NATICK – Coming to Market Soon!

Young light filled 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2000SF Colonial with Central Air.  Close to town and train.

Pictures and details to follow soon…

Needham Real Estate: Tear Downs Make Way For New Construction

New construction and the associated tear down of older and smaller homes is alive and well in Needham.

For the eight month period from 1/1/2011 to 8/31/2011 twenty nine new construction single family homes were sold in Needham with an average sale price of $1,312,956. The 29 homes represented 14.3% of the total number of homes sold.

For the same eight month period in 2012 the number of new construction single family home sales increased by 20.7% to 35 homes. The total number of homes also increased proportionally so that new construction represented 14.8% of sales.

The average sale price of new construction homes and the corresponding per square foot price remained stable in Needham for this period.

Fast forward 30 years and at this rate, Needham may not have any smaller/older homes left to tear down.

What do you think about this trend?

John Prescott, Vice President

508-523-9252

Century 21 Commonwealth

Greater Boston Residential Real Estate Sales Continue To Increase As Market Stabilizes

The summer months in Boston real estate tend to exhibit the same behavior we expect from  ourselves – languid and slower paced.

But as we kick off July 4th, it seems the summer of 2012 in real estate sales is more like the weather than we’ve historically experienced – it’s hot, and the temperature is increasing!

Sales are bouncing back like hot cakes on a griddle!  Open Houses are plentiful and if the home is priced right, we’re seeing multiple offers resulting in closings above the listed price!

For some reason buyers are placing their offers during, after, and some are doing it even BEFORE a home is officially launched on the market with an OPEN HOUSE.  As soon as it gets in the pipleline that I have a listing I’m preparing to put on the market, I’m flooded with requests and in some cases, offers.  And I’m not alone.

And if it’s not an offer, folks who can’t make it to the OPEN HOUSE because they’re out of town, are either truly chagrined or figure out a way to get back for the launch.

Last week for instance I put 11 Parsons Way on the market, listed at $895,000.  By the end of the OPEN HOUSE, an offer was in hand which was accepted that night.

Now of course prior to the official launch I’d done my homework, making calls and stopping in to chat with individuals who I knew had been hoping to find a house in the neighborhood.  Putting out the word in all the right places is critical.

But it’s always exciting to see an offer come together, with the sellers satisfied and the buyers thrilled to be getting the house they’ve been wishing for.

Boston’s economy is getting increasingly stronger after a period of entrenchment and closings that I see scheduled in the coming months are swelling in numbers as well.

Massachusetts home sales hit a 2 year high in May!

Single-family home sales in Mass. see ninth straight month of increases…

The state’s real estate market is stabilizing, as single-family home sales surged by 18.4 percent in April compared with a year ago — the ninth-straight month of increases, according to data from the MLS Property Information Network.

Last month, agents sold 3,129 single-family homes in Massachusetts, compared with 2,642 in April 2011. While the volume increased, so did prices — modestly. The median price of a single-family home in the Bay State rose to $280,000 last month, up from $276,000 at the same time last year, a 1.4 percent rise and the first time in 11 months the median has risen.

“People are realizing prices are not going to fall any further and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see interest rates this low in our lifetime,” said Barry Bluestone, a Northeastern University economist, as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to another record low to 3.83 percent for the week ending May 10, down from 3.98 at the beginning of April. “For people looking for a house and (who) have good credit, now is a good time to buy.”

Freddie Mac, in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, said the recent average fixed mortgage rates are lower than at any time since the mortgage buyer began tracking rates in 1971. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged below 4 percent all but one week since Dec. 8, 2011.

Brokers say the combination of low interest rates, rising rents, fear of escalating home prices and a stronger Massachusetts economy is fueling buyer confidence. The Bay State’s unemployment rate has fallen by more then 1 percentage point to 6.4 percent from a year ago, according to the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

More than half of the homes sold — 1,841 — were in the $100,000 to $349,999 price range. The most popular selling price in April for single-family homes were priced from $200,000 to $249,999.

John Farrell, a sales associate at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Beverly, said he put eight or nine houses under agreement last month versus three or four in April 2011. “We’ve had a couple buyers miss out on properties by a day or a few thousand dollars, just because of the increase in activity,” he said.

  

In Wellesley, John Prescott, vice president of Century 21 Commonwealth,  said perhaps the biggest factor luring buyers off the sidelines is low mortgage interest rates. “Money is so cheap it’s practically free,” he said. “I bought my first home on a credit-card rate.”

Condominium sales surged in April to 1,256 units sold, up from 1,133 in 2011, a 10.8 percent hike. Median prices also spiked, reaching $278,675 last month compared with $267,000 in April of last year, a 4.3 percent gain.

Jeff Stineback, a sales representative at the Prudential Unlimited Realty in Jamaica Plain, said demand for the Boston neighborhood is boosting prices for condos where potential buyers find it is less expensive than Cambridge or Brookline. In April, the median price for a condo was up slightly to $351,000 from $37,500 one year ago, a 1 percent rise. “Condo prices have jumped from the mid $200,000 range to the high $200,000s and low $300,000 range, he said. “Prices in some areas of JP increased almost 10 percent almost overnight.”

