The Massachusetts Association of Realtors recently reported that home sales in the Greater Boston Area and throughout Massachusetts are up significantly from last year. While this may sound like the chef telling you that the menu items are delicious, it really is true, and the numbers are impressive.
The increase in home sales is reflected in the number of homes sold and in the price. The number of single family home sold in Massachusetts this past December increased a full 13% over December of 2011. The number of condominiums sold in Massachusetts in the same time frame increased more than 14% over last year.
Prices for homes sold in Massachusetts have increased as well. The median price for single family homes sold in December 2012 increased over 10% higher than December 2011, from $275,000 to $303,500. The median price on condominium sales is showing a similar increase of 8.7% from $260,000 to $285,500.
And this, is reason number 1 to buy a home in Massachusetts now – prices and quantities of sold homes are steadily and significantly increasing. The market appears to have hit bottom and started a rebound. If the indicators are true, buying now puts you into the market while the rebound is still beginning, hitting the cycle at a time when you may be able to buy into some great equity increase – like last year’s 7-10%!
Reason number 2 for buying a home in Massachusetts now is nothing new but nothing short of spectacular – fantastic interest rates! Mortgage rates are still hovering in the 3’s. Mortgage rates this low create tremendous affordability and dramatically decrease monthly payments. Once the market ‘recovery’ is in full swing, these rates are bound to increase.
For more information on the buying process visit Avenue 3 Real Estate or download our Better Buyer Guide today.
As you may know if you are looking for a home, searching through the legions of homes that do not fit the bill is the hardest part. You can waste a lot of time sorting through those listings that may not be just what you are looking for. This is especially true for those buyers who are looking for property on specific streets or in a specific area in a community. If you are looking for property in a certain area, for instance, near Davis Sq in Somerville MA, close to Fresh Pond in Cambridge MA, or walking distance to West Medford Sq, we have the answer for you.
Avenue3re.com has two solutions for you. If you are looking for a certain school district near Boston or an area near a local square, click on the "Recommended Searches" in the left margin of the home page to go right to your specific criteria. You can register with avenue3re.com, with just your email address, to receive email alerts about listings in these specific areas as well. If you do not see the specific search you are seeking in the Recommended Searches, check out the fast and easy Interactive Map Search.
Using the Avenue 3 Interactive Map Search is fun and easy. From the home page, click on the Interactive Map Search icon on the top left column and your real estate world awaits. Using the interactive drawing tool you can outline specific streets or neighborhoods that you are interested in and voila, the listing appear. The map search data is fed directly from the Multiple Listing Service and is updated regularly.
Avenue 3's Interactive Map Search makes 'specific shopping' a breeze. So, check it out at Avenue3re.com, you will be glad you did!
Find more tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Buyer Kit:
Even though I have been brokering real estate for over 20 years, I forget that first time home buyers often don’t understand how buyers agents get paid. By the time many of you connect with an agent, you‘ve seen every property on the internet, maybe visited open houses, gorged yourself with information from various websites, but never learned along the way how a buyer’s agent is compensated.
If you sign a written exclusive agreement with your Buyer's Agent, it will have language in the contract explicitly defining how the agent is paid, whether by cooperating agent or, in the absence of a cooperating fee, by you, the buyer. In some circumstances, it may be a combination of both.
More typically, there will be a cooperating fee offered as compensation from the seller extended through and reported in the multiple listing service listing of the property. Without a contract signed by the buyer, this compensation would suffice for the buyer agents fee. If a Buyer contract states that the buyer agent fee is 2.5% and the cooperating fee is only 2% the buyer who has signed a contract with a buyer's agent would be responsible for the extra .5 %.
The buyer agent fee is what’s due the Buyer agent’s company or the "brokerage", not the individual agent. The actual fee that the agent earns is a function of the arrangement the buyer agent has with their brokerage. This will differ among brokerages. Normally, the total fee will be divided among several parties; the franchisor, it there is one, the brokerage and the buyer agent. There are often third party fees; brokerage to brokerage referral fees or relocation company fees.
Buyer's agents work on a contingency basis, that is: they only get paid when a closing takes place. The total fee is what’s due the Buyer agent’s company or the "brokerage", not the individual agent. The actual fee that the agent earns is a function of the brokerage’s compensation plan. That will differ among brokerages. Normally, the total fee will be divided among several parties; the franchisor, it there is one, the brokerage and the buyer agent. There are often third party fees; brokerage to brokerage referral fees or relocation company fees.
