The Upton Homes For Sale Market Report

Co-incidence or not, Upton looks a lot like the last report. Inventory up slightly, a lot of pending, a little softening on prices the last couple of months - a trend we'll probably see reverse in the next report.

Buyers can get great value in Upton - if you can find what you want. It's a small town, not too many houses available, but the prices - especially when looking at neighbors Hopkinton and Westborough - are really great.

No bank impacted inventory in Upton - it's all gone.

Upton Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 47 homes listed as For Sale in Upton.
• There have been 50 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 27 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 168 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 143 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $152 (vs. $155)
• There was an Average Sold Price of $353,733 for sold homes.
• Upton has 0 properties (vs. 2 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Upton has 0 properties (vs. 1) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Upton “Home Seller Index” (HSI):78  Last Report:87

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS. Note, there will be a some what artificial jump in the rankings as the active status flag is being phased out. (this is a good thing, but will screw up my data sets).

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

To contribute to the people most affected, please visit: http://onefundboston.org/

The Sudbury Homes For Sale Market Report

On to Sudbury! Sudbury agents have been making good use of the active status flag, so this data is still skewed that way - delayed a bit. That means that although on first glance, we might see a good, but softened market, in Sudbury, that is not the case. It is still quite strong.

As we've noted elsewhere, look at the declines in inventory - down about 50% in 18 months - as buyers have appeared and sellers have stayed constant (or decreased in some towns). There are simply not enough houses to go around, and Sudbury - often a first pick for those in Metrowest - has been very active this year, so I expect we'll see price increases in the next report.

Sudbury has been completely depleted of lender owned and foreclosed property, putting further pressure on prices, and an encouraging sign that we are closer to the end of the real estate mess than the beginning. We still have several hurdles to go - the rise in interest rates (they won't stay at 4 forever, you know), the reduction in public or semi- public capital (Fannie and Freddie will see reductions in their holdings that banks will have to fill.) But this is a good start, no mistake.

Sudbury Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 89 homes listed as For Sale in Sudbury.
• There have been 118 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 68 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 155 days for just SOLD homes.

  Warm weather ahead? Hope so.  Glad we avoided snow this weekend.  Sheesh!

• There is an Average Market Time of 130 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $229 (vs. $229 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $704,438 for sold homes.
• Sudbury has 0 properties (vs. 2 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Sudbury has 0 properties advertised as a short-sale (vs. 1) is going to be needed by lender .
• Sudbury “Home Seller Index” (HSI): 88 Last Report: 100

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS. Note, there will be a some what artificial jump in the rankings as the active status flag is being phased out. (this is a good thing, but will screw up my data sets).

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Southborough Homes For Sale Market Report

Well, I'm behind in reports anyway, but I'm going to do a blizzard of them this week, because the active status flag is being phased out and is going to impact my data sets. But only for a while. Let's check Southborough.

Southborough is interesting because even though sales have fallen off, the HSI has actually moved up a bit. Why? Houses are selling faster, especially recently. That demand is impacting prices, as they have moved up over 6% since last year.

Not much bank impacted inventory either, as we see no foreclosures two reports in a row, and short-sales are down by over 50%. That also puts pressure on prices to go up, as bank impacted inventory is usually a laggard price wise.

Southborough Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 48 homes listed as For Sale in Southborough .
• There have been 62 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 40 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 181 days for just SOLD homes.

  April showers bring May flowers? Hey, it could happen - even here.

• There is an Average Market Time of 112 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $203 (vs. $199 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $562,415 for sold homes.
• Southborough has 0 properties advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Southborough has 3 properties, vs 7 in the last report, advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Southborough “Home Seller Index” (HSI): 91 Last Report: 89

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS. Note, there will be a some what artificial jump in the rankings as the active status flag is being phased out. (this is a good thing, but will screw up my data sets).

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Shrewsbury, MA Homes For Sale Market Report

At first blush, one might think the Shrewsbury market is cooling off. And I do think in January and some February, it did just that, as a lack of properties drove the sales numbers quite a bit down (the yellow line on the chart below). The number of homes for sale is technically a bit higher, but many of these homes are pending, meaning the next report is going to show a pretty big blow-out type number.

A number of homes are pending, but don't show up as under agreement in the statistics because they have only been active flagged, which you can read more about here. Other than the slowdown, the market still looks very robust for sellers.