– Boston Business Journal

Premium content from Boston Business Journal by Brendan Lynch, Special to the Journal – Date: Friday, May 18, 2012, 6:00am EDT

Related articles

• Mass. home sales jump sharply in May (boston.com)
• Fixed Mortgage Interest Rates Remain Steady (loans.org)
• Report: Mass. Home Sales Hit 2-Year High In May (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Report: Mass. home sales hit 2-year high in May (sfgate.com)

If You Can Tear It Down, Buyers Will Rebuild It

As a successful realtor in greater Boston’s western suburbs, I hear it all the time from people relocating from other locales across the country: “The closets are small, the bedrooms are tiny, the kitchen needs updating, and the prices are high.”

Yup.  Boston is one of the most sought after cities in the country.  And we all know why.  We love living here.  It’s why we put up with the traffic, taxes, and crazy weather.

But for people from younger cities and towns, the older construction and lack of modern amenities at what they perceive to be as ‘high prices’ confounds them.  And so, with many of these folks flush with cash from relocation packages or their own house sale, they decide to pick a modest home in a good location with the intention of tearing it down and building something larger and more modern.

And while it used to be that slab ranches and 2 bedroom construction was the primary focus for a rebuild,  in recent years I’ve seen that even sprawling homes built in the 1980’s are the target for teardowns!

People want ‘new,’ and in Boston to find ‘new’ is nearly impossible since the land is but all built out.

So popular towns, like Wellesley, Needham, Newton and other communities typically with good school systems and within easy commuting distance to Boston, are the targets of choice for buyers looking to find the perfect location to build their dream house.

And while many towns have tried to deal with the popularization of “McMansions” being built in some areas, which can squeeze out those on fixed incomes who’ve lived in these communities their entire lives;

List of numbered routes in Massachusetts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

for the most part, the influx of dollars and families is welcome.

Route 128 towns are by far, the most popular for people looking for the right location who realize they might not find the right house.

A recent article by Scott Van Voorhis in the Boston Globe, gives us a look at the current state of what is essentially  “If  You Can Tear It Down, They Will Rebuild It…”

Teardowns on the rise in some communities inside Route 128 – The Boston Globe

…Wellesley also saw demolition permits dip during the recession, down to 38 in 2009. But there has been a steady rebound since then to 46 in 2010, 48 in 2011, and 15 in 2012 as of the middle of last month, according to Meghan Jop, Wellesley’s planning director.

“We have never really seen a falloff in demolitions,” Jop said. “Wellesley is a pretty built out community in terms of new home construction. It is teardown/rebuild that we primarily see.”

– The Boston Globe

Related articles

• South Natick Real Estate Update (bostonkayakguy.wordpress.com)
• Rosé Wine, Ming Tsai, and Wasik’s Cheese…What More Could You Ask For? (bostonkayakguy.wordpress.com)
• US Home-Buying Season Finally Signaling Recovery (bostonkayakguy.wordpress.com)
• The best streets to live in Greater Boston (boston.com)
• Goodbye, Million-Dollar Starter Home. Hello, Half-Million-Dollar Teardown (reason.com)
• Wellesley’s new high school cost $115M (myfoxboston.com)
• Move to Boston if You Want to Solve Real Problems, Says Bain Capital VC (bostinno.com)

US Home-Buying Season Finally Signaling Recovery

Panorama of Boston (USA).. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

US home-buying season is finally signaling a recovery.   In many parts of the country, including thriving areas of Boston, Dallas and Seattle, confidence is rising along with prices…

US home-buying season finally signaling a recovery.

Related articles

• In Lucky Housing Markets, Bidding Wars Are Back (businessweek.com)
• South Natick Real Estate Update « BostonKayakGuy John Prescott…Wellesley Natick Needham & Metrowest Real Estate
• Where to Find Unique Eats in Boston (apartmentguide.com)

Open House Spactacular Sunday 3/4, 1:30-3:30 SOUTH NATICK

First Open House

SUNDAY 4/4, 1:30-3:30

18 Farm Hill Road, South Natick

$749,000

11 Room, 4/5 Bedroom, 3.5 bath home set on nearly an acre of wooded hillside with beautiful sunset views. Updated cherry, granite, and stainless kitchen. First floor master bedroom suite. Gleaming hardwood floors, central vacuum, and lawn irrigation are but a few of the amenities.

Natick’s Star Realtor John Prescott interviewed by Host Chris Devin on Talk Radio 1120AM, Sunday 2:00

Top Realtor John Prescott Guests On 'Money Matters' Sept. 4

Want to learn more about all that Natick has to offer?

Looking for advice on buying, selling, or financing your home?

Tune in on Sunday, September 4, 2011, to 1120AM Radio as host Chris Devin interviews local Realtor, JOHN PRESCOTT, Vice President at Century 21 Commonwealth.  JOHN can be reached at  508-523-9252.

Needham Public Schools Calendar 2011 – 2012

Needham Public Schools Open September 8

 

Needham Public Schools will ring in the 2011 – 2012 on September 8th!

9/8 – – All Schools Open
9/9    First Day of Kindergarten
9/9    Preschool Orientation

 

9/12    First Day of Preschool & KASE

 

 

The full academic calendar for 2011 – 2012 can be found here:  Needham Public Schools

*courtesy Needham Public Schools