Red Sox Have Chance to Play Spoiler - And Salvage some Pride

Miserable is an effective characterization about the Sox. They weren't just terrible. They were unlikeable, at times unknowable, and at times simply unwatchable.

And yet, here at the end, they can redeem themselves perhaps, at some level. They can beat the Yankees on the road, and help give the Orioles the division win - and really hurt NY's chances at another series appearance.

Yes, the Orioles. An unlikely contender if there ever was one. With just a +8 differential in runs, (vs. the Yankees and TB tied at +112) the team comes down the stretch toe-to-toe with the Yankees at 91 wins. Their pitching does have some live arms, but statistically is in the middle of the pack, while their hitting is actually worse - except they have manage to slug their way to 91 wins, with over 200 HRs. Should the Orioles pull it out, the Yankees will be forced into a one game playoff, and if you haven't been watching, they haven't been playing so well either. They have steadily fallen from what looked like an easy trip to the pennant, as injuries, lack of pitching, and less than stellar all-star play from their perennial all-stars. The Yanks would be far from a lock in that game - and could be dispatched quickly this year.

A Sox's fan consolation is we can contribute, by beating the Yankees in the last games of the year, and hoping that the Orioles keep their improbable stretch going to deprive the Yankees (and Tampa) of their division.

Go Sox.

No, it's not too early to start talking about next year

Still, it's fair to wonder what could have been. As I mentioned a couple of post ago, I thought that the end of the Sox season had a chance of being an extended audition for next years players. So quickly, here's some winners and losers based on 2012.

Winners

David Ortiz

Despite his nagging injuries, he hit like a champ, and with reduced payroll and reduced star power on the roster, the Sox need him more than they have the past few seasons. Look for the two year deal to happen quickly.

Will Middlebrooks

His power and plate presence will make sure that sox don't take him out of the lineup. Let's hope that broken wrist won't get him on the injury train like so many of the sox.

Cody Ross

Took to Fenway like a fish in a pond. His average outfielder numbers obscure that he didn't shy away from the big moment, and was a threat from the right side.

Mauro Gomez

Mauro outhit James Loney, acquired in the Dodgers trade, easily. Welcome to the bench James, if you don't get traded by February.

J. Tazawa

Proved he belongs at the top level, and looked good doing it. Can you say 8th inning lock down guy?

Franklin Morales

He ran out of gas at the end of the year, but he could be a good end of the rotation starter.

Losers

Leaving out the obivous losers this year (those who got traded), here are some other guys who probably wore out their welcome.

Dice-K

Sometimes, you just need to move on. I think he'll have a great career somewhere else.

Saltalmacchi

Failed to lock down the catcher spot. Lavarnway failed to impress when he got called up, but the door will be open next year.

Mike Aviles

Just doesn't take enough pitches or hit well enough to hang around a club that needs to compete.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Another year, another set of injuries. Hurt his market value immeasurably because he can't stay on the field. And really, didn't hit like the near MVP he was last year when he was on the field, which hurt him equally.

Daniel Bard

What happened here? No useful explanation has been given for his drop in velocity, either as a starter or reliever.

Alferedo Aceves

Talented. Cares a great deal. But too volatile for club house that needs to get it's sh** together.

There's this website I found call Houzz. It has some really great content on there. I know a picture can speak 100 words, and I can never find the right picture when I need to. I'm going to try to build some pages here of good ideas. Here's one of the simplest - Paint! These examples I thought were good examples of how the best color schemes work TOGETHER. Don't pick out your paint colors one at a time! They are a set of complementary and accent colors that will give your spaces the feel that will help them sell (or help you feel at home.).

Note this works like a slideshow!! If you look up above you'll see small circles and arrows at the bottom of the photo. Clicking on those will move the slideshow along. I've organized it to show a picture of the palette in use next to the palette itself. (Each little circle represents a slide). Click and see!

Matt

Things looking HOT for Home Sellers in Most of MetroWest

I know because I keep getting asked about it. There are some of you who still aren't sure if the real estate market is "better". IT IS!

