You might think that the Winter months are a poor time to sell a home. Conventional wisdom would try to convince you that the weather is bad, the buyers are in hibernation and it is best to wait until Spring. Well, not every year!
The weather, well, in case you had not noticed, the weather this year has been extremely mild. Without the frequent weekend storms of last winter, buyers are free to spend time house hunting rather than shoveling. Not to mention the funds they have saved by not buying extra boots, hats, scarfs, snow melt, shovels, heating oil etc.
As far as the buyers being in hibernation, not this year. The market last Fall was extraordinarily quiet. There is a back log of buyers who have hit the market running. A single family home listed by Avenue 3 real estate this past weekend in Arlington was the recipient of three offers within 48 hours! And this property is not alone, many well priced listings have been received with the same enthusiasm.
Conventional wisdom point #3, wait until the busy Spring market. Why would you wait to be in competition with everyone else putting their home on the market in Spring. Selling a home in the Winter months gives you the advantage of less competition – your home will not get lost in the crowd of new listings hitting the market each week and a greater number of buyers may pay attention to it. In addition, mortgage rates traditionally trend upward in the Spring, making your home just a bit more expensive.
So, our advice, throw conventional wisdom out the window and take advantage of our hot market in the cold months by selling your home this February – it’s hot!
For information on what your home may be worth in today’s market, contact us at Avenue3re.com or call us at 617-520-6603.
See who else is on the market in your area with the easy Avenue3PropertySearch
Download Our Free Home Selling Kit
Find tips on selling your home by downloading our very informative Smarter Seller Kit
So, you have been looking and looking and you are lucky enough to find a home you want to buy. Yeah! You contact your real estate agent and tell them you want to make an offer. You fill out the paper work with all the variables involved in the offer – price, timelines, contingencies etc. The agent presents your offer to the seller so you are all set right? Wrong.
It is typical at this point that you and the seller of the home will negotiate the offer. Even if the price is agreeable, the seller may want to change a date or a contingency clause. Keep in mind that, the home buying process is a legal process. During the time that you are going back and forth with the seller in these 'contract' negotiations, the seller is free to accept any other offer that they receive, and, they can do so without warning you! It behooves you as the buyer to negotiate quickly (and flexibly) with the seller to protect your offer from infiltrators.
Until all the details are agreed upon and your offer is fully signed by both buyer and seller – including the initialing of any changes – and, accompanied with a check, and delivered to the seller, it is not a fully executed offer. Do not rely on a verbal acceptance. if a better offer comes in before they sign, the seller may not be bound to it.
It is your offer to purchase a home. So whether you are buying a condo in Cambridge, a single family in Arlington, or a multi family in Medford, be precise, be quick, and follow the rules so that you can be the one to actually buy the home. Find an example of the offer form and other real estate forms on the Avenue 3 site.
Learn more about the offer process by downloading our Better Buyer Kit.
Download Free Home Buying Kit
Find tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Better Buyer Kit.
Living in the town of Arlington MA has many advantages and apparently this past week many Buyers thought that to be true based on the number of pending sales. Arlington MA with a population of approximately 42,000+ has much to offer in the way of past history and present amenities. You'll find some interesting info by visiting the Arlington MA website for a printer-friendly view of the town history from Squaw Sachem's agreement with the first settlers in 1635 to the town's 200th Anniversary Celebration in 2007! Yes, Arlington MA history is as significant to the area as Lexington and Concord's but it's present can be described as "delectable and delicious" based on the wide range of the many great restuarants lining Massachuttes Avenue.
Just two among many reasons why living in Arlington MA does has it's advantages! Take a look at Avenue 3's Community pages for more info on Arlington MA as well as Boston and Metro West towns and cities.
APRIL 19, 2011
This week our "A3 Activity Tracker" spotlights Arlington MA. With increased activity for pending sales and inventory of over 155 properties and listing prices ranging from $99,900 - $1,199,900 Arlington could be a good place to start your home search!
Click on the photo of the Arlington Reservoir to view all Arlington listings...
Twitter users: Don't forget: We're giving away a $50 Starbucks Card! Check in at any coffee place this week via 4Sq & use hashtag to enter.
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total number of offers accepted for all property categories 04.10.11 - 04.17.11
For community resources, trending topics or to search for homes click on the town name ...
First # under agreement for this week, second # "WIR" last week....