Either way, we are bound by the law of agency to provide lawful obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality accountability and reasonable care. When both parties understand that they are in a partnership, there is greater opportunity for a happy ending for all.
To view Buyer Agency Contracts and Agency Dsiclosures, download the Avenue 3's Real Estate Forms Kit for Buyers. Be a prepared and knowledgeable buyer!
What to be a Better Buyer in every way? Download our informative Kit today!
Buying a home in MA is not the easiest thing to do. First you have to find a home to suit your needs and then you need to navigate the buying process. Unlike other states, buying a home in Massachusetts is a multi stage process. First, you put forth your Offer to Purchase, then comes the Home Inspection, then, the Purchase and Sale Agreement , Mortgage and Closing.
Along the way you will be asked to sign many forms and contracts. Some of these are issued by the State of Massachusetts, like the Mandatory Licensee Consumer Relationship Disclosure, the Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification and the Home Inspector Facts for Consumers. Others are issued by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board or the real estate company with which you are working. These may include Buyer Representation Agreements and the Offer to Purchase itself.
If you are thinking of buying a home in the near future, give yourself a head start by reading these forms before you are in the middle of a transaction. Avenue 3 provides you a kit full of forms and contracts typical to buying a home in Massachusetts. You will have plenty of time to understand them and learn how to they affect your home buying process.
Download our free Real Estate Forms Kit for Buyers to see the forms and contracts involved in making an offer to purchase a home in Massachusetts. If you have any questions regarding these or other forms or contracts, please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions.
What is my best advice for buying a home and selling another home at the same time? It is the 2:00 am test. You have been sleeping, you wake up at 2:00 am and think (a) OMG, I bought a house and I have not sold this one…I could be stuck with two mortgages until I can get this property sold or, (b) OMG I sold this house and I have nowhere to live once it closes, I might need to rent and move twice. Good stuff. What you need to decide is which is more palatable for you.
Unfortunately, in order to succeed with buying a home and selling a home at the same time, you must, at some point, “step into the void” to get from one property to another. Buying before selling entails the possibility of owning two properties at the same time- something most folks cannot afford as their banks are only to happy to tell them. The upside of buying a home before selling your current home is that you potentially have more control of the transaction. You cannot control the inventory of homes to choose from as a buyer, but you can lower the price on your home for sale, in order to meet the market and speed up the sale process.
Selling a home before buying may mean that you don’t find your new home in the time alloted in your contracrt and you might have to rent for the short term, moving twice to get to your new home. The upside is that you have your money in the bank from your sale, and you know exactly what you have to spend on a new home – with plenty of time to find it.
Either way it seems a daunting process, however, be comforted by the knowledge that in my 20+ years of real estate sales, no one has ever had to rent or face two mortgages – not sure if that is kismet or extreme motivation but it always seems to work out!
Karen Lilley, Principal
For more info on buying and selling a home download our Better Buyer and Smarter Seller Kits.
Download Free Home Buying Kit
Find tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Better Buyer Kit.
Download Free Home Selling Kit
Find tips on selling your home by downloading our very informative Smarter Seller Kit
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OCTOBER 25, 2011
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194 pending sales this week in the Boston Metro West area up 39 from the previous week! In Arlington MA, Boston MA and Waltham MA sales were up significantly. A relatively steady fall market so far!
Why follow pending sales info? Click on the link below for a brief expalnation of why this info is can be helpful to you as a future buyer or seller:
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Source: MLSPIN
Thinking of buying or selling in 2012?
Start here by looking at all the current listings: Avenue 3 Property Search.
Be prepared: Download our Better Buyer Kit or Smarter Seller Kit |
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Avenue 3 Real Estate posts pending sales in the Boston and Metro West area each week from information complied from the Multiple Listing Service. Click on the button below if you would like to recieve this info weekly:
The term “pending sales” refers to real estate that has had an offer accepted but has not yet made it to closing. The property is technically off the market, (no longer available to another buyer) but is in a state of limbo as the seller waits for the buyer to get their mortgage and finalize the transaction for closing. During this time, the actual sale price of the property is not divulged but is kept confidential until the closing takes place. So, if we don’t know the actual price, why are pending sales important?
For Buyers, following pending sales offers two valuable bits of information. First, the number of pending sales in any community is a great indicator of which communities are having success with home sales – right up to the minute. Too often, housing figures that are quoted in the media are outdated – last year, last quarter, etc. Pending sales have just happened. They are a great up to the minute revelation of the number of real estate sales taking place. Secondly, while the exact sales price of the pending properties is not known, you can see what the asking price was at the time an offer was accepted. This helps to give you a general sense of values in a particular community.
