By JAMES FINK
Business First

Susie Lenahan never had a year like this.

One of the region's top residential agents, Lenahan - who works from M.J. Peterson Real Estate Corp.'s Buffalo office - has been involved with three deals for million-dollar-plus homes.

Two of those sales established new price benchmarks, and the other tied a previously established high sales mark.

She was able to do this against the backdrop of a weakened national and local economy. All three deals closed in the last quarter.

Lenahan co-brokered the deal to sell both residences of the Russo estate on Boston State Road in Hamburg. They were sold to a Cleveland hedge-fund trader who has not been identified.

Both homes were sold to Phantom Holdings One LLC, according to documents filed with the Erie County Clerk's office. It paid $3 million for one of the homes and $3.3 million for the other. Prior to those sales, the highest price for a residence in Erie County was $1.4 million.

Lenahan also sold a home on Middlesex Road - a prime Buffalo residential address - for $1.4 million. The house was bought by a surgeon recruited to Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

"Selling a million-dollar house is the same as selling any other house," Lenahan said. "Your client expects a top level of service."

Recent economic trends are creating an interesting dynamic in local residential circles.

Upper-end homes that sell in excess of $500,000 remain hot commodities, and so do lower-end homes that attract first-time buyers. But the mid-priced homes, those in the $250,000 to $450,000 range, are sitting longer on the market.

In Amherst, where mid-priced homes dominate listings, the average time on the market has jumped 10 percent in the last year, from 49 to 54 days. The same is true in Orchard Park, where time on the market has increased 12.7 percent - from 55 days in 2007 to 62 days this year, according to statistics compiled by the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors.

Conversely, Buffalo homes that are modestly priced spent two days less on the market: from 61 days last year to 59 in 2008.

Town of Tonawanda homes stayed on the market an average of 45 days last year and again this year, according to BNAR statistics.

Lenahan said she was amazed to be involved in three million-dollar-plus deals. The Russo sales were co-brokered with RealtyUSA's Mary Zulawski, who landed the initial listings.

"With this economy, people are certainly thinking twice, no matter the price range," Lenahan said. "You have to be very specific. Generic mailings aren't going to cut it."

In each instance, the buyers found Lenahan via the Internet, an increasingly common trend in real estate. More buyers are doing advance online work before contacting agents, brokers and real estate agents.

"This isn't like buying a shirt," Lenahan said. "It is the most expensive and emotional purchase people will make."

But common among nonlocal buyers, Lenahan said, is the reaction of clients surprised at how much house they can purchase in the Buffalo Niagara region. One of the Russo residences has 15,000 square feet, five bedrooms, an indoor pool and 126 acres. The second one has more than 16,000 square feet.

"Out-of-towners usually get a bad case of reverse sticker shock," Lenahan said. "They love how much home they can get, but then get shocked by their tax bill."

The buyer of the Russo properties was very specific about what type of property he wanted. Still, Lenahan and Zulawski had to sell him on the notion of what he was getting for $6.3 million.

"It wasn't easy, but you didn't expect it to be," Lenahan said.

There were site visits and lots of questions. The deal came together during the summer, and both properties closed this fall.

The Middlesex deal was equally complex, but for different reasons. The couple who bought that property looked at 20 homes, including locations in Clarence, Orchard Park and the Boston hills.

They were sold on Buffalo's Delaware District for a number of reasons, including proximity to Roswell and nearby private schools such as Nichols and Elmwood Franklin. It also helped that the house had a 114-foot backyard loaded with trees - a suburban residence in an urban setting.

The 7,000-square-foot home sold itself, with some prodding from Lenahan. The buyer was enamored with the early-20th-century architecture and specialty wood finishes. The house was designed by famed architect Duane Lyman.

"I knew I had to be specific and exact," Lenahan said. "You have to be exact, but it paid off."