General Index 

Natick Housing Market Statistics Overview

Natick has been a fun town to follow with the market statistics. It's consistently been among the better markets for sellers, and some of the numbers it's posted have just been remarkable, especially when there are still plenty of media outlets that will tell you there are no bright spots in housing. For the doubters, I give you this months report on Natick.

In the last report, I spent some time discussing how hot Natick was. Well, you can take that and add to it. The last report had my "Hot Seller Index" at 121, and we've jumped to a ridiculous new record at 137. Despite the blistering pace that homes were seller, we see that the active to sold homes ratio is almost 1:3 - that means three homes have sold in the last six months for every one home on the market. That's an increase over the last report, and that's further validated by the falling days on market for sold homes, falling to 75 days vs. 79 in the last report.

I'm sure the numbers are a little inflated as some property has likely been pulled for December - a common seller practice during the holidays. Regardless, it's a blistering report for Natick. Buyers need to get very aggressive as properties that are attractive and at good prices are up and sold, even in a fall market that is typically slower. In the last six months, 30 properties - about 15% - have sold at list price or above. Still though, what makes Natick pretty remarkable is that the buyers are buying just about anything, and if they don't like the price they are asking for discounts to get the price where they want it. There were 12 properties that sold for more than 9% off - and those are discounts that are pretty amazing to me. I think it shows that brokers are encouraging sellers to work with whatever deal first walks through the door - and sellers are listening.  The end result is that things are moving in Natick.

Natick Housing Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 73 homes listed (versus 97 in the last home sales report for Natick) as For Sale.
• There have been 200 houses sold (vs. 190) in the last 6 months, and 97 homes sold (vs. 126) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 75 days (vs. 79) for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 130 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Natick is $231
• There was an Average Sold Price of $469,552 for sold homes.
• Natick has 3 properties (vs. 2) advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Natick has 4 properties (vs. 6) advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Natick “Hot Seller Index”: 137 Last Report: 121

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Accessed Posts

• What is a condo fee or HOA fee and what does it pay for?
• What do I need to know about Radon as a Home Buyer?
• 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?
• How do I buy a home if it has a failed septic?
• Investors can make money on foreclosures - can you?
• What should I do if I have high levels of Arsenic in my Private Well?

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.

Millis Housing Market Statistics Overview

Millis has continued to improve, as the Hot Seller Index has moved up to 84, which indicates a neutral market that favors sellers of attractive neighborhood properties. Owners of those homes are seeing traffic, offers and sales.

Millis is a small town, but the data has been quite steady this year. Like many of the towns we have profiled in the last month, we're not seeing new sellers appear - many must have decided to ride it out until next year. In the meantime, the sellers sticking it out will benefit, as limited choices will force motivated buyers in a hurry to make decisions with what is currently on the market.

No change in the foreclosure picture, and still no short-sales on the market in Millis.

Millis Housing Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 32 homes (vs. 43 in the last Millis Home Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 43 houses sold (vs. 43) in the last 6 months, and 21 homes sold (vs. 26) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 133 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 167 days (vs. 197) of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Millis is $171
• There was an Average Sold Price of $335,313 for sold homes.
• Millis has 0 properties advertised (vs. 0) as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Millis has 3 properties advertised (vs. 3) as short sales required by lender .
• Millis “Hot Seller Index”: 84 Last Report: 79

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Accessed Posts

• What is a condo fee or HOA fee and what does it pay for?
• What is a 203K loan, and can it help me fix up a home I want to buy?!
• 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?
• How do I buy a home if it has a failed septic?
• Investors can make money on foreclosures - can you?
• What should I do if I have high levels of Arsenic in my Private Well?

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.

Milford Housing Market Statistics Overview

Milford checks in with a stronger report. This market is tilting towards sellers, and we see strength in virtually every number. The market is still evenly balanced, but if inventory continues to decline and sales continue to improve, it will tip. To review, with 99 active homes, that's pretty tight. Further, sales have continued to rise, so sales are now outpacing actives 5 to 4. Total sales are up, and average market time is down, again showing a buyers willingness to purchase property. Low prices are pulling buyers, with $/sq foot in Milford at $144, that's good value to be near 495 and the pike.

The homes for sale is actually much tighter than the 99 would indicate, as there are 21 homes that are lender driven- either foreclosure or short-sale.  The short-sales are down a bit, and the foreclosures are up a bit, but either way, you're looking at 20 % of the property being controlled by banks and not by sellers.  Many buyers will steer clear of short-sales and foreclosures in this market, leaving just 75 homes for sale in this town of 25,000 people.  That's a recipe for price appreciation folks!

Milford Housing Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 99 homes (vs. 122 in the last Milford Home Sales Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 126 houses sold (vs. 109) in the last 6 months, and 61 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 117 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 142 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Milford is $144
• There was an Average Sold Price of $267,108 for sold homes.
• Milford has 6 properties (vs. 4) advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Milford has 15 properties (vs. 17) advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Milford “Hot Seller Index”: 85 Last Report: 81

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Accessed Posts

• What is a condo fee or HOA fee and what does it pay for?
• What is a 203K loan, and can it help me fix up a home I want to buy?!
• 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?
• How do I buy a home if it has a failed septic?
• Investors can make money on foreclosures - can you?
• What should I do if I have high levels of Arsenic in my Private Well?

