The Catskill Mountains of New York State are among the most beautiful and scenic areas in the northeastern United States. They are also home to a remarkable selection of homes and resort properties, many of which offer large lots and thrilling views. The Catskills are found in the larger Hudson Valley portion of New York state, meaning that the Catskill real estate market is a part of this larger collection of homes and properties. The Catskill real estate market was of course negatively affected by the nationwide economic recession and the bursting of the real estate bubble, although some signs seem to indicate promise for a near-term recovery. Of course, almost all perspectives on a potential recovery must be taken with a grain of salt given the inability of anyone to predict the onset of the recession in the first place.

A nonprofit group known as Pattern for Progress, which operates in the Hudson Valley area including the Catskills, holds an annual conference about how to better the housing situation in the region. This year's meeting, as reported by LoHud, was particularly important given the rates of foreclosures and other crisis signs in the region. The piece by Jonathin Drapkin said “The frustration is easy to understand. After all, since last year's conference the housing market has become barely recognizable. We quickly slid from a discussion of sub-prime mortgages and other high-risk loans into a world in which only good credit scores and 15 percent to 20 percent down will get you a house.”

Broker David Knudsen, a realtor in the Hudson Valley, Sullivan County, and Catskills area, conducted and reported an extensive analysis of Catskill real estate and the surrounding region. The results, posted under “current market conditions” on his website, found that “Sales are picking up from their mid-winter lows, with 97 closed single family sales reported in the Sullivan MLS for the 3 month period ending June 30th, up from 86 during the 3 month period ending May 32st. The sales tally is down 15% from a year earlier, and 48% below the 2nd quarter peak of 187 closed sales in 2006. Overall, looking at single month data as well as houses pending or in contract, the trend is moving up rather than down.”