I did notice one other curious thing - the $/sq foot stayed constant at $169, but the houses that were still active were averaging $205 - so that number is going to go up - and fast. We'll see how high, in the next report.

As far as the bank owned inventory, there has been a HUGE drop. With only 6 bank impact properties - vs. 22 last time - that will change things a lot for sellers.

Shrewsbury, MA Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 128 homes listed as For Sale in Shrewsbury, MA .
• There have been 167 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 78 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 136 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 135 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $169 (vs. $170 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $396,370 for sold homes.
• Shrewsbury, MA has 1 properties (vs. 5 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Shrewsbury, MA has 7 properties advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Shrewsbury “Home Seller Index” (HSI):84 Last Report: 103

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS.

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Northborough Homes For Sale Market Report

Well, things have changed a little in Northborough, but not too much - we are still seeing Northborough lag behind some of it's borough brethren.

That means buyers should pay attention, as some of the best values in the area are in Northborough. With popular schools, and a good location, Northborough is surprisingly overlooked, and as a consequence has fallen on a "best values" list more than a couple of times. It's probably there again.

That's not to say the market is stagnant, it is moving, just not as fast as the super hot markets further east. Bank impacts look to be about the same, again, showing a little less upward pressure than elsewhere. In line with that is also that prices are firm, but not heading up as we've seen in many of the recent reports.

Northborough Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 58 homes listed as For Sale in Northborough.
• There have been 76 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 47 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 125 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 135 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged (vs. )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $362,189 for sold homes.
• Northborough has 1 properties (vs. 2 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Northborough has 7 properties (vs. 8) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Northborough “Home Seller Index” (HSI): 91  Last Report:91

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS.

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Northbridge, MA Homes For Sale Market Report

Things in Northbridge for Home Sellers are definitely picking up, as we see the HSI move from an unimpressive 79 to a more encouraging 86. Buyers can still find values in Northbridge, but prices seem to be on the rise. Also, with market time at 145 days, things aren't moving as quickly here, but they are moving.

As we've seen else where, inventory is dropping, sharply since the last report, with the number of homes for sale at it's lowest level in the chart.

A quick note that the days on market for active properties is above 300 days - which looks very scary, but three listings for new construction are at 2000 days plus, and if you take them out, it's at 200 days, which is more representative of the market in general. Sellers in desirable properties that are priced at market will see quick sales, and lots of traffic.

Note the big drop in foreclosures, but short-sales have actually increased a bit. Decreasing foreclosures is a good sign for sellers.

Northbridge, MA Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 61 homes listed as For Sale in Northbridge, MA.
• There have been 91 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 49 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 145 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 300 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $146 (vs. $140 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $293,391 for sold homes.
• Northbridge, MA has 1 properties (vs. 4 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Northbridge, MA has 9 properties (vs. 8) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Northbridge, MA “Home Seller Index” (HSI):86 Last Report: 79

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Statuses in the Massachusetts MLS (multiple Listing Service)

Update:  Naturally, I finally get around to writing this only to find out that the MLS is suspending the active status flag option.  This will inflate all the scores across the towns for the coming months/years, so we will see significant improvement for some time in the scores.

There are several status in the MLS. They are:

NEW--New

ACT--Active

UAG--Under Agreement

BOM--Back on Market

SLD--Sold

There are some others (rented, withdrawn, expired) that aren't all that important for home seekers. But there is one status that is important: Active Flagged. Let's look at the list again.

NEW--New

ACT--Active

ACT--Active Flagged

UAG--Under Agreement

BOM--Back on Market

SLD--Sold

Notice, that the 3 letter "key" to the status is the same for active, and active flagged. That's a problem.  Let's look at what it's supposed to mean/operate, and what it actually does.

NEW--New - Home is "new" to the market.

ACT--Active - Home is active and for sale

ACT--Active Flagged - Home has an accepted offer and is pending, but is still accepting back up offers.

UAG--Under Agreement - Home has an accepted offer and is pending, but is no longer looking for back up offers.

BOM--Back on Market - Home was pending, but the deal did not stay together, and the house is back on the market.

SLD--Sold - Buyer and Seller have finalized the transaction (closed).

OK, so let's get to the heart of the matter.

