Ed and Doriane Daniels hosted the event at Holliston High School in Holliston MA.  In a few hours, they:

• raised over $900 for Friends of Holliston Trails,
• packed a C.O.W.S. container with electronics for recycling,
• collected over 700 lbs of donated clothes and toys, and
• shredded a lot of townspeople’s documents

Take a look at the video about the event and hopefully you will be able to make it again next year!!

Spring is a time to clear out attics, switch out clothes for the season, and file those taxes.  What better time to come down to this event to take care of:

• Donate clothing, books, toys, shoes to PlanetAid
• Securely shred old files with an on-site Shredder from Universal Shredding
• Recycle unused electronics being hauled away by Gallo Moving/COWS

From 9am-noon, this FREE event can take care of all these Spring jobs in just one location.  Visit the link at http://www.mahome.com/ for a full listing of things to bring!

My wife, Doriane, and I (The MAhome Team of Realty Executives) put together this first Earth Day event, but plan on making it an annual tradition.  We are local residents and will take full advantage to clear out our attic and basement!

A raffle for a personal shredder and a home safe may mean that you don’t have to be empty handed when you leave!

The Friends of the Holliston Trails is the organization that we are supporting this year, and ask that participants consider making a small donation to this very worthy cause for our community.

Lastly, visit the people of Second Generation Energy to learn about solar panels for use on your home.  They have great information on rebates and programs to save you money on your electric bills.

See you Sunday- come say HI!

Most people need the funds from the sale of a home to help purchase the next home they wish to buy.  10 years ago the selling process was so fast, and for such a profit, that the risks faced were minimal. Let’s clear up a few realities now though:

• The chances of locating your perfect home that accepts a condition for you to sell 1st are slim to none.
• The mortgage industry does not have bridge financing programs that you remember, forget it.
• The buyers really don’t care what you “need” in order to buy that next home. Your needs don’t affect Market Value.
• There is no guarantee with this process, so come up with backup plans, even when tough to consider.
• GOOD NEWS ALERT: If you are “upgrading”, the home you are buying is much cheaper than 6 years ago… A SALE!

Here are the Top 4 areas to consider when going thru this process:

1. Advice: There are many steps in this process, and the balancing of getting a strong Buyer on the hook for your home, and moving ahead on buying that next home aggressively, is nerve-racking.

An experienced Realtor will be able to price your home correctly to meet your goals, take steps to keep deals together (see #2), find you that next home, arrange temporary options if needed, and hook you up with professionals in the area to help on every step.

2. Preparation of Selling First: You will need to sell your home first, in a marketplace that has been beat up over the past several years, but is facing low inventory and heading back up.

Here are tools that I refer:

• Price the home correctly - Get a Market Analysis from an experienced Realtor
• Conduct a pre-listing home inspection - Find out what the Buyer will hear, address things ahead of time
• Stage the home - I have hired a professional for years on my listings, and all I can say is It Works
• Move out “most” of your clutter - Storage lockers, moving companies, Containers on Wheels (COWS)
• Clean and repair - Yes, spend money to make money.

3.   Keep One Eye on the Marketplace: There is very low inventory of homes to buy.

You need to get educated on the prices of homes that are selling so that you can be decisive and confident when it is time for you to submit an Offer.

Shop casually when you are on the market, and crank it up when you get that contract on your home.

Also keep your Mortgage Pre-approval updated.

4.   Understand your Plan B and Plan C: The number 1 concern that people have who are faced with this situation is “What happens if I DON’T LIKE homes available when I sell my home?”

The only response I have is that we need to be ready to look at backup plans like living with friends, family, extended stay hotels, renting, etc.   I can tell you it happens less than a successful “back to back” closing, but there are no guarantees.

This job is most enjoyable when I complete a process that had dozens of variables, and over the course of several months of work, comes together at a closing table.