Below is an update of the my ranking from June (not too long ago) for the hottest towns. June reflected some early spring sales, and looked OK, but this report has all the June and July Closing for almost all the towns. Let's look!

I know, I know, shocker Natick is still at the top. This is a ranking of my Hot Seller Index, the (HSI) a single number for each town that tries to capture both the IMBALANCE of buyers and sellers, as well as HOW FAST properties are selling. The nice part about an index is you can average it, and when you average this group of towns, you get an average HSI of 94. 94 is a record for sure, but more impressive is that we came up from an average HSI of just 79. That means that we jumped 15 points in just three months. That kind of demand means we will be seeing price increases - unless rates start heading up, and head up high enough to put a damper on prices. But with rents soaring, it will take a lot of headwinds at this point to reverse the tide.

Home Selling Trends and Buyer Behavior in Massachusetts

So what's the trend we're seeing? At first blush, it might look like a simple East Vs. West phenomena, and for the most part I think that's right. People are moving to improve their commutes, and are willing to pay premiums, or accept less desirable housing, to get to rails and close to the Pike. That's an underlying trend that drives prices across all of Metrowest, but what we're seeing here is that buyers are seeing value in the towns that have the best commutes to Boston, and are moving aggressively to take advantage of that (that maybe why Sudbury has cooled off). We'll see if price appreciation dampens that somewhat going forward, but for now I think the market has room to run. Up Next: Prices people are paying in Metrowest by town.

Best-

Matt

The Worcester Homes For Sale Market Report

You want evidence of a housing recovery? I have it in the Worcester report.

Historically, Real Estate Markets have been intensely local. In fact, there have been precious few moments in our history where the entire real estate market in the country declined at the same time. Of course, one of those was in this decade, but it should be noted that such large correlations were rare. One of the things which I try to emphasize, and demonstrate here on the blog, is that the market can vary quite a bit just from town to town at any one point in time, and that buyers and sellers can use that information to their advantage.

Which brings me to the point: Worcester, due to it's size, scope, and the amount of "bad" loans that were written at the very peak of the market, has consistently been one of the worst markets in Metrowest/Central mass for sellers. It was so bad, that there were times I doubted that I would really see "demand" in the numbers. But, over the last few reports, I noted that their seemed to be a change brewing, and folks, it's here. Let's look.

Can't see the chart? Click here

For illustrative purposes, I'm showing data much back than I have on the other reports, this goes all the way back to November of 2010. It doesn't look too bad back that far, until you remember all those numbers were "juiced" with the home stimulus tax break which we're going to pay for over the coming decades. It's worth noting too, (for you policy buffs) that it worked (people bought houses), until the stimulus ended (and then they stopped). And then things went back to where they were (actually they were worse than they would have been, IMHO,) showing that these fiscal benefits don't have a prolonged effect unless the market mentality is ready for them. (It's feasible the skyrocketing job losses killed whatever recovery momentum was achieved by the stimulus, since most people were freaking out and freaked-out people don't buy houses).

Anywho, look at that houses sold line climb!!    Bottoming out at 357, it's climbed through 640 homes sold in this report. That increase in purchasing has steadily eaten away at the homes on the market, As the homes for sale in Worcester have fallen from almost 700 to just over 500 at the moment. If you want to know what a housing recovery or bottom looks like graphically, this is it!

More proof is in the $/sq foot numbers, showing buyers are paying more for real estate in Worcester. It's climbed to $111, just one shy of the top ($112) since I've been tracking, up from a low of $108. Although prices have a long way to climb to get back to the top, the bottom has come and gone. Worcester is no longer a declining market, in fact with an HSI of 90, it is a SELLERS MARKET.

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

• There are 503 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 641 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 381 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 151 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 139 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Worcester is $111 (vs. $107 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $173521 for sold homes.
• Worcester has 40 properties (vs. 44) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Worcester has 98 properties (vs. 113) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Worcester “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 90 Last Report: 78

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

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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.

