No Housing Bubble for MA
November 25th, 2009
I was reviewing the Massachusetts Association of Realtors latest housing data that was posted and came across a nugget. It was a historical graph for single family home sales. It shows 18 years of sales data in the month of October.
OK, the MAR reported 3,828 sales of single family homes in October state wide.
This number of sales is very close to the same number in 2005 and about 17% more sales than last year.
Were 2001 and 2002 good years for home sales? This 2009 number is stronger than both of those years!
I read about all the naysayers out there about the housing market (just look at comments on Boston.com real estate articles) but the stats above provide perspective.
Sellers don’t fell as good these days to hear that their property has fallen in value over the past few years, but the fact is that the strength of the housing market is there. Whether this is because of buyers taking advantage of tax credits, distressed properties, or pent up demand, the fact is that houses are still selling.
Ed Daniels is part of The MA Home Team servicing the Metrowest Boston area. Under Re/Max Executive Realty, he has been a full time Realtor for over 11 years. Contact him at 508-341-7880 for any questions you may have with the local market.
Categories: Market Conditions, Real Estate
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Holliston Homes on Trulia
November 14th, 2009
As a local Realtor, my best resource for marketing a home is on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). In addition to that, I go onto the major sites that offer home searches and tools for home shoppers.
Today I was posting my listings on Trulia.com and came across the widget below. The full feature version on the Trulia home search is very cool!
This is a widget of Holliston Real Estate sorted by the newest listings. Searching for real estate using this tool is different and interactive. Home searches are coming a long way since I started selling real estate 11 years ago! Very cool.
Categories: Holliston, Real Estate
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New Tax Credits for Buyers Explained
November 9th, 2009
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Categories: Market Conditions, Real Estate
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NEW Home Buying Tax Credit for ALL
October 29th, 2009
Home buyers have been anxiously awaiting word on an extension of the very popular First Time Home Buyer $8000 tax credit.
MarketWatch is reporting this morning that the Senate has struck a deal to expand on this program.
Many Realtors are seeing this tax credit as the main motivation of home sales this year. In 2008 there was a “tax credit” that was really a no interest loan to First Time Buyers. This year that was changed to a real tax credit of $8000 for these buyers.
The report is that today’s agreed upon credit would extend to ANY buyer who has lived in their home for 5 consecutive years, as well as the First Time Home Buyer.
Here is the report from MarketWatch:
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Senators have struck a deal to extend a popular tax credit for home buyers beyond those buying their first house, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office said Wednesday.
Legislators also have agreed to extend the tax credit through the end of April, according to a Reuters report.
An $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers is set to expire at the end of November. Under a compromise reached by senators, the credit would be expanded to those who have lived in their home for five consecutive years, a Reid spokeswoman said.
The credit for repeat buyers would be $6,500.
The credit reportedly would be available for individuals making up to $125,000 a year and couples earning up to $225,000 per year, up from the current income limits of $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. Reid wants to attach the tax-credit measure to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits.
All the buyers rushing to get into that home by the November 30th deadline are breathing a sigh of relief. I believe the additional feature for people who already own their homes is going to certainly help home sales in the mid-priced price points.Ed Daniels of Re/max Executive Realty is a Holliston native and full time Realtor. Contact him for more details on this brand new tax credit at 508-341-7880 or Ed@MAhome.com.
Categories: Market Conditions, Real Estate
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Affordable Condo Options Newly Available
September 28th, 2009
Over the past few weeks there have been 2 condo options that have come available in our area that could become really good deals. I mention “could” because one is an auction property and one is an income restricted option.
Natick has luxury condominiums Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Featured Listings, Holliston, Natick, Real Estate
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Nordstrom is Having a Sale… on Condos!
September 11th, 2009
Natick has one-of-a-kind luxury condos that are going on the auction block next month. The Nouvelle at Natick is a 215 unit project that is connected with the mall. About 20% of the units are going to be auctioned October 4th.
The developers are in trouble. They built this development just as the economy was going into a tailspin. They have sold or put under contract only a total of 37 condos. Ouch!