Ed Daniels is a Realtor since 1998, working with The MAhome Team of Realty Executives – Boston West.  His team services the Metrowest Boston communities of Framingham, Holliston, Franklin, Ashland, Milford, Medway, Hopkinton, Southboro, Natick, Marlboro, Westboro, and others.  They serve both MA home buyers and sellers and can be reached at 508-341-7880 or Ed@MAhome.com

Many housing statistics take overly broad numbers into account, like nationwide foreclosure reports or major city trends.  Other housing numbers compare today’s numbers to last month.  Well, in a town like Holliston, it is too small of a sample to indicate anything substantial.

If you are a homeowner in Holliston, all the important details are the broad numbers of the town.  Here they are:

Number of Sales:

124 Sales in 2011,  110 Sales in 2010, and 123 in 2009.  Conclusion:  No big changes over the past few years.

Average Days on Market:

134 days to sell in 2011, which is a significant jump from 90 days in 2010, and still a bit higher than the 124 days in 2009.  Conclusion:  hummmm… are home sellers being too aggressive with prices, because my experience through 2011 has been plenty of Holliston buyers?

Drum roll Please… the most important number for Holliston home owners…

Median Prices:

For 2011, the median price was $390,000, with sellers receiving 96% of the Listing Price.  This is consistently heading north of the 2010 median of $380,000 and $350,000 in 2009.  Over these years, sellers received 97% and 95% of List Price.

The median price rose 2.6% from 2010 to 2011, after shooting up 8.6% from 2009 to 2010!

Congratulations Hollistonians, we have a strong town that is weathering this challenging economy!

After a Foreclosure:

If you are purchasing a home using conventional financing it will take 7 years from completion of the foreclosure to get approved.

If you use some other popular programs to finance the home purchase, like FHA or USDA, it will take 3 years from completion.

After a Short Sale:

The waiting period for buying a home after a Short Sale has many more variables.

Using conventional financing, you would be all set after 7 years, but sooner if more of a down payment amount.  If you put down 10% than the waiting period is 4 years, and if the down payment is 20%, only 2 years.

USDA is 3 years, but FHA has one big distinction… If you were current with mortgage payments during the entire short sale process, than you don’t have any waiting period.  If you had late or missed payments, the FHA financing will require a waiting period of 3 years in order to buy again.

After a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing:

Conventional financing can be approved only after a waiting period of 4 years from your discharge date.

FHA mortgages may be approved after only a 2 year waiting period, and USDA will run a 3 year time period before getting approved.

Here is a YouTube video produced by a CA mortgage professional talking about this topic.

Click here for your link to the website with all the details.

Being Green is really paying off now!

The gimmick tool on Zillow is what they call a Zestimate.  The computer uses public data to evaluate every single home and gives the consumer a Market Value, which they term a Zestimate.  Since the consumers mention this number often, we as Realtors need to be aware of it.

Zillow discloses how accurate their Zestimates are compared to selling prices, and they break this down to the geographic regions.  Bravo Zillow!

How close are Zestimates to actual Selling Prices in MA?

In all of Massachusetts, there are 2.2 Million homes posted on the site, and 2.1 Million have Zestimates.  Here is how close the Zestimates were to the properties that were on the market & sold:

Within 5% of Actual Selling Price       38.4%

Within 10% of Actual Selling Price     62.7%

Within 20% of Actual Selling Price     80%

Median Error is 7%, which means that half the Zestimates are within 7% of the selling price and half are off by more than 7%.

To people who are selling their homes out there… this is not a weather forecast where being wrong on pricing will mean you get your hair wet.  Using a Zestimate rather than the skills of a professional local Realtor to evaluate your home’s value is a bad gamble.

These margins of error are too great to use Zillow’s Zestimate as anything but a fun conversation piece of info at a cocktail party.  When ready to list a home or go purchase a home around the Metrowest Boston area, call on The MAhome Team of Realty Executives to get you a free market evaluation on the home’s value.

Ed and Doriane Daniels, the MAhome Team of Realty Executives, can be reached at 508-341-7880 for any questions about the housing market for Metrowest Massachusetts.  As full time Realtors in Massachusetts, they have worked with almost 200 buyers and sellers of local homes.