For Sellers, pending sales serve similar purposes. Considering the prices of pending properties will help a seller determine a marketing price for their own home. While sold properties in your area may have closed 6 months ago, weighing these values with the up to the minute pending sales prices will help achieve a more accurate pricing picture. In addition, pending sales are the indicator for what is called the “absorption rate” of homes similar to the one you are selling. The absorption rate is arrived at by comparing the number of homes like yours that were available for sale at any point in time, and determining how many sold in that time frame and how long it took them to sell. If there are twenty homes on the market like yours and only 2 have sold in the past year, your absorption rate is low and your property pricing should reflect this fact. Conversely, if there are 2 homes like yours on the market and 20 have sold in the past six months, your absorption rate is high and you may have an easier sale ahead.
Don’t short change the Pending Sales category! Receive weekly pending sales info on towns in Boston Metro West with Avenue 3’s Week in Review. Sign up today, there is a lot to be learned from this market indicator!
Download Free Home Buying Kit
Find tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Better Buyer Kit.
Is the fall market a good time to buy? Should you buy in the spring market when traditionally there is more inventory to choose from? Should you buy in the summer market when fewer buyers are braving the heat to visit open houses? Should you wait for the winter when those fabled few, brave and desperate sellers are said to be on the market?
What about the fall? Well, the fall market has its advantages as well.
1. Leftovers. Some of the Fall inventory will be homes that have not sold thus far in the year. These may be properties that have been priced too high to sell and are just now coming into the range of pricing reality - a good buy for the ready buyer.
2. Serious Sellers. The fall market is no time to fool around, typically any seller new to the market is serious about selling and not just fishing for that one buyer who will pay just what the seller believes their home is worth.
3. Short Season. Another motivator for sellers to price any new listing on the market correctly is the shorter selling season of the fall. Unlike the spring market which seems endless, the fall season has the trap door of the "Holidays" giving the season a definitive end - sellers beware, buyers benefit!
So, this Fall, pick some apples, take a foliage ride, and take a look at homes for sale in Arlington MA, condos in Somerville MA and multi-families in Cambridge MA and maybe even think about buying one!
Additional resources from Avenue 3 for the fall hunt:
for a look at the available property in your area of choice: Avenue 3 Property Search
for a helpful overview of the Boston area towns and communities: Avenue 3 Community Pages
Download Free Home Buying Kit
Find tips on buying a home by downloading our very informative Better Buyer Kit.
Watertown MA Real Estate, a 6 month update:
(Summer 2011 -- Arsenal Park , Watertown )
We're taking a look at the Single-family market YTD 2010 -- YTD 2011
Jan - July 25, 2010 - total Watertown SF sale units: 37
Average sale price: SF: $489,343 average days on market: 57 days
Jan - July 25, 2011 - total Watertown SF sale units: 47
Average sale price: SF: $490,020, average days on market: 70 days
Interesting numbers and good new for Sellers and homeowners in Watertown. For more detailed info on the sold properties visit our web site and register to recieve daily updates: Avenue 3
And potenial Watertown MA property buyers, contact us for Watertown neighborhood breakdowns and more detailed analysis comparing YTD 2010 vs 2011. Condo and multi family data also available...
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And here are the pending sale numbers for all the towns we track weekly:
total number of offers accepted for all property categories 07.17.11 - 07.24.11
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.
Visit our Facebook Page for daily updates and information on all things in and around the Boston area!
Total Number of Accepted Offers For All Property Categories Source: MLSPIN
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If you've been thinking about entering the Real Estate Market as a Buyer this year or in the future and you want to talk, ask questions and get some useful advice from some friendly Realtors...then our meet-up is the place to be!
Rob Russell, Maria Reilly and John Reilly bring expertise in personally buying and selling real estate and knowledge of the Boston West Market to you on Monday evenings at Bertucci's at Alewife Station.
Join us for pizza, appetizers and informative conversation. Also learn about our unique "Foundation Keys", a 6 minute presentation offering many beneficial tips for entering the market that will give you a step ahead of other Buyers in the Real Estate game.
Here's the schedule the months of June & July:
Mondays, June 20, June 27, July 11, July 18, July 25
5:30 - 7:00 pm (stop in anytime between 5:30 - 7pm)
Contact us with any questions regarding this event or with any Real Estate related concerns..we're here!