Yesterday I wrote a post entitled "Do you look below the surface?" using an unopened Iris.  I promised that for Speechless Sunday I would show what was below the surface of that Iris, so here goes: Yes that unopened Iris was not as attractive, especially for someone who might not know what an opened Iris looked like.  For us who knew better we would have expected to see this awesome show of colors in days. Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-Speechless Sunday-An Iris 05/29/2011

There are so many reasons why spring is special.  Today while at my Rhinebeck open house I found one such reason.  Sitting on the deck I could see and hear the birds chirping, and looking  around I saw this rather stunning flower.   I ran for the camera and I was please to see it looked as good in the photo. What a stunning flower! Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-Speechless Sunday-One of the many reasons I love Spring 05/22/2011

Each year the Old Dutch Village Garden Club hold an annual plant and bake sale, so come out and get some new  and interesting plants for your garden. This year the sale will be on May 20th at 9:00 AM in the Memorial Park in Red Hook.  The plants comes from the gardens of the members of the club.   Proceeds from the sale is used to fund projects such as a scholarship to a Red Hook High School Senior. The members of the club take great pride in their gardens so you won't be disappointed with your purchase.  Many come year after year to get plants at a very reasonable cost. One year I contributed Pulmonaria to the sale, and it was a big hit so this year I will bring a few plants again.  Pulmonaria is a perennial that love shade and partial sun, it multiples and is one of the first plant to... 05/19/2011

In Red Hook, during the month of April, 4 single family homes sold ranging from $95,000-195,000. Yes, none of the sales were above $200,000 and two of the properties were bank owned.  When compared to the April 2010 market report it seems the market was better then with 6 sales ranging from $163,000 to $459,000. During the month there were no sales in the village although 2 new properties came on the market. Also worth noting, 2 million dollar properties were added to the inventory  and that is why the average list price was $596,483.  The highest list price for the month was $1,290,000 and the lowest was $258,000. So, you have had your Red Hook home on the market for some time and it has not sold. It is natural to blame the real estate agent. However, numbers don't lie, so, you might w... 05/10/2011

    The Red Hook Apple Blossom Day  always seem to be the event to officially welcome spring.  This community day is sponsored by the Red Hook Rotary Club and is greatly anticipated by both young and old. Here are just a few of the events scheduled this year.   ·         Large variety of vendors ·         All types of food ·         Music and dance to entertain all age groups. ·         Pony Rides for the kids ·         And much more   Yes there will be the smell of kettle corn and laughter in the air, so come out, have fun, and support our local businesses.   I will have a table, so stop by and catch up on the Red Hook real estate market.   Where:  Village of Red Hook When:    May 7th 2011 Time:      10:00 AM - 4:00 __________________________________________________ This weekend you ca... 05/06/2011

What you can expect from The Old Dutch Village Garden Club in 2011 The Old Dutch Village Garden Club located in Red Hook is off to a great start in 2011.  Just last month there was an interesting and informative talk on garden tools by Nick Digugno, a new member.   Nick also provided a handout for attendees which will be a handy reference during the gardening season.   Here are examples of upcoming events.      April 12 is the anniversary luncheon.  This club has been around since 1953.  May 12 the talk will be on Organic fertilizers for flowers and vegetables, just in time for spring planting.  May 20 will be the annual plant and bake sale.  This is a great opportunity to get plants for your garden at a very reasonable cost.  June 9 a Talk entitled:  Everything you ever wanted to know ... 04/11/2011

The Friends of the Red Hook Library is sponsoring an evening of music and fun this coming Saturday April 16th at the Red Hook Firehouse.  Latin music by Sonando a popular Hudson Valley Band. There will be a light menu available from O'leary's  one of Red Hook's newest and popular restaurants. The admission fee is $ 20 for adults and Children $10.  It is recommended you buy your tickets ahead of the event to secure entry as space is limited.  Tickets can be obtained both at the Library or at O'Leary's Restaurant. For addition questions you can call Sandy Martin, A friend of the Red Hook Library who was instrumental in putting this together.  Sandy can be reached at: 845-757-3031      View Larger Map 04/10/2011

 In Red Hook during the month of March only 3 single family homes sold.   One of the homes was located on the only golf course community in Red Hook, The Fairways. During the month 14 new properties came on the market ranging from $195,000-$1,800,000.  Only 3 properties had offers and none in contract which is an indication that sales next month might not be better than this month unless there are some quick cash sales. In the mobile home community there was 1 sale for $50,000. If you are looking to buy a Red Hook home there are over 100 homes on the market ranging from the 100,000's to over a million dollars. Below you will find the detail report for March 2011    Single Family detached inventory for Red Hook NY in March Active 14 Offer 2 Average List $612,393 Average List $197,950 Ave... 04/09/2011

                                                                          The Rebel Butterfly Some of us follow the crowd while others chart their own course.  Here this butterfly is a bit of a rebel; instead of visting flowers in bloom, like butterfly bushes he decided to  go for a walk on a railing, maybe to clear his head, so many blooms to choose from.     Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-Speechless Sunday-The Rebel Butterfly 03/27/2011

The Red Hook Winter Market has been a great success and an inspiration for other communities. I have had the opportunity to visit and purchase organic meat, produce and much more. This event showcases local farms, small businesses, as well as local musicians. Time:10:00 AM  - 2:00 PM When: March 19, 2011 Location: Elmendorph Inn  Village of Red Hook                 View Larger Map   03/19/2011

