Stone houses, while ancient in building construction, are hard to find in today’s housing market. Two stone homes were recently listed by Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York.

Margaretville, NY (PRWEB) April 29, 2014

When Janet and Ray Smith of the Northern New Jersey suburb of Saddle River were searching for a Catskill Mountain vacation home in Upstate New York, they focused their attention on an ancient, but unusual, construction material: stone. “The Catskill Mountains are renowned for the quality of its bluestone, so we expected to find several homes built with them,” said Ms. Smith. “We were very surprised to find so few homes available.”

Their surprise was anything but a surprise to real estate broker Eric Wedemeyer, principal broker of Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties, whose agency has four offices in the Catskill Mountains. “Stone homes are, indeed, very uncommon,” said Wedemeyer. “Buyers enjoy the ease of maintenance and the natural beauty of the stone, but there just aren’t many of them around.”

People have been building with the material for millenniums, stacking stones to create primitive shelters to elaborate castles. According to Mother Earth News, the advantages to building with stone include its easy availability; stone is durable, fireproof, bug- and vermin-proof, and rot-free; stone can be a superior insulator; and stone houses can have enormous resale value.

Wedemeyer agrees enthusiastically with this last point. “Because stone homes are uncommon, they often command premium prices,” he said.

Wedemeyer cited two stone homes that were recently listed for purchase by his agency.

One, located near the Catskill Mountain community of Bloomville is described by listing agent Carol Spinelli as featuring ”the original two-story farmhouse with solid two-foot deep stone exterior walls, hand-hewn wood beam interior framing, solid oak plank flooring, a large stone fireplace on the first floor, brick fireplace on the second floor and an exterior fireplace.” The 1794 home sits on 247 acres and was operated as a breeding farm for thoroughbred horses. It is being offered for $625,000.

For more images and video of this home, click here.

Another, more contemporary approach to the traditional stone house, is located near Belleayre Mountain in the central Catskill Mountains. Built in 2005 and located along the West Kill Creek, the home has a farmhouse-style exterior design with a modern interior. “This home features a gourmet eat-in open kitchen, custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances, a living room with gas stove fireplace, and main floor en-suite master,” said Wedemeyer. Offered for $995,000, the five-bedroom and two full- and two half-bath home sits on 126.88 acres.

For more images and video of this home, click here.

Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties, with offices in Margaretville, Boiceville, Delhi and Stamford, is the premier real estate agency of the Catskill Mountains in New York State. Buying and selling land and homes in the New York City watershed area is unique and the 30-plus agents of Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties are trained to help buyers and sellers through this process. For more information about Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties and to preview Upstate New York homes and land offerings, go to http://www.timberlandproperties.com or http://www.catskillpremier.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11797562.htm