The New York Times

By MIREYA NAVARRO

IN a secluded spot here lies a vacationer’s dream: a three-bedroom ranch-style house with 14 acres of woods roamed by deer and turkey, just minutes from prime trout fishing on the Delaware River. The asking price is $107,000.

But even at this “just reduced” bargain price, said Leonard Piorkowski, a local real estate agent, he can’t make a sale. “One hundred seven thousand for 14 acres and a house and two garages, and we can’t sell it?” Mr. Piorkowski lamented as he guided a visitor across the property recently.

Coveted for its pristine water, pastoral landscapes and relative proximity to New York City, the Catskills region has long been second-home territory for urbanites. But brokers say many listings are languishing — and not just because of the lag in the nation’s economic recovery. The prospect that New York State will open the region to hydraulic fracturing, a controversial gas drilling process known informally as fracking, has spooked potential buyers.

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