This home is situated in a private setting, with a circular driveway flanked by tall trees.  The rear yard rolls down to a large swath of woods, with no rear neighbor in sight.

Inside, the traditional colonial home displays beautiful hardwood flooring that welcomes you straight into the renovated kitchen.  

The stainless appliances in this home are all included in the sale!  Lots of maple cabinetry creates a bright work area on the granite countertops.

Here are some quick bullets on other highlights:

•     Central Air
•     Highly Efficient Replacement Windows
•     Fireplaced Family Room
•     Dining Room
•     4 Bedrooms
•     Finished Basement
•     Replacement Windows

The basement room is a wonderfully usable space, with a full bank of windows and a wood stove.  It is a large open space and is versitile enough to be a playroom, entertainment room, or office area. 

This 4 Bedroom, 2 1/2 Bathroom home is offered for $479,900. 

The Realtor community is hearing from the in-house staff often, letting us know that they are “almost completely sold out“.

(90% sold was stated in last email from them)

I have put together some information on the 1st quarter sales that I gathered from MLSpin, the Massachusetts MLS service.

In the 1st quarter there were:

8 sales ranging from $369,900 to $599,900. 

(Avg. of $438,275)

Unit N345  1 BR, 2BA + study with 1244 sf of living area   $369,900

Unit T922  2 BR, 2BA with 1330 sf of living area              $399,900

Unit S609  2 BR, 2BA with 1382 sf of living area              $413,900

Unit T736  2 BR, 2BA + study with 1472 sf of living area   $419,900

Unit N243  2 BR, 2BA + study with 1545 sf of living area   $424,900

Unit N251  2 BR, 2BA + study with 1658 sf of living area   $430,900

Unit N543  2 BR, 2BA + study with 1545 sf of living area   $446,900

Unit N741  3 BR, 2BA with 1720 sf of living area                $599,900

Note:  N = North, S = South, T = Terrace (floors 6-9)

For comparison for this same time period in 2010, Nouvelle had sold 16 units in this quarter. 

Average price in 2010′s 1st quarter was $455,856.

Is Framingham selling more or less homes these days?

Less.  In 2010, there were 429 single family sales in town.  This is a 3% decline from 2009 sales of 442.  Going back to 2008, the 469 sales results in a drop of 9%.

Is Framingham having an increase in Selling Prices?

Yes, in 2010, Framingham increased the median selling price from $300,000 (in 2009) to $305,500.  This is a 1.8% increase.  For anyone who wishes to use the less pertinent Average Selling Prices, they were flat – $322,000 in ’10 vs. $321,227 in ’09.

Are homes selling faster or slower when they come to market?

The Days on Market numbers have dropped consistantly over the past few years.  In 2010, the average time on market was 93 days, vs. 106 in 2009 and 118 in 2008.  Therefore, homes are selling faster!

Considering the differences in the housing stock of North and South sides of Framingham, is one side doing “better” than the other?

In some respects of the single family housing market, the South side (01702 zip code) has done fine, but overall the North side 01701 zip code shows more strength.  The Average Selling Price has gone up 1.4% from 2009 to 2010 in South Framingham, but the North side decreased 1/2%. 

On the flip side, North homes sell faster (79 Days on Market) compared to the South side marketing time of 122 Days.  There are also more than 2 times the number of Sold listings on the North side.

With a diverse housing stock around the town of Framingham, there is a house for everyone.  Homeowners are still able to sell their homes in reasonable amounts of time, but during 2010 there was a noticable shortage of options for people who wished to move to another local home.   This is improving for Buyers, with 151 Active listings compared to 120 last year at this time.

If The MAhome Team can be of service in your desire to make a move, please don’t hesitiate to contact Ed Daniels at 508-341-7880.  Over 2010, Realty Executives – Boston West was the real estate firm that sold more homes in Framingham than any other.  Put the experience of our team, combined with the best real estate firm in Framingham, to work for you.