Q: Can I see a house that is active flagged an buy it?

A: No. You may be able to see it (but not often). You can write an offer on it. But the seller can NOT accept your offer until their original deal has fallen apart. Typically, this doesn't happen often, so there is not much point to even seeing a home that has been flagged. Scheduling showings on these homes is often difficult (not always, but often) as the sellers are no longer motivated to sell their home. Generally, it makes little sense to write a back-up offer - in my opinion - as all it really does is limit the buyer's flexibility.

Q: How can I tell if a house has been flagged?

A: Well, you need to know where to look. Most MLS's across the country are the same, but to my knowledge, only MA has the active status flag. The problem with that is that the NATIONAL websites of listings - Trulia.com, Zillow.com, and Realtor.com (among others), do not have a way to display the flag. So properties that have been flagged show up as Active. This is VERY Confusing to buyers!! You can tell if you have access to a system that is designed to work specifically with MLS, like the one we have at Heisler & Mattson, as they are designed to handle the flag. It's handled differently in different systems, but if you are looking in MA, I strongly suggest using one of them, because so many properties (up to 50% in some towns) are active flagged, and not active.

Thanks for reading!

The Natick Homes For Sale Market Report

Can an Home Seller Index of 147 be beat? It can't right? right?

Wrong. It can. Natick has pushed through to 150 (OK, I'll say it, it HAS to come down next report). Meaning things are even crazier. But prices are starting to move, and quickly. Last year at this time, we were looking at $228 a square foot. We're not at $241 a square foot, almost a 6% jump in a year. I have a hard time thinking prices will keep moving up at that pace, but they may. Home buyers are still signaling that Natick is a bargain, but I'm not sure how much longer that will persist.

Home sellers should still be testing prices in this market, especially in the early spring. It's great to sell in a weekend, but this is a market where you could be leaving money on the table by being to low.

Unlike some other towns, Natick actually had less inventory last year - by two houses - but lets be honest, 59 houses on the market for a town of Natick's size just isn't very much. Home buyers will continue to find it a difficult market, with competitive bids on many houses.

Natick Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 59 homes listed as For Sale in Natick.
• There have been 187 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 102 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 83 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 106 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $241 (vs. $235 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $512,858 for sold homes.
• Natick has 1 properties (vs. 1 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Natick has 4 properties (vs. 4) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Natick “Home Seller Index” (HSI):150 Last Report: 147

More Great Reads!

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.

The Millis Homes For Sale Market Report

At first blush, one might see the declining (sharply!) HSI and declare that Millis has cooled off. But as we know, you can't keep

selling houses if there are none to sell, and ultimately the market ran out of steam because there are not enough houses to keep the

terrific sales numbers we saw last year going.

Besides, Millis is a very small town, with limited inventory, so it is more normal for their numbers to jump around. Nevertheless, the market is more neutral at this point, with balance between buyers and sellers.

No change on the bank inventory, so we'll see how many seller come to Millis. Prices have not seen the upward push that we've seen in other towns, so buyers may want to put Millis on their list - their could be well-priced houses.

Millis Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 21 homes listed as For Sale in Millis.
• There have been 28 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 11 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 137 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 135 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
• The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $176 (vs. $180 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $325,170 for sold homes.
• Millis has 0 properties (vs. 0 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Millis has 3 properties (vs. 3 in the last report) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Millis “Home Seller Index” (HSI):140 Last Report: 82

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS.

Our Most Requested Posts

• Massachusetts Property Tax Rates by Town
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• What is pre-paid PMI, and is it a good deal?
• Should I use a buyer agent to buy a home? How does a buyer agent help me?
• Homestead laws have been improved for Home Owners! Read about your new options.
• When Should I do a Lead Paint Test on my Home
• Which is better, 2x4 or 2x6 home construction?

About Matt Heisler

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of this website. He has been selling homes in MA for buyers and sellers for over 20 years. He is an expert in foreclosure purchases, short-sale purchases, short-sale sales, buy and hold investing, fix and flip investing, and of course traditional residential home sales. He is happy to take questions as they pertain to real estate on Title V, Radon, Termites, Sump Pumps, Roofs, Foundations, Wells, Septic Systems, Cash-Flow, Staging, and a host of other housing issues. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community.

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.