Condo Complex is a Symbol that Housing has a Long Way to Go for Builders

Recently, the Fafard Builders complex, Village of the Americas, had a fairly unflattering piece written in the Metrowest Daily News. The piece commented that the project has failed to be completed in a timely fashion, and that several development promises have been executed at a much lower level than expected.

I'm sure the builders never anticipated that they'd still be here, but the builders of large developments like these got in a real pickle - they had a hard time lowering prices in synch with the new market prices to keep the sales coming. Instead, they are stuck trying to sell units at premium prices, which most buyers today won't pay, no matter how many amenities the builders throw in. With prices down in Ashland between 15-20% from the peak, it will still be some time before the complex will recover price wise, despite the recent improvements in the market.

So the developers are stuck - build the units very slowly - alienating residents inch by inch with noise and the unattractive unfinishedness of a complex in development - or drop prices to market level and alienate the existing owners who feel they got stuck paying too much. A hard nut to crack.

The article touches on these elements, but doesn't focus on the root cause of the slowdown, so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

Best-

The Westborough Homes For Sale Market Report

As we head further east for the next report, we see the pattern that has hit much of Metrowest - a big buying binge. The flurry this spring pushed Westborough almost to the HSI of 100 - but it fell just short. Hopefully this means a number of you jumped in to Westborough and took advantage of the temporary price drop. Because it's over. Like a undervalued stock, towns heat up when they get too cheap, and Westborough has just been on a tear.

The Solds have really jumped, as you can see in the graph. This has made the market much tougher for buyers, and I can attest it's pretty well picked over. There's still some good properties, but they aren't cheap! $/sq foot has jumped back up to $185, showing buyers have really stepped on the gas the last few months, and with the active number of homes for sale in the 70's, that's not like to put much pressure on Sellers.

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

• There are 78 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 123 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 79 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 119 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 111 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Westborough is $186 (vs. $171 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $453,349 for sold homes.
• Westborough has 2 properties (vs. 2) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Westborough has 4 properties (vs. 9) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Westborough “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 99 Last Report: 94

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

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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 Upton Homes For Sale Market Report

There's some interesting data in Upton in this report. At a high-level, things look better, with the HSI jumping to the low seventies from 62 in the last report. But the low 70's still indicates a buyers market, or at best a neutral market for desirable properties. The number of homes for sale is up and sales have not kept pace.

However, that's not the only interesting trend. The prices in Upton are actually up - a record since we've been tracking - to $157, a good jump from $153. How can the market look soft, yet support higher prices? This contradictory data shows an insight in to the mind of the buyer - and why not all buyers are created equal. I would surmise that there were several people who were "Upton committed" - buyers for whom Upton was the only town they were really looking at. We see this a lot in towns, as people switch houses, but desire to keep kids in the same town, but there are other reasons as well. Either way, these buyers were making decisions not based on the "relative" price of the market - which is high - but on the "best available" strategy. They can't wait 6 months for prices to fall - so they make the best deal they can. In this case, the best deals were a little on the pricey side, but the buyers had little choice, and paid what they needed to.

Other buyers, who had more flexibility with location, passed on Upton this spring, leaving the town with too much inventory, and sellers who will be cutting prices this fall.

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

• There are 59 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 41 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 25 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 185 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Upton is $157 (vs. $153 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $359,281 for sold homes.
• Upton has 1 properties (vs. 1) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Upton has 0 properties (vs. 0) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Upton “Hot Seller Index” (HSI):72 Last Report: 62

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

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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 Sutton, MA Homes For Sale Market Report

Sutton is still muddling around after a much quieter spring than we've seen in other areas. That might be because sellers have been asking - and getting - better prices, but that process has been slowing down the transaction volumes, leaving the market pretty neutral overall. At first glance, it looks a little soft, but with 10 pendings about to hit the numbers, Sutton is in better shape than the baseline numbers would show.

