Chautauqua County Event June 20-26

The Chautauqua Season is Finally Here!


Over the course of the summer, Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate will be providing a weekly peak into what's going on in the Chautauqua Area this week.


June 21st- June 23

Paddle Tours
Tues: 5:30pm Lake Erie Daddle
Weds: 5:30 PM Chautauqua Lake
Thurs: 7 AM Chautauqua Lake
716.763.2266


June 23
Sunset Celebration
7 PM-11PM
Cabanana Sams - Irving
716.934.9953


June 24


Lily Dale Assembly Season Begins
lilydaleassembly.com


June 25


Chautauqua Institution Season Kicks Off


Mommon Tabernacle Choir Conceert
2PM & 7:30 PM
Chautauaqua Institution
716.357.6250     ciweb.org


June 26


Bemus Bay Pos Concer Series Begins
Billy Volk Memorial Tribute & New Oddesy
2:30 PM  Floating Stage, Bemus Point
bemusbaypops.com


Praise on the Lake
9 AM Floating Stage, Bemus Point
bpumc.com


Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. The locally-owned affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville, Westfield, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, at the Bemus Bay condominiums and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the third-largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's fourth-largest full service real estate company and the sixth-largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

Howard Hanna Holt realtors earn short sale certifications

From Dunkirk Observer- story

Homeowners who can no longer keep up with their mortgage payments and need to sell a house to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure have an alternative. It's called a short sale.

Two Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate agents recently earned their certification from the National Association of REALTORS in short sales and can assist homeowners in arranging a short sale transaction.

Roger Britz, Sr. and William Carlson at the firm's Fredonia office now have valuable knowledge to help both buyers and sellers who want to better understand how a short sale works.

"We aren't attorneys or public accountants and we can't offer that professional advice," explained Britz. "What we can do is explain how the process works and the steps involved."

Carlson said, "A short sale can be arranged if the lender is willing to accept less than mortgage amount due. A short sale often can avoid the cost to both the homeowner and the lender of going through a foreclosure proceeding."

"Short sale sellers and buyers need well-qualified professional representation," emphasized Howard Hanna Holt president George W. "Pete" Holt. "Short sales are an option, but we always advise our customers and clients to get professional legal and accounting advice in these types of transactions."

In the simplest of terms, a short sale involves the following steps:

• A seller signs a listing agreement with a real estate agent;

• A buyer makes an offer that may be less than the mortgage the bank has on the home;

• The buyer and seller agree on a price and the lender approves the offer.

"The basics are fairly straightforward," Britz said. "But working through the process can be challenging if someone isn't working with a real estate agent who understands the many details involved."

Carlson said, "Having specialized training is definitely a benefit to our short sale sellers and buyers. We can offer them a superior quality of service."

Locally-owned Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate, www.howardhannaholt.com, offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. The Chautauqua County-headquartered affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville and Westfield, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, at the Bemus Bay condominiums and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

Pittsburgh-headquartered Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the 3rd largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country's 4th largest full service real estate company and the 6th largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The third-generation company serves the Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

Local Market Strong

In this weeks' Westfield Republican, Alex Gerould wrote a piece on the local market. Below is an excerpt. To read the complete article please visit the Republican's site.

Looks Can Be Deceiving as Local Real Estate Market is Strong
By S. Alex Gerould
WESTFIELD – James Woodruff isn’t a real estate expert.


A member of the U.S. Army, Woodruff, a 2002 Westfield Academy and Central School graduate, has seen two tours of duty in Iraq while stationed in Hawaii. Shortly, he will be heading to Texas for additional training before moving to an Army base in North Carolina.
He’s seen a lot of things and been to a lot of places. He’s also someone who can tell you how Westfield has changed during the time he has been gone.
While driving with this reporter down South Portage Street on the way to Jamestown, Woodruff remarked on something which has affected most of the country recently – real estate.
“It seems every house is for sale in Westfield,” he said, as we passed a house with a Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate sign propped up in the front lawn.
Woodruff may be right to some extent. While not every house in Westfield is for a sale, during a quick, 10 minute drive through the streets of the village, more than 10 houses and properties, along with several businesses, had “for sale” signs in their front yard.

However, looks can be deceiving, at least according to some real estate experts.
“I think what you’re seeing right now is that there are some properties for sale on the major streets,” said Steve Holt. A broker associate with Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate. “I think it’s just been the location where they are that they stand out a little more.”
Helen Baran, a real estate agent for ERA Real Estate, said, even if a house has a “for sale” sign in its front yard, it doesn’t necessarily mean a house is for sale. She said real estate agents may keep signs up until the sale is definite in an effort to not scare other potential buyers away.
“At any time you have a house that has a ‘for sale’ sign on it, it might also be under contract,” Mrs. Baran said. “There are a lot of them (houses) on the market, but there’s also quite a few that are under contract right now.”
While it may seem there are many houses for sale in Westfield, Nick Holt, Steve Holt’s son and also a real estate agent, was quick to point out that 2009 was a really good year for his company.
“Despite what everyone has termed a down year, Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate had our best year ever in 2009, posting record sales with double digit growth,” Nick said. “The truth is that, with the proper marketing, pricing and expectations, now is as good a time as any to sell or buy in this area, particularly when you consider how low interest rates are.”