What do the above numbers mean? If you are a regular viewer of "Week in Review" the Boston and Metro West under agreement numbers remain relatively consistent week to week...Boston jumps up/down by 10% - 25% week to week. One or two towns in Metro West will jump up/down by 3 - 10 properties week to week. This is all good news for the above towns and cities.
Total Number of Accepted Offers For All Property Categories Source: MLSPIN
Do you have a specific town or towns you would like to receive real estate related data on or would you like to receive the "pending sales" report weekly? Sign-up here for the Week in Review".
There are many good reasons to choose Arlington as
the place to call home, but this weekend in particular is one of the best! Arlingtonians love Patriots Day, no doubt about it, as do many of the local businesses which help fund the various festivities like the Parade.
You don't have to live here to join in on the fun, as a participant or a spectator, so take your pick for the list below or better yet why not do all three!
1. Sunday, April 17
8:45 AM – The 47th Annual Patriots’ Day Fun Race hosted by The Arlington Boys and Girls Club. Visit the Arlington Boys and Girls Club website for registration form and additional details.
2. Monday, April 19
Cycle, Chalk and Cheer with Arlington's "Ciclismo Classico" ! Here's an invitation from founder, Lauren 
Hefferon.
"Come join the Ciclismo Classico gang for the 10th Annual Chalk-the-Hill. This is a three-part event that includes cycling, chalk drawing and cheering at Boston's most famous sporting event: The Boston Marathon. Each year Ciclismo Classico gathers at the top of Heartbreak Hill (mile 21 of the race) to cheer and cover the course's most challenging stretch in colorful chalk messages.
Have you always wanted to watch the marathon? Do you have a friend who is running and want to show them your support? Are you a die-hard fan who stays on the sidelines from start to finish? Are you curious to experience the course by bicycle before the runners start?
Our fun Ciclismo Chalk-the-Hill has something for everyone! Be a part of Boston at its very finest and join thousands of cheering fans. We invite you to:
1. Cycle! This year we've added two early morning rides of the marathon route. There will be a 60-mile no-drop ride that will leave from the Starbucks in Arlington Center at 6:15 am and arrive in Hopkinton just before the marathon participants depart. You'll ride the gorgeous course closed to traffic all the way to Heartbreak Hill. The later ride will leave at 8 am at the corner of Commonwealth Ave. & Center St. in Newton and do a section of the course before returning to Heartbreak Hill (30 miles). From Heartbreak Hill, cyclists can ride back to Arlington with a Ciclismo guide or return home.
2. Chalk! From 9 am-10:30 am we will be handing out over 600 pieces of brightly colored chalk to fans on Heartbreak Hill. Our goal is to cover the hill with a rainbow of colorful messages. Bring the kids. Use your imagination and be ready to draw and write BIG. Almost every year a local TV station has filmed chalkers! Meet us at the top of Heartbreak Hill at 9 am (map). Don't be late, we have very little time before they close the hill.
3. Cheer! Come join the Heartbreak Hill Ciclismo Party and meet Ciclismo alumni and friends from all over the area. We'll have our Ciclismo tent set up from 8 am to 4 pm near the top of the hill. At our tent we'll have refreshments as well as markers and posters for you to make a poster for your favorite runner. This year the Ciclismo crew is cheering for CC team member and super athlete Natascia Armitage. (map)
No need to register in advance. Just come join the fun as we cycle, chalk and cheer on Marathon Monday.
For more information call 800-866-7314 or email lauren@ciclismoclassico.com."
3. Sunday, April 18
2:00 PM – The Patriots’ Day Parade 
"The annual Arlington Patriots' Day Parade will be held on Sunday April 17. The Shriner's are back, always a favorite, along with eight bands, the Wells Fargo Stage Wagon and many others joined by community groups. The parade will start at 2:00 p.m., at Brattle Street and Mass. Ave., and will march east on Mass. Ave. to Walgreens in East Arlington. Come out and celebrate Patriots' Day in the town that had the most action on that historic day." More information about the parade can be found on the Arlington Patriots Day Parade Committee website.
Enjoy the weekend,
Avenue 3 Real Estate
Thinking of a move to Arlington? Contact Us and view all of the current Arlington Properties available here: A3 Arlington Listings
Our A3 "Activity Tracker" spotlights Arlington, MA this week. With increased activity in condo pending sales and an inventory of over 136 property listings, ranging from $99,900 - $1,259,900 Arlington could be a good place to start your home search!
