Groton realtor lends perspective on market

Recently, an avid reader of this column reached out to me to express his incredulity at the prices some of the homes in Groton have been selling for these days. He wondered whether I might be able to shed some light on the subject.

On my own, I might speculate about some of the reasons that a home assessed at $110,000 sold for $327,000 or that another 1,100-square-foot home in some disrepair sold for $180,000, but instead, I asked an expert.

Kristopher Buchan, owner of Tompkins Cortland Real Estate, LLC, 129 Main St., has had more than 25 years of experience in the real estate business and has operated his business here in Groton since 2009.

Buchan actually grew up in nearby McGraw before moving to Cortland. He graduated from Cortland High School in 1994 and obtained his real estate license in 1995.

While earning his master’s at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, in 2001, Buchan started a real estate brokerage in the Orlando area in 1999, building a clientele there for four years.

Despite how well things were going for him then, Buchan found that he sincerely desired to return to central New York. In 2003, he found a house he liked online, which happened to be in Groton, purchased it, moved and made his home here ever since.

Buchan worked for a small real estate company in Ithaca until he opened Tompkins Cortland Real Estate, LLC (tcrestate.com), so he has seen a lot of changes in the market over the past 26 years.

“One of the reasons some homes are selling at such high prices right now is that so many people are buying with cash,” Buchan said. “Also, appraisals are not needed for cash purchases, and bidding wars have become very common. Buyers find a home they want, have the cash to buy it and will often pay well over the list price just to make sure they get it.”

Buchan also mentioned that “on the whole, homes are selling very quickly. They are not listed for long before they are sold, and the interest rates are at or under 3% these days.”

It does seem odd that so many homes in our little Groton would be selling for cash at all, let alone for such high prices, but Buchan also had insight on that.

“Cash buyers are coming to our area looking to escape the big cities,” Buchan said. “And even locals from Ithaca are buying here because they don’t want to be in the city anymore.”

Another facet of the easy affordability of higher-priced Groton homes that Buchan pointed out is that many buyers now work from home but for large companies that pay them very good salaries. They are able to move here because they can work from wherever they are, and where they want to live is Groton.

Buchan had many stories to share about the other reasons his clients are choosing to make Groton their home.

“Several people I have sold to have come to Groton because they like what we’re doing at our schools,” Buchan said. “I have also had people come because of our library and all it offers and even our Groton Olde Home Days. It’s such a wonderful thing for families every year, and for some kids, that’s all they get for fun with their family in the summer.”

Buchan is very active in the Groton community himself and enjoys meeting new real estate clients who quickly become friends. His specialties include veterans’ home purchases with a great deal of experience in VA mortgages and with first-time home buyers.

Over the years, Buchan has served as the president of the Groton Business Association, vice chairman of the Groton Housing Authority, vice president of the Groton Public Library and the 1890 House Museum Board of Trustees.

From 2016 to 2018, Buchan served on the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Ithaca Board of Realtors, and he currently serves on the BOD of the Cortland Board of Realtors.

Many may also remember that Buchan owned and operated the Groton Hobby Shop on Main Street for a number of years, and some may even know that he is an avid collector of O-Gauge model trains — particularly Lionel pre-war material — but you may not know that he has an efficiency-sized apartment attached to his home on Williams Street that is devoted to housing his train collection!

Buchan is here to stay and said he is thrilled to see so many of his clients are “buying to stay.”

“I am more optimistic about real estate in Groton now than ever,” Buchan said. “New people are purchasing homes and turning them into apartments and fixing them up and making them nice and appealing for renters. That, in addition to good internet connection, our own electric provider and all the other amenities Groton has to offer, makes it an attractive place to live.”

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

Youth Services programs

The Groton Youth Services Program (GYP), in partnership with Rural Youth Services of Cornell Cooperative Extension, announced its fall programs, all held at Groton Memorial Park, 150 Pasadena Ave.

Fall Photography — For students in grade five and up, every Monday from Sept. 27 through Oct. 25 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Bring your digital camera or cell phone or borrow one from the program. Focus will be on taking photos of brilliant fall scenes within the village. At the end, your favorites will be printed and framed.

STEAM Building Experiments — For students in grades four through eight every Tuesday from Sept. 28 through Oct. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. Use your engineering skills and learn some new ones, using Keva Blocks to design structures and create your own Rube Goldberg machines. Participants will experiment using a variety of different building materials.

Wild Wednesdays at the Park — Wednesdays from Sept. 22 through Oct. 27, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for grade three and up. The focus will be on health through a wide variety of activities. Each week will bring new projects and things to try, from outdoor cooking to playing games in the field. Have fun, enjoy being active and learn about living a healthy lifestyle.

Fun Film Fridays — For students in grades five through eight every Friday from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. Explore film and drama. Participants will write, direct and act in short skits that will be filmed. After filming, we’ll put our favorites up on the Groton Youth Services TikTok and/or YouTube accounts for parents and friends to see and enjoy!

Register here: reg.cce.cornell.edu/Groton_2021FallPrograms_250. Please contact Program Manager Nick Wagner at nw346@cornell.edu with any questions.

New Story Walk

“Jabari Jumps” by Gaia Cornwall is the 2021 Welcome to School Book and is now on display at the Story Walk on the Groton Trail System. This adorable book is about a boy working up the courage to take a big, important leap and face his fears. It will only be up for a few weeks before being switched out, so go check it out!