Which towns are the best for home sellers? For home buyers

It's that time again, time to revisit the "heat map" of where buyers are focusing. Let's take a look. (Interested in old reports? Just go here).

How have things changed? Well not too much - but there are some elements worth noting.

Natick Leads the Pack for Home Sellers - Again - but rising prices may cut

into it's two year status as the hottest market in Metrowest.

• Top four stay the same

The top four towns stayed hot all season: Natick, Framingham, Westborough and Hopkinton. A little interesting that Westborough went through a "mini" slump in between Hot Town reports, but it remains a place buyers will go.

• Sudbury moves up; Millis drops

Sudbury has started to climb back up, but stays in the middle of the pack, surprising for Sudbury, which usually remains at the top. Millis is a small town, and more volatile, but it's drop was pretty noticeable.

• Natick is a Real Estate Juggernaut

Forget that Natick is at the top again. Look by how much! There isn't another town with in striking distance of Natick in either report. Listing agents are getting the hint (finally), and I see asking prices have moved WAY up this spring. If buyers keep purchasing property, we'll see Natick making big jumps in our next report - $/ sq. foot.

• Worcester remains in the middle, Milford stays good for sellers.

 There are usually forerunners in price increases and laggards. Milford and Worcester tend to follow the overall market when it comes to price increases, but at some point the value becomes undeniable. That's what we've seen here, as both towns put up solid scores in back to back report. That's called a bottom folks, when the lagging markets start selling again. If the homes for sale in these markets (and other laggards) continue to tighten, it will be the tide that rises all boats in Metrowest. Keep an eye on it!

• Remember, the towns at the bottom will have deals for buyers!

What I love about this view of the market is ANY town can get hot and go for a run.  If buyers focus on the "cold" towns, they have a better chance of getting great deals, and will benefit when the town goes on a run.  For sellers, if you're in a hot town, and want to sell, now's the time.  Move while the buyers are focusing on your town.

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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.

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

It's always fun when you get to sell a home multiple times in different markets.

The latest home we've done that for is 10 Parker. We sold it the first time in the "dark days" of the real estate market. Glad that's over!

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The home has an awful lot of space for the price, and I'm sure the new owners will have great luck there!

Thanks for letting us sell it for you-

Heisler & Mattson Properties

The Worcester Homes For Sale Market

The market continues to improve in Worcester. The numbers have a lot of hidden pendings (over 150 homes that will likely be in the sold column by the next report) so things are even better than the HSI indicates, just up 4. Things are moving in Worcester! But prices remain flat, and it may take several more months, and a reduction in the lender impacted inventory, for things to improve noticeably. Buyers will have to be more aggressive, as the homes in the best condition are getting noticed, and getting sold.

In fact, when we look at the lender impacted homes, we see no change in the overall status - foreclosures for sale and short-sales are essentially the same - showing that they are coming on as fast as they are coming off. These homes typically sell at discounts to the overall market, and they will keep a lid on prices. Watch them closely in the next report, see if we can start to see them fall.

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

• There are 559 homes (vs. 515 in the last Worcester Homes for Sale Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 551 houses sold (vs. 520) in the last 6 months, and 352 homes sold (VS. 286) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 165 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 160 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Worcester is $107 (vs. $108 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $161,599 for sold homes.
• Worcester has 44 properties (VS. 41) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Worcester has 113 properties (VS. 117) advertised as a shortsale is going to be needed by lender .
• Worcester “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 78 Last Report: 74

*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?
• What do I need to know about Heat Pumps? Will they save me money?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Is it a bad idea to buy a house near power lines? Is it safe to buy a house near high tension powerlines?
• What is the Case-Schiller Index?
• 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.

Overview of the Westborough Housing Market

As noted in the last report, prices had fallen fairly significantly in Westborough probably due to the tax rate, but there's usually a point at which the market gets cheap enough where people overlook such things, and Westborough has found that point. Sales exploded since the last report, and as a result the Westborough Hot Seller Index jumped from 75 up to 95. The last three months in particular have seen a wave of purchasing, probably as buyers who were focusing further east found the selection and prices they wanted in Westborough. Prices have not, however, risen, despite all the activity, but it will be interesting to see if that trend too starts to move upward. There are still many home sales pending that have yet to hit the final numbers.

Once again we see short-sales up and foreclosures steady, as sellers and agents are clearly expressing more optimism that these deals can get done at these levels. Short-sales will keep a lid on prices a bit, but there's really not enough in Westborough for them to have anything but a minor effect.

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

• There are 81 homes listed (vs. 67 in the last Westborough Homes for Sale Report) as For Sale.
• There have been 95 houses sold (vs. 67) in the last 6 months, and 74 homes sold (vs. 35) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 130 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 119 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Westborough is $171 (vs. $171 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $379,793 for sold homes.
• Westborough has 1 properties (vs. 1) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Westborough has 3 properties (vs. 1) advertised as a shortsale is going to be needed by lender .
• Westborough “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 95 Last Report: 75

*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?
• What do I need to know about Heat Pumps? Will they save me money?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Is it a bad idea to buy a house near power lines? Is it safe to buy a house near high tension powerlines?
• What is the Case-Schiller Index?
• 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.