Click on the photo of Arlington Center to view all Arlington listings:
follow us for trending topics
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total number of pending sales for all property categories 03.27.11 - 04.03.11
For community resources, trending topics or to search for homes click on the town name ...
First # under agreement for this week, second # "WIR" last week....
What do the above numbers mean? If you are a regular viewer of "Week in Review" the Boston and Metro West pending sale numbers remain relatively consisent week to week...Boston jumps up/down by 10% - 25% week to week. One or two towns in Metro West will jump up/down by 3 - 10 properties week to week. This is all good news for the above towns and cities.
Total Number of Accepted Offers For All Property Categories Source: ML
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Contact us should you have any questions about the properties viewed or if you'd like to take a look!
Do you have a specific town or towns you would like to receive real estate related data on or would you like to receive the "pending sales" report weekly? Sign-up here for the Week in Review".
Download Free Home Buying Kit
Find tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Better Buyer Kit.
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A new first time buyer program is available in Cambridge MA and Arlington MA and, frankly, every community in the Greater Boston Area. If you are buying real estate in any of these communities you are able to avail yourself of this new incentive program without any special qualifications or paper work.
The new incentive program is...insert drum roll here.... the reduced interest rate. What? You say you have heard that one before? Well, hold on one minute, this is serious (and far more beneficial than the first time buyer incentive that sent everyone scurrying to purchase property in the Spring).
Interest rates had been hovering at 6.25%. For a $350,000. mortage with a thirty year term, your payments would be $2155./month.
Interest rates are now as low as 3.875%!!!! These are "historic lows". For the same mortgage amount and term, your payments are $1645./month.
That is a savings of $509/month or $6110./year - for every year you own!
Math is not my thing, but even I can see that with reduced prices, and these rates it really is a great time to buy an Arlington MA single family, a Cambridge MA condo, a Medford MA multi family or whatever suits your needs.
To see what is currently available in the market visit www.avenue3re.com. Or, prepare yourself to buy with our Better Buyer Kit.
Prepared by Karen Lilley, Principal, Avenue 3 Real Estate
There are a number of open houses in Arlington MA on Sunday, June 6th and the weather's supposed to be gorgeous once again. So why not treat yourself to something fun after doing the serious work involved in buying a home or condo? Here are two excellent after-open house activities you can easily do in one afternoon. There's always something exciting going on in Arlington and Cambridge!
The Annual Greek Festival at Saint Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church will continue through Sunday, from 11am to 8pm. Held rain or shine - just look for the happy crowd under the big tent! Lots of wonderful food and pastries will be available, as well as rides for the kids and Greek dancing lessons! What a great way to spend the first Sunday in June! Just stop by 4 Appleton St. in Arlington to enjoy this excellent community event for yourself!
For more info, check out the Arlington Greek Festival's Fan page on Facebook or pay a direct visit to the Greek Festival website, which includes a schedule of events. If you are interested in seeing a short video clip of Sat
urday's events, visit Steve Katsos's recent video posting of it on Youtube.
And speaking of Youtube, you should check out this cute video of the Red-tailed Hawks who've setup their nest high above Fresh Pond circle. If you feel like checking them out for yourself after the Greek Festival, bring your binoculars and head on over to the Freshpond Shopping Mall parking lot. Even the hawks seem to know Cambridge and Arlington are now officially green and eco-friendly Communities!
You can get more information by visiting our Avenue 3 Real Estate community pages for Arlington MA and Cambridge MA. While there, don't forget to sign up for our real estate newsletter, The Week in Review, so you can stay on top of all the latest real estate market statistics in our area.
Until next time, Peace!
-TMC
In advancement of their goals to become more eco-friendly places to reside, both Arlington, MA and the City of Cambridge, MA were recently named by Gov. Deval Patrick as two of the Commonwealth's first official "Green Communities." This is a distinct recognition by the Commonwealth that both Arlington and Cambridge are at the forefront of reducing energy usage and emissions through energy efficiency and reduction initiatives. The goal of the Green Communities Division is to help residents of both communities by maximizing energy efficiency in public buildings and managing rising energy costs.
"The designation recognizes all that the Town of Arlington has already done to demonstrate its commitment to being "green," said Arlington Town Manager Brian Sullivan. "It also puts the Town in the position to further reach energy reduction goals, through access to State grant dollars for green energy projects."
THe Town of Arlington met all five clean energy benchmarks set by the program, including the recent adoption of the energy-saving building "stretch code" voted by Town Meeting.