Sutton has one of the more stable historical charts we've seen in the past year. HSI numbers have remained in the low seventies pretty steady. Prices have jumped off the lows, but haven't hit the highs yet. It takes a while for prices to "move West", as we've seen with Natick leading the way in these reports, and other towns following.

One surprising development is the really high ratio of short-sales and foreclosures in Sutton. With 16 out of the 59 properties, that's over 25% bank impacted inventory. That tells you a couple of things - Lots of people in Sutton are still under water, and bank impacted properties are not moving very fast. These homes are going to keep a lid on prices and add lots of market time to the numbers for Sutton.

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

• There are 59 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 48 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 33 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 133 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 186 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Sutton, MA is $152 (vs. $145 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $323,329 for sold homes.
• Sutton, MA has 5 properties (vs. 4) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Sutton, MA has 11 properties (vs. 9) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender.
• Sutton, MA “Hot Seller Index” (HSI):76 Last Report: 68

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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 Sudbury Homes For Sale Market Report

Sudbury was soft for a while, but a strong spring tends to cure what ails you, and the spring did that for Sudbury. Let's take a look at the last year graphically.

Can't see the chart? Click here.

Amazingly, the last three months Sudbury buyers pounced and gobbled up 111 homes. That's an impressive number, and pushed the homes for sale down near the low (96) for Sudbury. Not surprisingly, we see prices in Sudbury jumping $9 a sq foot, to a high since we've been tracking at $226. As I was putting the chart together, I looked at the average prices over the last year in Sudbury. They had a low of $596K, and a high of $735K. That's a 20% swing in average prices, and why I hate the statistic of "median prices" or "average prices" as how expensive a market is - it just jumps around too much. The dollars per square foot numbers - my preferred metric - look like this over the last four reports: $220, $213, $217, and todays $226. That's a variance of less than 2.5%, and much more representative of pricing power.

Last note for Sudbury - the bank impacted inventory is almost gone. I expect the inventory for distressed properties to disappear first in expensive towns like Sudbury, and while I don't think we're there yet, it does seem to be awfully thin this month....

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

• There are 111 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 169 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 111 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 129 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 174 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Sudbury is $226 (vs. $217 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $676,410 for sold homes.
• Sudbury has 1 properties (vs 3) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Sudbury has 2 properties (vs.4) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender.
• Sudbury “Hot Seller Index” (HSI):96 Last Report: 76

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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

Ah, another day, another huge jump in the Hot Seller Index for another town. Here we go for Southborough:

I think we're at 6 towns now that are over the important 100 point threshold. In Southborough, sales kept moving, but inventory really stopped coming on. I don't think I've ever seen Southborough below 50 homes on the market before, but we're at 48 here, and falling. Although the average sold price didn't set a record here, the much more important $/sq foot did, almost hitting $200 a square foot. Pretty remarkable that in March, we were looking at a buyers market in Southborough - with just a HSI in the mid-60's. Small towns can shift quickly, and that's what we see here, just as we saw in the last report for Millis.

On the down side, there's 6 out of the 48 homes that are bank-impacted - mostly short-sales here - which is over 12% - a lot - and won't help most buyers as they are avoiding these homes at this point.

As an aside, the recent reports have really made a case for buying early in the spring, as the competition has been much less fierce early on. Buyers should remember that for next year.

Southborough Real Estate For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 48 homes listed as For Sale.
• There have been 92 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 64 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• The Average number of Days on Market was 119 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 206 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Southborough is $198 (vs. $190 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $530,094 for sold homes.
• Southborough has 1 properties (vs. 0) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Southborough has 5 properties (vs. 4) advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
• Southborough “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 108 Last Report: 80

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Requested Posts

• Read this to take care of your driveways and walkways all year round.
• How do I get the seller to pay my closing costs, and is it free money?
• Do I need to upgrade my home’s steam heat system?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Should I get Flood Insurance even if I’m not in a Flood Zone?
• What is a house with a slab basement?
• Should I buy a home with electric heat? How much will my heating bill be with electric heat?

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.