Skippy the happy Squirrel When I was a child I read about Skippy the squirrel. My only encounter with a squirrel was on the page of a book. How things have changed, I now see more squirrel than I want to. I still think of Skippy though as that diligent squirrel collecting nuts in preparation for the winter. From the looks of this squirrel he is well prepared.       03/09/2011

During February only 1 single family home sold in Red Hook, 1 less than in January; but how did this February compare to last year? In the market report for February 2010 I mentioned I was frequently asked about the market condition, this has not changed and I am always delighted to provide the information. There were 4 properties sold in Red Hook in February 2010, and 3 of them were bank owned properties.  The average sale price then was $182,125   The tax credit was also still in effect.  When looking at how the market is doing you also need to take into consideration other factors that have both positive and negative effect such as, layoffs, tax credits, lower interest rates to name a few.  If you are looking to buy a Red Hook home there are over 60 homes on the market ranging from t... 03/07/2011

  If you have ever visited Red Hook and found yourself on Budds Corners Road, this is a tree you would remember.  In these photos the ground is covered with snow but there are times the tree is surrounded by corn or other crops.   I have had the pleasure of seeing it in all seasons and I know somewhere in my collections of photos I have photos of it in other seasons. With some bad weather this winter the tree came down; on closer examination it was clear that  the inside was rotted.  When you take a second look all is not lost there is still one limb left.  I am rooting for this tree that the one limb will come alive this spring. Funny enough I thought I was the only one who was following the story of this tree, but when i mentioned it to several residents they too thought the tree was... 03/06/2011

The real estate market in Red Hook NY during January was a bit soft. There were only 2 sales, one located in Upper Red Hook and the other in the Carriage Drive development. If you compare this January to January 2010; in 2010 there were 6 sales between the town and village. The average sales price for January 2011 was $282,500 down from last year when it was $369,958. Last year there was also 1 sale in the village with an average sale price of $230,000. This has been one of the harshest winters we have seen in a long time and it has had an effect on real estate activities; many cancelled appointments and rescheduled open houses. Let's hope we will have a great spring season. I know many are planning to put their homes on the market come spring. Now is the time to get the interior of you... 02/14/2011

It has been a long cold winter and because of the economic downturn many really need a helping hand. This is evident as food pantries run low on supply. Make sure to lend a helping hand. Simple things such as recycling your bottles and then using the money to buy a few canned food items can make a difference. 02/07/2011

It must be cold outside wouldn't you say?  I can't remember the last time I have seen icicles this big in Rhinebeck.  You are probably thinking this must be Jennifer's igloo, well it is not. Many of the homes I have seen in the last few days do have icicles and that is to be expected since all the trees are also covered. So what are the best practices for removing icicles? Oh by the way don't stand under the icicle and hit it at the same time.  I tried that and almost got hit in the head :) So here is one memory of the 2011 winter season. Copyright © by Jennifer Fivelsdal, all rights reserved-It must be cold outside wouldn't you say? 01/23/2011

The Red Hook real estate market ended 2010 with 4 sales.  It was good to see some movement in the upper end of the market; 2 of the properties originally listed for over a million dollar each sold for just under a million.  This was not the case in the Village which saw no sales in December.                                    RED HOOK NY  Single family detached homes market report for December 2010 Active  5 New  1 Average List  $451,780 Average List  $212,900 Average DOM  23 Average DOM  49 Average SQFT  3002 Average SQFT  2305 Average $/SQFT  $170 Average $/SQFT  $92                     Offer  1 Extended  1 Average List $249,999 Average List $329,000 Average DOM 322 Average DOM  115 Average SQFT 1404 Average SQFT  1952 Average $/SQFT $178 Average $/SQFT $169                   Contrac... 01/12/2011

So tell me are Red Hook Schools better than Rhinebeck's? Over the years I have lost count as to how many times I have been asked if the Red Hook Schools are better than Rhinebeck's. As a real estate agent even if I have a personal opinion on this I could not share it with a consumer.  Telling you that one Dutchess County school is better than another would be like telling you that  one neighborhood was good and the other was bad, and, for a real estate agent this is a no-no. You are thinking, but, that is one of the services I expect an agent to provide. Don't worry, I won't leave you high and dry.  So, how can I provide you with an answer on school districts? This is how I have answered these questions on schools and neighborhoods in the past:  I provided data for comparison on the sch... 01/01/2011

Snow high above the Hudson River was what I saw today.  It started with a request to show one of my Rhinebeck listings.  I was about to give the okay to show when I suddenly remembered the Blizzard from earlier in the week, so I decided to go check on the property. I had a lunch date with my daughter so I had to make sure this was okay with her especially since she was doing the driving.  We got to the property and I was delighted to see the driveway was plowed. Then I saw this scene which I found breathtaking.  The very white snow in the foreground framed by tall mostly leafless trees and in the background the majestic Hudson River and Catskill Mountains 12/29/2010

   Red Hook New York  Real Estate Market Report for November 2010  In Just a few weeks 2010 will be a mere history.  It was interesting looking back at the Red Hook market report for November 2009. There were actually the same number of sales (4) but that was where the comparison ended.  The range of the homes sold in November 2009 was $150,000-$400,000 with an average sale price of $236,500.  Fast forward a year and the number of homes sold in Red Hook NY in November 2010 was also 4 with price ranging from $362,300-$2,900,000 with an average sale of price of $1,071,825 because of the home  that sold for almost $3,000,000. It is good to see some of the million dollars homes selling and next month there will be another in the sold column since a home listed for $1,199,000 is now in contr... 12/09/2010