It’s been a while since I’ve posted about real estate. Things have been busy, between the baby and work and trying to get caught up on my freelance jobs I haven’t had much time to think about house buying. Besides, with the economy in the crapper I expect that soon they’ll soon be paying people to take the houses off their hands. That’s when I’ll make my move.

My Realtor, Tom McGiveron, has been getting a little impatient with me. Tom’s a good guy and super smart real estate dude, but I warned him up front that I’d be a pain in the ass as a client. He’s got nobody to blame but himself.

So what happened in December besides Christmas? Eight homes sold in Babylon Village, including two condos in the Village Commons. That’s actually a pretty good number, all things considered. I expect that there was some end of the year rushing around involved.

84 S Carll Ave

• MLS# 2100197 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $530,000 – 12/8/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 4 bedrooms – 1.5 bath – Victorian
• Taxes: $8,675 – Village Taxes: $678

This is a big old Babylon Village victorian, circa 1890. The pictures show a spacious house, with nine rooms, and a good-sized 50×200 lot. There’s probably some work to be done to get this place up to snuff, but it’s well worth iy. I love these historic homes that date from when Babylon was still a popular sea-side resort.

A price of $530K (off a final list of $589K)makes this a very agressive comp for a lot of lesser homes that are listing at or around a half million dollars

95 Little East Neck Rd

• MLS# 1884193 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $249,000 – Sold Date: 12/8/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Colonial
• Taxes: $6,914 – Village Taxes: $449

This house has been on and off the market for years, quite literally years. This house was on MLS two plus years ago when I was just starting to think about houses in Babylon Village. The house went on and off MLS time and again and even had a sold sign and a zoning variance announcement up for a while, but I guess that all fell through.

This house is right on 109, making it a somewhat less than desirable piece of real estate. Still, $249,000 is a pretty big bargain

2 Christopher Ct

• MLS# 2101366 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $999,999 – 12/10/2008
• Prior Sales: 7/24/2001 – $550,000
• 4 bedrooms – 2 bath – Colonial
• Taxes: $20,269 – Village Taxes: $1,633

A million even. Seems like there were a lot of high value homes sold this month.

40 Ewell St

• MLS# 2065358 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $349,000 – 12/11/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 5 bedrooms – 2 bath – High Ranch
• Taxes: $12,267 – Village Taxes: $5?

The house is north of the village proper, but still in the Babylon school district.

This is your typical hi-ranch. I’m not sure why the price was so low on this one. The inside pictures show that it needs some updating, but it looks quite livable as is. Either way, it makes a good comp.

28 Waters Edge Ct

• MLS# 2042052 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $752,500 – 12/16/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 4 bedrooms – 2.5 bath – Colonial
• Taxes: $13,743 – Village Taxes: $1,992

A big waterfront home with W. Babylon schools.

16 Lee Ave

• MLS# 2025193 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $400,000 – 12/19/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Split
• Taxes: $7,513 – Village Taxes: $656

This house is down by the water, but not water front in the W. Babylon school district.

It’s a small house on a very small lot. Amusingly enough, the Zestimate on this place is 1.3 million. That’s a pretty serious glitch in Zillow’s algorithm.

31 Greenmeadow Dr

• MLS# 2133538 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $325,000 – 12/22/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 2 bedrooms – 2 bath – Condo (lower unit)
• Taxes: $4,145 – Village Taxes: $690

8 Greenmeadow Dr

• MLS# 2133538 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $357,500 – 12/31/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 2 bedrooms – 2 bath – Condo (lower unit)
• Taxes: $4,145 – Village Taxes: $690

I didn’t visit any of the properties on the list this month. I’ve been too busy for open houses and my enthusiasm for the process has waned considerably. I’m afraid that this month’s sold listings aren’t very interesting, but there are a couple of sold homes for December that I might have something to say about. Stay tuned.

1 Midway St

• MLS# 2023577 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $484,750 – 11/26/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 3 bedrooms – 1 bath – Ranch
• Taxes: $6,413 – Village Taxes: $647

This seems like a reasonable price for a waterfront house. Way up on a canal isn’t much waterfront, but you get what you pay for.

102 Pilcher St

• MLS# 2114408 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $395,000 – 11/25/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Split
• Taxes: $7,655 – Village Taxes: none

This one is similar to the other Pilcher house, but goes for almost 30K less. This home is also north of the village, but in the Babylon school district. I suspect this one may not be as nice as 81 Pilcher, but it’s hard to say.

52 Clinton St

• MLS# 2069913 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $469,000 – 11/1/2008
• Prior Sales: none
• 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Ranch
• Taxes: $12,135 – Village Taxes: $1,317

I don’t remember this one at all. The taxes seem way high and makes me wonder what exactly is going on here.

Just FYI, the sold properties search on MLSLI now seems to be working properly on all of my computers. I’m mildly pleased about that. Now I don’t have to sneak on to Debra’s laptop to assuage my real estate addiction.

Yes, I’m an addict, but I can quit any time I want.

95 Woodsome Rd

• MLS# 2104883 – Zillow Page
• Sold: $550,000 – 10/31/2008
• Prior Sales: 05/18/2001 – $375,000
• 4 bedrooms – 3 bath – Expanded Ranch
• Taxes: $16,106 – Village Taxes: $1,565

This is a really surprising price. This is a big house – four bedrooms, three baths, ten rooms – on a third of an acre south of Montauk. It’s just east of Little East Neck Road South, which puts it in the Babylon school district, not to mention in a pretty upscale area of the village.

I don’t remember looking at this listing when it was for sale. I have no idea what the inside looks like. Even still, scoll down the list of properties for sale in Babylon on MLSLI and check out the $500K to $600K range. There’s nothing remotely comparable to this house. It’s a serious comp-killer.