THE ECONOMY’S IMPACT
While other parts of the country have faced real estate meltdowns recently, Westfield and Chautauqua County has remained stable, and, in some cases, fairly robust.
“Prices in this market were never really artificially inflated, and local lenders were very good about avoiding predatory practices,” Nick Holt said. “So, when the bubble burst, we didn’t take the hit that other areas did.”
“The smaller communities … fared very well,” Steve Holt added. “We really didn’t see what the rest of the country was seeing. Even the vacation home market was pretty strong. We didn’t have the bubble. We didn’t have the big up, and we didn’t have the big down.”
While local real estate experts have said Westfield and Chautauqua County were not hit as hard by the real estate meltdown as other areas, Rawlin said any impact on what the WDC considers its number one asset – the quality of the community’s housing stock – can have some implications.
“We have, like the rest of the country, been hit by the downturn, but not really as bad as many locations,” Rawlinson said. “In fact, Western New York faired very well in the overall housing market debacle.”


WHY WESTFIELD?
Thanks to a larger Internet presence, Nick Holt said Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate has had inquires on homes in the area from as far away as California, Colorado and Florida. People, he said, come from all over looking for a small, quaint town to call home.
“I am always amazed at the interest people have in moving to Westfield,” Nick Holt said. “There are very few old fashioned small towns anymore, with a downtown strip and good neighborhoods within the village. We find people all the time who stop in and fall in love.”
Steve Holt agreed, adding many people looking to relocate are looking for a change to their lifestyle.
“When they come to areas like here, number one they get a great buy for their money, and they’re more apt here to truly pick the community they want to pick,” he said. “Communities like Westfield are the ones that a lot of people are picking. It’s because of the quality of the lifestyle. There are things going on, and it’s that small town atmosphere where people want to raise kids and retire.”

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Chautauqua County-headquartered Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate, offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. The locally-owned affiliate of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has offices in Fredonia, Mayville and Westfield, on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, at the BemusBay condominiums and at Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa.

Pittsburgh-headquartered Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the 3rd largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country’s 4th largest full service real estate company and the 6th largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company serves the Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia real estate markets.

Home Sales Soar in October

This CNN Story details how home sales improved in October, with a 32% improvement over last October. The PHSI is also at it's highest level since March of '06. The National Association of REALTORS' (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun gave much of the credit to the First-Time Home Owners tax credit and the the newly passed credit for existing homeowners.

"The tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future," said Yun.

In a related story new construction sales rose by a whopping 6.2 percent.

To search for homes for sale in Chautauqua County or to find out more about the tax credit and the stat of the market please contact a Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate Agent today.

Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate
(716) 753-7880
sales@howardhannaholt.com
http://www.howardhannaholt.com

Howard Hanna Holt's Association with Peek n' Peak covered in Business first.

Howard Hanna Holt's recent partnership with Peek n' Peak was briefly featured in the following article in business first.

Business First Article

There are a couple of errors and omissions in the article. His figures regarding what the Peak is selling doesn’t take into account that they have a long-term building plan and that Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate will continue working with them through new builds. The numbers in the article also do not reflect our numbers.

The article also fails to mention the creation of a new office at the Peak and the fact that it will be staffed by Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate's "Peak Team", who will specialize in Peak Properties and those in the surrounding area.

Finally, the article confuses Howard Hanna Holt Real Estate at times with it's affiliate, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

In addition, some facts about Howard Hanna were misreported, here is some more accurate information.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the 4th largest full service real estate company and 3rd largest privately held real estate firm in the United States. The full service company specializes in residential and commercial brokerage services, mortgages, closing and title insurance, land development, appraisal services, insurance services, and corporate relocation. The company has 152 offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia and employs more that 5,200 sales associates and staff. Visit www.howardhannna.com for more information.

Howard Hanna Holt, www.howardhannaholt.com, offers comprehensive residential and commercial real estate sales, leasing and related services including real property appraisals, property management, development services, vacation property rentals and traditional rentals. The company has permanent offices in Fredonia, Mayville, Peek n' Peak, and Westfield, and seasonal offices on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution and at the Bemus Bay condominiums, www.bemusbaycondos.com, in Bemus Point. Howard Hanna is the third largest independent real estate company in the United States, the country’s 5th largest full service real estate company and the sixth largest mortgage banking company in the nation. The company is a recognized and honored leader in the real estate industry that values each client and adheres to an unwavering commitment to quality service.

More good news for area markets!

Using statistics provided by the National Association of REALTORS, AOL has assembled a list of the 10 strongest metropolitan real estate markets in the 3rd quarter of 2008. Western NY was again well represented as the Buffalo/Niagra Falls area came in at # 10 out of 152 markets, and Elmira, NY came in at #1.

Some information on the Buffalo Market:
2008 3rd Quarter Median Price: $114,200
Percent Change Year Over Year: +3.0%

Some information on the Elmira Market:
2008 3rd Quarter Median Price: $105,000
Percent Change Year Over Year: +12.5%

AOL's complete top-10