Using town records, I was only able to verify 18 sold units, and selling prices ranged from $369900 to $1.2 million. The following are the units being auctioned:
- 1 Bedroom & 1 BR + Study $160K-$210K
796-1078 sq ft units
- 2 Bedroom & 2 BR + Study $220K-$315K
1068-1591 sq ft units
- 3 Bedroom (only 1 unit auctioned) $350,000
1774 sq ft
- Penthouse (2 units) $375K-$475K
1596-2110 sq ft units
The marketing department has tried everything to entice the local Realtor community to sell these units. Incentives for months of condo fees or mortgage payments have not worked to bring in sales. These prices have just been too high for such a unique housing option in Metrowest.
You will need a deposit of $10,000 on auction day, and I would highly recommend doing all your homework about unit locations, pricing, and mortgage financing. If you are an investor you likely will need 20-25% down payment to get your financing.
These very unique Metrowest condo options were never a good investment to consider, until now. Feel free to contact me for all details of the process and the property options. The developer will pay the commission of your Buyer Agent when bidding on these units, so take advantage of this guidance.
“We Live Where You Live” Ed Daniels of Remax Executive Realty can help you with this auction process and perhaps get you a great investment. He can be reached at 508-341-7880.Categories: Featured Listings, Market Conditions, Natick, Real Estate
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Holliston: Real Estate is Local!
September 9th, 2009
So, if you are living a busy life like me, you catch sound bites about how the world is doing. Lately it has been health care, stock markets, and of course, real estate values.
If you own a home in Holliston, you are not concerned with national real estate numbers… you are concerned with Holliston values!
Real estate is local. So let me provide you with some bullet points of how our town is doing in the real estate department:
Median prices up 2%
Thru August, the median home selling price was $357,000 for the year. It was $350,000 at this time in 2008.
Taking longer to Sell
It takes 136 days on average to market a home in Holliston to sell. In 2008 it took 117 days on average thru August.
More homes Sold in 2009 vs. 2008
We have 83 sales in town for 2009 compared to 74 over the same period in 2008.
Holliston did not go through this economic downturn unscathed. Going back in time just one more year and we find that the town’s median price is still down 10% since 2007 ($397,900 median sold values Jan-Aug 2007).
Perhaps this data will help to put into perspective how well most family’s largest investment is holding up.
“We Live Where You Live”
Ed Daniels of Re/Max Executive Realty can be reached at 508-341-7880 for any questions about the real estate market. Any member of The MAhome Team can service the entire Metrowest Boston area, but Ed grew up in Holliston and is completely biased towards the community
Categories: Holliston, Real Estate
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The Mortgage Rate Mountain
September 9th, 2009
Just a quick post:
This is a graph of mortgage rates over the course of the past 40 years.
Fielding calls about interest rates and client’s worry about where they are heading, I lose perspective about these numbers.
People, you can’t get much better than this… don’t worry about an eighth of a percent, lock it in!
Ed Daniels, of Re/max Executive Realty, can be reached at 508-341-7880. He is an 11 year veteran of the real estate market in Metrowest Boston, and has great mortgage broker contacts to answer all your specific questions.
Categories: Market Conditions, Mortgage Updates, Real Estate
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I Was Paid by the Commonwealth Today
July 24th, 2009
I am very excited that I did receive a check from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today for $82.29. They were nice enough to hold onto the remainder of a telephone credit from 10 years ago!
I found my name on the Abandoned Property list that the State Treasurer manages. Click here for the list. Granted, I did have to somehow prove that I was living at that address all those years back, but they accepted my previous address listed on my credit report.
Now after about 2 months of processing, I have in my hand a nice dinner out!
Thank you Tim Cahill, for holding onto my cash.
(Don’t tell my past roommates, I guess I should be splitting this 4 ways)
Categories: Events in Community
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Past client refers Local Window Company
July 16th, 2009
Being a big supporter of business by referral, I wanted to pass along a strong recommendation I just received for a window installer.
A past client gave glowing remarks regarding the work done by Royal Thermal View, based out of Mendon, Massachusetts. I added him on this site’s Business Directory.
Steve Palmer is the salesman that my client dealt with, and also that I spoke to today. He can be reached at 781-820-6306.
The website is www.RoyalThermalView.com, but be ready because they have a surprising drum audio when you enter each page (I have to talk to Steve about that!).
The company seems to have a focus on doors, windows and vinyl siding.
One last tidbit that I got from talking with Steve…
I mentioned how perhaps the difficulty of getting equity lines in this market for homeowners may be cutting into his business, and his solution is to offer financing directly. A terrific solution to adjust to the current market!
Categories: Preferred Business
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