Times Union Spaces Cover Story: July 2020

Second home market booms in popular upstate NY vacation areas

Limited inventory has been a persistent theme throughout the coronavirus pandemic, mostly describing items on the shelves containing the must-haves people needed to stay safe --and entertained --at home. From hand sanitizer to toilet paper, gaming systems to bicycles, consumers have grown accustomed to a lengthier search to get what they need to survive quarantine with essentials and added bonus items to make life a little easier.

One of those “bonus items” for those who can afford it has involved entering the market for a second property --a secluded escape allowing families another place to go and safely gather to make the most of a more isolated summer. This timely surge in interest for second homes has resulted in limited housing inventory in upstate New York’s popular vacation areas, from the Hudson Valley to the Northern Adirondacks.

“Having a second home or an alternative place to go is a huge benefit right now,” said Christine Marchesiello, associate broker and team leader of the Christine Marchesiello Team at Keller Williams Capital District. “People are starting to consider options for the next time they might have to be quarantined, and aside from building a pool or buying a boat, purchasing a second property is the ultimate way to accomplish this.”

Marchesiello saw a spike in inquiries in April during the peak of the lockdown as people canceled out-of-town vacations and searched for new plans for the summer. In May, she connected with Leann Pitcher, a fellow agent from Rhinebeck who was interested in purchasing a second home farther North herself.

“My fiancé and I were looking for a place we could go to safely spend time with family on the lake,” Pitcher said, who is closing on a property in Saratoga in August and hoping to enjoy the rest of the summer there with her children and grandchildren.

“Within a few hours of finding a listing for a house on Saratoga Lake, we were on our way to check it out and visit the nearby downtown area to see if it was a fit.”

Pitcher was pleased with the length of that drive, just over an hour and 30 minutes to a place she says felt different than Rhinebeck, which too is beautiful, scenic and filled with people visiting for a quiet Upstate getaway. Pitcher was drawn to downtown Saratoga’s dining and retail options for the winter months when the lake is less of an attraction and while her fiancé is out using his snowmobile.

In the Adirondack region, where lakefront homes line the waterways from the Great Sacandaga to Lake George, buyers must now come prepared to pay a premium price for the views and laidback lifestyle that comes with it if they want to get into their dream home fast.

“Around 10 years ago, a $300,000 to $500,000 budget would’ve given buyers a lot of options on the lake,” said Christian Klueg, district manager of Howard Hanna real estate and owner of CMK Real Estate, which sold to Howard Hanna in 2018. “And today, we are now seeing the most sales over half a million on the Great Sacandaga in one year ever.”

Klueg says homes in Sacandaga have been selling with multiple offers and over-asking prices, noting the trend started sooner than, but has accelerated during, the course of the pandemic, and Marchesiello agrees. Bidding wars and cash offers are happening for homes at various price points, though, and not just for those on the luxury end of the market.

“There are still camps with lake access for under $200,000,” said Klueg. “But these are true camp properties, meaning you’re going to be in a seasonal home a golf cart ride away from the lake, and without many of the upgraded amenities in newer homes.”

With buyers looking to compress the house hunt-to-closing-day schedule in effort to enjoy a socially distant summer on the lake, turnkey properties are now becoming a more attractive option than a fixer-upper.

For Dan McQuay, making improvements on an existing property seemed doable when he began looking for a second home in Lake George in the fall of 2019 with Christine Marchesiello and her team. Then, as the search spanned nearly six months, the focus became on finding lakefront property that he, his wife and their two children could move into as quickly and easily as possible.

“I was originally hoping for a more Adirondack-style house and ended up with a modern house,” said McQuay, who closed on a second home in Ticonderoga in February. “But we did get the property we wanted. The view is outstanding, the house is relatively new and everybody in the family enjoys being out on the boat and on the lake.”

While the McQuays are happy to make the one hour and 10 minute drive to the lake from their primary residence in Saratoga for two-to three-day visits, McQuay is already looking into the future, where this second property could become a permanent home when his children are grown.

And like the McQuay family, Frank Clemente and his wife Sally found themselves a turnkey property this spring, too, but after a search that took them almost 30 years to find the perfect place to relax on the lake.

“We’ve always looked for a home on the Great Sacandaga Lake, but never were able to find the right one,” said Clemente. “There weren’t a lot of places available this past fall and winter, so when we found one we fell in love with this spring, we immediately started the process.”

In working with Klueg and Katrina Ruberti of Howard Hanna on closing on the house in April, the process of finalizing the deal turned completely virtual --involving digital signatures, video meetings and plenty of phone calls to close the deal. For the Clemente’s, the process remained smooth and easy, and that patience in adapting to a new process after 30 years on the hunt helped them achieve their dream of finally landing a property on the lake.

As for how the market could soon free up inventory in these lakefront towns, it’s not as simple as finding new land with a stunning view to build on.

Klueg has already started to make sure he’s not turning any future buyers away as they search for a place on the Great Sacandaga Lake.

“I live on the lake myself, and one night I decided to take a boat ride and photograph all of the lakefront homes I’ve sold over the last 20 years,” said Klueg. “The next day, I reached out to all of those people and told them this would be an incredible time to sell, and that every realtor in my office is working with buyers who want to be on the lake.”

A shot in the dark on a warm summer night in the middle of the lake? Maybe so -- but Klueg said he’s started to see some sellers’ eyebrows raise. He might just be happily listing a few more lakefront homes very soon.