Overview of the Upton Housing Market

Upton has had a nice bounce back to get us back on the path of improving local Home Selling markets, where we see a jump in the HSI to 72. But there's some interesting elements in this report that show that Upton is a market divided, and although some towns have a pretty clear story to tell, the picture in Upton is more muddled. First off, there's a clear imbalance between sellers and buyers - and only a limited number of pending homes that will fall through in the next report. There are too many sellers for the number of transactions. Normally, we'd see high market times for Sold homes, but that's not what we see: At just 108 Days on market for the average Upton sale, that indicates a market that should be much higher than an HSI of 72 - we usually don't see that unless we're in the high 80's to 90's. But then there's the average market time for actives at 174 days - almost six months.  That shows that sellers who are too high in price or don't offer enough features are sitting waiting for their buyers. But we do see that the buyers in Upton have been motivated - pushing up the $/sq foot back to $153.

So what to make of it? Well, what I see is that when the highly desirable stuff comes on, buyers jump on it, but there are a number of sellers who aren't that motivated - or who aren't aware that there is too many homes and not enough buyers based on Upton's track record. So, some home sellers get it, and some don't. That's going to get some pretty frustrated for sure.

Just one comment on Upton's distressed inventory: There isn't any! No short-sales, which I think is the first time that we haven't had any in a town since I started keeping track. One foreclosure, but that's hardly anything to write about. So I won't.

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

• There are 57 homes (vs. 31 in the last Upton Real Estate Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 32 houses sold (vs. 27) in the last 6 months, and 21 homes sold (vs. 13) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 108 days (vs. 127) 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 Upton is $153 (vs. $144 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $320,339 for sold homes.
• Upton, MA has 1 properties (vs. 1) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Upton has 0 properties advertised (vs. 2) as a shortsale 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.

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?
• What do I need to know about Heat Pumps? Will they save me money?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Is it a bad idea to buy a house near power lines? Is it safe to buy a house near high tension powerlines?
• What is the Case-Schiller Index?
• 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.

Overview of the Sutton, MA Housing Market

After a string of real solid, improving reports, Sutton shows that not all Metrowest is burning brighter for Home Sellers. Home Buyers should take note, Sutton seems to have sputtered a bit, as the number of homes for sale is a little crowded based on market demand. Sutton does tend to be a later spring market, but the numbers are largely all in one direction - down - for home sellers, in this report. It's not much, but it's enough. $/ sq foot is down another $7, and has now fallen $10 in the last two reports. That a pretty steep move. Let's see why:

The distressed inventory may hold some clues here. Foreclosures are up only slightly (1 unit), but short-sales are up almost double.  Clearly, some folks are hurting and need to get out of Sutton, and are hoping the tighter real estate market will help them out. But with such motivated sellers - who stand to gain nothing no matter what price their home sells at - that's sure to put pressure on prices of both short-sales and non-short sales. With 13 of the 57 homes for sale qualifying as distressed inventory, about 22%, that puts enormous pressure on the market. Sutton may see relief if these homes move off the market, but right now, it's an issue.

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

• There are 57 homes (vs. 39 in the last Sutton Real Estate Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 38 houses sold (vs. 38) in the last 6 months, and 23 homes sold (vs. 20) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 162 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 163 days (vs. 203) of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Sutton, MA is $145 (vs. $152)
• There was an Average Sold Price of $296,118 for sold homes.
• Sutton has 4 properties (vs. 3) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Sutton has 9 properties advertised (vs. 4) as a shortsale is going to be needed by lender .
• Sutton, MA “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 68 Last Report: 73

*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?
• What do I need to know about Heat Pumps? Will they save me money?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Is it a bad idea to buy a house near power lines? Is it safe to buy a house near high tension powerlines?
• What is the Case-Schiller Index?
• 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.

One of my oldest customers returned to have me sell his home. Not an easy sale either, tricky house, tricky mortgage on the buy side that took too long to get through underwriting. But it closed, and at the end, that's what's important.

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Hopefully we'll be posting their purchase soon!

Matt Heisler

Overview of the Sudbury, MA Housing Market

OK, so how are we doing on the prediction front? In the last report, I predicted an Seller Index in the 70's, which we did get here at 76. It'll jump again in the next report to the 80's, as about 25% of the market is pending and will flow through the numbers in the next report. Also I've noted that I expect to see $/sq foot rising, as the spring sales numbers come in, and we see that here as well, moving $4/ sq foot. The average sold price is up almost 20%, but as noted - average sales price and median sales prices are poor indicators of value on a per town basis. (That's why I talk about them so little). Still, it's not really a great report. Market time is still quite high, and I think we see some folks reaching in Sudbury - and not getting what they want. They must be going to Natick!