Working with Sustainable Arlington, the Arlington is planning to apply for projects that will reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency. The grant application is intended to include:
- Request for Funding to begin converting High Pressure Sodium streetlights to LED streetlights.
- Upgrade of Energy Management System at the Hardy School.
- Replacement of Steam Traps in Arlington High School's heating system.
The Green Communities designation makes both communities, along with 33 other municipalities in the state, eligible for $8.1 million in grants for local renewable power and energy efficiency projects. The projects promise to create green jobs and advance both municipal and state clean energy goals.
Read the full press release from the Governor's office and learn more about the Green Communities program at their web sites. For more information on the communities of Arlington, MA and Cambridge, MA, please visit Avenue 3 Real Estate's community web pages.
Until next time, Peace!
-TMC
One of Arlington, MA's most treasured spots for both residents and visitors alike is Spy Pond, located just south of Mass Ave. and east of Pleasant St. in East Arlington.
Spy Pond was originally formed during the last great ice age, about 50,000 years ago, when it was covered by the Wisconsin Glacier. As it melted, between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago, the glacier left a depression in the ground known as a "kettle hole," which then filled with water and formed the pond we know today.
As part of its rich history, Spy Pond was notable as an ice harvesting spot, supplying ice to the greater Boston area and exporting it as far as India. This prompted the building of the local railroad and an increase of manufacturing in the area, primarily ice-cutting tools.
As the area expanded and became known as "West Cambridge," the pond became a source of potable water for local residents. Eventually West Cambridge was incorporated as Arlington, MA and Spy Pond was officially named.
Today Spy Pond is one of the most relaxing and peaceful places to visit in Arlington. But it needs help to remain so. To that end, this coming Saturday, May 8, 2010, local volunteer residents, in cooperation with the Appalachian Mountain Club, will gather to clean up the shores of Spy Pond.
Volunteers are asked to meet along the Route 2 path from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Volunteers will spend time picking up trash, cleaning debris from trails, pruning, planting, and weeding out some of the invasive weeds that have infiltrated the area.
If you want to take part, all you need is some time, gloves, and a few garden tools (rakes, shovels, pruning shears, etc.). If you don't have any equipment to bring, don't worry. Everyone is welcome and snacks will be provided (free food always attracts more people, doesn't it?).
If you'd like more information on how you can help, contact either Elizabeth Karpati at 781.643.4172 (email: ekarpati@juno.com) or Stroker Rogovin at 781.641.2506 (email: stroker@alumni.clarku.edu). You may also visit the Spy Pond Vision 2020 Committee web site at www.arlingtonma.gov/spypond.
Read more about Arlington's history and get more information on the local area at these web resources:
I hope to see some of you there!
Until next time, Peace!
-TMC
May 2, 2010 - Save the date now!
The 2010 Arlington MA EcoFest will be held on Sunday, May 2 from 11am - 3pm at the Arlington, MA Town Hall Auditorium.
Featured will be a Noon-time discussion by Don Bishop, a local eco-expert, on Organic Gardening and Landscaping. Following the discussion there will be afternoon info sessions on such gardening topics as Native Plants, Invasives, and Organics.
Other highlights of the EcoFest include:
- Share eco-friendly ideas for lawn and yard gardening!
- Network with Arlington groups that are involved in sustainable actions!
- Arlington residents can purchase compost bins at a reduced price!
- Meet local sustainable landscapers!
- Learn about the newest products and ideas from local, "green" vendors!
The event if free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available for minimal cost.
For more info on the festival and to find out how you can get involved, contact Ruth at 781-316-3108 or Patsy at 781-858-8629. You may also email ecofest@town.arlington.ma.us or visit the EcoFest web site at
www.arlingtonma.gov/ecofest.
As a special treat and thanks to a grant by the Arlington Recycle Committee, the first 60 Arlington residents to purchase a New Age Composter, regularly priced at $50, will be able to get them for $25! Also available will be Bio-Orb Composters, of which the first 40 Arlington residents will only have to pay $59.95 (normally $89.95)! You may pre-order the Bio-Orb Composters by visiting
nerainbarrel.com/Arlington.html.
Do you plan on attending? Or do you currently use either of the composters mentioned above? Tell us your favorite composting story (if there is such a thing!) or share your photos of the EcoFest on our
Avenue 3 Real Estate Facebook page (and become a Fan while you're there!).
Until next time, Peace!
-TMC