Greek Revival Farmhouse, $384,900

Well, here’s another sample of Red Hook, New York real estate on a busy road — I’m having a hard time finding affordablish houses in golden locations, either within the village of Red Hook or far enough out of it to feel like real country pads. So, here’s a possible happy medium: a fetching property on Route 199 (that goes past the Taconic and all the way into town) with a lovely expanse of green behind and in front of it. This one abuts a golf course, has a stream and a front and back staircase. The insides aren’t quite my taste, and that kitchen needs a facelift, but I still think it’s pretty cool. It’s all about the yard and the house’s potential good bones. Stats on the jump.

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Friday Real Estate Porn: Gentleman’s Farm, $2,279 mill

I’ve ridden by this place many times, on a winding and open country road outside of town. The house is quite amazing looking, although I feel a little cheated that we don’t get photos of this grand place’s interiors. I mean, yeah, the 227 acres are nice and all but what about the kitchen?

For those dreaming of a bucolic life, and with a whole lotta change in the pocket, this is an impressive property. Already, the area is home to several CSAs that serve upstate towns and New York City alike, and the NYC CSAs are often sold out; there’s more room in the market for another. It’s got two tenant houses for rental income, or organic farm volunteers. Stats on the jump.

Be-decked Barrytown Victorian for $424,000

This 1880 Victorian charmer had to be owned by a Bard professor, and not only because it’s just down the road from the college. It has that tasteful but still personal look of someone who has decided opinions about books and accent walls and gas ranges. (Wolf for the latter, in case you wanted to know.) Does it come with tenure, by the way?

The place has a lot of nice country house features too: multiple decks, a wood stove and a fireplace, a separate work studio, established gardens. Barrytown is lovely: it’s part of the town of Red Hook, but has it’s own eccentric vibe and history. You could send your kids to the good Red Hook schools, but still walk to events at Bard and claim a Steely Dan song as part of your local legacy. The feel of Barrytown is tucked-away-rural, just a couple small roads and farms, and then the glorious Hudson River. The main drawback, though, is unlike with some of the other Red Hook properties we’ve highlighted this week, you really couldn’t walk to the “village.” And as Lisa mentioned, Red Hook prices are in the same ballpark of those with train stops of their own. But being in Barrytown, this particular property is close to the Rhinecliff train stop.

Speaking of price, this house has been on and off the market for about a year, with periodic price cuts. It debuted at $549,000 last September, so the current ticket ticket price is a substantial reduction. Stats and more pics on the jump.

Renovated Red Hook Farmhouse, $324,900

I’m always wary of an address with “Old Post Road” in it. And, indeed, this place is on a little stretch of street off right off the busy new post road, Route 9. Still, this place interests me, more as a permanent residence than a country home. As they say, I love what they’ve done with the place: the steel gray living room, the open floor plan, the “no whining” sign above the kitchen sink. It has a second floor studio/apartment for some added income or an internal getaway. It’s only .35 of an acre of land, but it’s right close to the community pool and park. Stats on the jump.

Red Hook Cottage, $185,000

Yes, she’s a tiny lady, but I think this Red Hook cottage has been lovingly tended to. I love the eyebrow windows, and you could probably finish out that garage/barn in the back for additional hang-out space. They’ve managed to pack three beds and two baths into just over 900 square feet of Red Hook real estate, so it’s either a model of efficiency (I do see some built-ins and such) or really crammed! If you don’t need a lot of space and want to be right in town, worth a look. Quarter of an acre lot size.

I notice on a list of comparable homes sold that a 2,000 square foot home in the village of Red Hook sold earlier this year for $170,000. And though valuation models on Property Shark and elsewhere put the value of this place at over $200,000, it seems to me that you could get this one for even less. It looks like it needs a few cosmetic tweaks, even though I think they did a nice job with the kitchen. Stats on the jump.

Town of the Week: Red Hook

No, not that Red Hook. This Red Hook is a small city of 10,000 of so near Rhinebeck, not the waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn. And it’s an interesting place for those who want some semblance of town life: it has an actual downtown, with a great diner, a not-so-well-stocked pharmacy, a wonderful artistan shop, a terrific Italian restaurant and the best burritos on the East Coast — no hyperbole there, it is simply fact. Of course, I’m focusing in on the more yuppie-ish amenities. One of the great things about Red Hook is that it ain’t fancy. It’s not Rhinebeck, not al all. It’s a sweet and sleepy little town that has somehow not been particularly gentrified. I don’t love walking through the downtown for some reason, maybe because the roads that go through it are relatively busy. It’s cute, but not dripping with curb appeal — but then again, that’s one of the great things about it. Too much curb appeal, and you cross over the line into precious.

Red Hook is known for having good schools (whatever that means), which attracts NYC-folk overwhelmed by the educational system here. As far as real estate…the latest numbers from Coldwell Banker show 109 single-family properties on the market, the lowest being $149,000 and the highest, $2.39 million. The average is over $500,000, which is a surprise to me — I figured they’d skew cheaper, since the town isn’t Hudson River-front nor right on the train (although only 10 minutes from the Taconic exit).

We’ll be looking at some of the more affordable Red Hook homes this week, as well as our regular Friday doozy of a house. Let us know if you’re looking in Red Hook, or live there, or want to give us any tips about buying there. I will say that when I think about leaving the city permanently, Red Hook is on my list of possible places to live. I’d go for sure if the old movie theater, now an antique store, was turned back into a cinema. Just sayin.