No shadow-inventory to report here. Short-sales and foreclosures are steady, and represent a small segment of the market. Relative to other towns, Sudbury has been doing just fine in this area.

Sudbury, MA Real Estate For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 168 homes (vs. 118 in the last Sudbury home sales report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 117 houses sold (vs. 84) in the last 6 months, and 87 homes sold (vs. 40) in the last 3 months. 
• There was an Average Market Time of 154 days (vs. 150) for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 133 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Sudbury is $217 (vs. $213 )
• There was an Average Sold Price of $673,047 for sold homes.
• Sudbury has 3 properties (vs 2) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
• Sudbury has 4 properties (vs. 4) advertised as a shortsale is going to be needed by lender .
• Sudbury “Hot Seller Index” (HSI): 76 Last Report: 64

*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?
• What do I need to know about Heat Pumps? Will they save me money?
• Will Solar Panels add Value to my Home and build Equity?
• Is it a bad idea to buy a house near power lines? Is it safe to buy a house near high tension powerlines?
• What is the Case-Schiller Index?
• 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.

Red Sox gain Ground, play better through Injuries

It seems silly to talk about a teams improvement when they remain in the cellar of their division. And that's where the Red Sox are so let's not glamourize it. They are in last place, fifth, the doorstops of the AL East. And yet....

And yet they 11 of their last 15. And yet their outfield only contains a quality major league player when Adrian Gonzales is playing in Right. And yet Gonzales has yet to hit in any way shape or fashion. And yet their two best relievers - on paper - have made only three appearances. And yet Buckholz is having his worst season of his career. And yet Dice-K isn't back yet.

That's a lot of things that have yet to go right for this team. And they are just hanging around, hanging around. Scratching out wins against the Rays and Orioles. Sure, they are only .500. But according to ESPN's RPI of MLB, guess which teams have had the toughest schedule to date? Red Sox, Orioles, Rays and Jays are 1 through 4, respectively, in the Strength of Schedule. (Yankees are sixth). Here's another interesting stat: the AL East is the only division in baseball where every team has a positive run differential (they have scored more than they have given up). -The AL East is a tough place to play, for sure. The margins of victory will be slim and the division will be close all year - none of these teams is going away.

Fortunately, we are at the point in the season where we'll be playing lots of other teams. And that should be a good time to get healthy. But at the two month mark, we can see how things are shaping up for each of the teams. So let's take a quick spin around the division, which I'll bet will go right down to the last day in September.

Orioles at the top, could be a long way down

The doormats of the AL East for too many years, Showalter and Duquette must be chortling with glee. A bullpen full of live arms, surprising starting pitching, and clutch hitting have the Birds 6-2 in extra inning games - a trend few teams can sustain for long. With such a young team, it would not surprise me if the Orioles began to be exposed a bit as we go along, and the scouting reports on their players get a little more robust.

Tampa Bay Rays like it Close

Posting an 11-4 mark in 1-run games are the Rays. Just as last year's team survived - even thrived - by playing low-scoring, grind it out games, this year's team is doing the same. But this year the injury bug has bitten the Rays, and if they don't get healthy soon, I expect things to get tougher for them. They are resilient though, they'll be there at the end.

Yankees In The Middle - Can they Improve

This is a confusing team in the Bronx this year. Each element of their team shows promise - and problems. Texieria is second on the team in RBI's but has a woeful .762 OPS. A-Rod is little better at just .802. One has to wonder if the Yankees are already regretting the trade of their star catching prospect as Russell Martin is hitting just .177, although he is drawing walks. On the one hand, you could say they have no where to go but up - but this is not a good line-up right now, at least, not the mashers we have come to expect to see from the Yankees. As for the bullpen, without Rivera, they aren't the same team, that's a fact. Robertson picked an ill time to get hurt, so the depth at the back end will get tested in the second half for sure. And the pitching, which looked so good in April on paper, is demonstrating just how hard it can be to trade or develop starters that will be successful in the East. Kuroda, Hughes, and Nova have the Yankees searching for a number 2 to CC's number 1. Phelps has been promising, but hard for Rookies to dominate in today's MLB.

Toronto -The bear waits for a poke from a stick

Can you say spoiler? I don't doubt that the contenders in the East will play each other tough - close to .500 when it's all said and done- but the teams focus against the Jays could determine who wins the East. Toronto has too much talent to take lightly, and they'll be able to fly under the radar and steal games from everyone else. Probably not enough to take the division, but enough to hurt some teams trying to make up ground.

Should be very interesting to see who gets the hottest as we go through interleague - the best teams will need to win a lot of series to be there for the home stretch.

Best

Congratulations to the new owners of this lovely home in Berlin!

Behind every sale is a story, and this one had more than a couple, some good, some no so good. But we managed to move past the issues.

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We wish them well!

Matt