul hooking or snagging these fish. According to surveys conducted by the Department of Environmental Conservation, many of these fish caught on artificials are also released by anglers. Successfully catching fish on artificials also decreases the anglers need to kill fish that are laden with eggs, which in turn will possibly contribute to the life cycle of these trout and decrease the need for stocking. Locally the trout activity off the City of Dunkirk Pier has been hot and cold. On Monday, most all the anglers were able to connect with trout and the next day was slow. The wind will have an impact on this type of fishing success, especially when it is moving the ice pack. If a strong east wind is blowing, look for the fishing to be slow. The hot water current in the harbor has been sparse lately with boaters reporting cold temperatures recorded in that area. Most of the trout success has been attributed to bait tipped jigs suspended under floats or bobbers. Lisa Green at the Happy Hooker Bait & Tackle reports the south end of the lake is ice free and anglers have been catching a few crappie in the channels. Note that a lot of the land access is on private property so anglers attempting to use these areas need to heed posted signs, or if access is permitted to keep the area clean and litter free. Bullheads have been on the feed in the Dunkirk Harbor area especially towards evening. Live minnows, shrimp, salted minnows and cut bait will work when the fish are on the feed. Calendar: The Little Valley Volunteer Fire Dept. will host their Sportsman Show on April 4 and April 5 at the Cattaraugus County Fair Grounds. The event is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 and kids under 12 are admitted free. Call Jim Miller at 938-6928 for information. The Chautauqua Sports Fishery Advisory Board will meet on March 26 at 7 p.m. in Room 331 of the Gerace Building in Mayville. There is a Hunter Safety Training Course at the Westfield Rod & Gun Club on Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. and returning on Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students must be at least 12 years old and attend both days for certification. Call 326-3218 for information. Ellery Rod & Gun Club will offer a safety Course on April 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. returning on April 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-registration is necessary by stopping at the club located on Pancake Hill Road on April 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. Call 484-8009 for information. There will be a Hunter safety training course (gun) at the Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club on Friday, April 3 from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m., and returning on Saturday, April 4, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Two-day attendance is mandatory. Pre-register at Cassadaga Shurfine and pick up your instruction book. The class is limited to 30 students. Note there will also be a Bow course at the same club on April 18 from 8 a.m until 4 p.m. The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club will host a Hunter Safety Course (gun) on April 15 and April 16 from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Two-day attendance is mandatory. Sign up on April 15. The class is limited to 60 students. Gene Pauszek is an outdoor columnist for the OBSERVER. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com |
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: http://www.chautauqualakehomes.com/ |
By Sharon Turano sturano@post-journal.com POSTED: March 17, 2009 Area realtors are holding on to hope for the spring and summer home-buying seasons, despite drops in figures for the number of area home sales compared to last year. Rick McMahon, president of the local board of realtors, said the New York State Association of Realtors' figures sent to him recently report that in January 2008, the median sales price for a Chautauqua County home was $68,700 when 48 homes were sold in the county. In January 2009, he said, the median sales price was $63,650, when 35 homes were sold. McMahon said ''a little weight'' could be placed on the economy for the decreases, but, he attributed sales drops more to ''the seasonal situation.'' ''It's been an ungodly brutal winter,'' McMahon said, adding people don't want to go out and look at homes when it's 17 degrees outside. Despite that, he said, there has been ''an uptic in phone calls'' recently for both residences and those wanting to look at purchasing homes along the lake. It is a good time to buy, he said. ''It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,'' said McMahon about a federal $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that has been made available by the federal government. McMahon said interest rates are hovering at about 5 percent and programs are available to subsidize closing costs. ''There's never been that kind of convergence before,'' he said about all of the factors coming together at once to make it a good time to buy a home. ''It's definitely gone down,'' said Chautauqua County Clerk Sandra Sopak about the number of deeds recorded in her office. She said there is usually a downturn during winter months when people don't want to move or pull children out of one district midway through the school year to start in another school when they could wait to buy a home in a new location during the summer months. ''People classically ... sit tight through the winter here,'' said Mrs. Sopak, adding that ''stands to reason.'' Despite that, however, she said, there has been a 20 percent decrease in deeds filed, in addition to what is usually seen in winter. She attributes that to different factors, including the economy, people losing jobs, a new U.S. president leading to people's uncertainty about the future. She said in January and February 2008, her office recorded 563 deeds for property transfers. Although there was an increase for the same time period in 2009, when 593 deeds were recorded, she attributed 146 deed transfers to the county tax sale held in September for the first time in four years. She said that although the sale was held in September, paperwork was not fully completed until the January, February time frame. Therefore, she said, if one subtracts the146 tax sale deeds, the 20 percent decline of 447 properties sold for January, February 2009 would be accurate. ''We're not at a down right now,'' said Tony Parinella, office manager at Coldwell Banker Phil Mathyer Real Estate. He said the local real estate market never made huge amounts of money, so it has not seen declines evidenced in other areas, where homes sold for huge amounts and recently took a nose-dive due to people not being able to afford purchasing the higher-priced homes. ''We've been fairly busy,'' he said, adding other states are feeling the hardship more. Parinella said the area real estate market is steady and stable in Chautauqua County. Existing single-family home sales in 2008 across New York State fell by 16.2 percent compared to 2007 due to tighter mortgage availability, a shrinking economy and a decline in consumer confidence, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors', their Web site states. The statewide median sales price also finished the year down 8.5 percent compared to 2007, reports the Web site. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com |
Looking for a new home? Visit our website: www.chautauqualakehomes.com C. Rick & Julia McMahon Broker/partners Real Estate Advantage Realty 716-483-3300 or 484-2020 |