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.

Our Most Accessed Posts

• What is a condo fee or HOA fee and what does it pay for?
• What is a 203K loan, and can it help me fix up a home I want to buy?!
• 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?
• How do I buy a home if it has a failed septic?
• Investors can make money on foreclosures - can you?
• What should I do if I have high levels of Arsenic in my Private Well?

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.

This listing on Chestnut Street has the space of a four-level multi level home. This is a very practical home for those who need space on a budget. Large level lot and one car garage help to complete the feature set.

I have this great listing in Ashland at a great price, and those looking for a single family with that needs a little TLC should certainly check it out. 1500-1600 sq feet in Ashland is usually well above 300K, sometimes as much as 350, so it's quite the bargain.

You can see more at the full listing, here

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Medfield Housing Market Statistics Overview

We have Medfield crashing back to earth in this report. After some fairly stunning numbers in the last report, the number of homes sold has cratered - down 50%. That type of buyer demand softening shows up in the other numbers as well, with average days on market up from 102 to 120, we see that sellers are waiting longer.

Now, the market is a far cry from a buyers market. It's quite likely that the rush on sales ate up all the best inventory, and the homes that are left are searching for the prices that they will sell at. The number of sales on the market is actually DOWN, so there's not much choices or new options, a trend we've seen throughout the reports this month. Also, I see a huge number of homes in pending - meaning the next report could be surprisingly robust.

Sellers should be getting ready for a good year next year, and buyers should be aware that January is not too early to start looking in Medfield.

Medfield Housing Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

• There are 70 homes (vs. 74 in the last Medfield Home Sales Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 86 houses sold (vs. 88) in the last 6 months, and 34 homes sold (vs. 65) in the last 3 months.

• There was an Average Market Time of 120 days (vs. 102) for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 168 days of the homes For Sale.
• The Dollars paid per Square Foot in Medfield is $234
• There was an Average Sold Price of $595,852 for sold homes.
• Medfield has 0 properties advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Medfield has 4 properties advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Medfield “Hot Seller Index”: 79 Last Report: 94

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

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Most Accessed Posts

• What is a condo fee or HOA fee and what does it pay for?
• What is a 203K loan, and can it help me fix up a home I want to buy?!
• 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?
• How do I buy a home if it has a failed septic?
• Investors can make money on foreclosures - can you?
• What should I do if I have high levels of Arsenic in my Private Well?

Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of Heisler & Mattson Properties. He has been selling residential real-estate for over 20 years. He has given several talks on real estate, including presentations on first-time buyer tips & tricks, and profiting in real estate investing in Massachusetts. 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.

Valentine Named new Skipper of the Boston Red Sox

Well, that was interesting.

There's been lots of info published about what we can expect from Valentine. Here's my take on this very surprising managerial hire.

Maybe Anyone Can Manage

Ok, maybe not, but without doubt the manager of the Red Sox gets more access to information than probably any other manager in the game, and a team of folks who love spending time figuring out how to use that information. Personally, I agree with the sentiment that managers get too much credit when the team wins, and too much blame when they lose. Having said that, a good manager who has the "feel" of his team seeming can steal wins from time to time, especially in the playoffs. What I hated about Grady Little was I always felt if the game got tight he'd make a colossal blunder, and with Francona, who was so steady and rational, it almost became robotic. He always had a reason, and they were usually good ones. But both guys were capable of getting the team to the post season and winning winable games.  So will the combination of his knowledge and his ability to keep players on edge keep the team at the top of the standings?  We'll see - but probably yes, for a while.

At Least it Won't be Boring!

I don't think anyone believes that Valentine won't be a media darling - at least for a little while. It should be like Parcels part deux. I'll be the first to admit that I used to watch a lot of the post game press conferences- until I figured out that Francona was NEVER going to throw anyone under the bus, NEVER going to be unprepared for a question, and NEVER not be able to give a plausible explanation. Even when he was full of it, you could usually figure out the reason why - who he was covering, who he was protecting. I don't expect Valentine to be lashing out at players or throwing them to the wolves, but he will give the media and the fans more than a few sound bites to chew over, and probably be more likely to show us who's behind the curtain and what they see. Good Stuff.  And hey - at least he hates the Yankees.

Is there a managerial back-up plan?

It is possible that the Sox feel that there's not much risk here - if Valentine doesn't work out, they'll be able to go after a couple of other more acceptable candidates (like John Farrel) when his contract is up. After all, although certainly spry, Bobby V isn't getting any younger, so there could certainly have multiple outs for not spending much time with him. On the other hand, if he meshes with Cherington, the staff, the media, and the team, I'd expect them to ride him as long as he's willing to go - same as Francona.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Hi-

Quick Post so you can find my November Newsletter, or browse past issues.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Recently, President Obama announced an Upgrade to the current refinancing opportunities as provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA .These are a turbo charged version of an earlier program of HARP, or Home Affordable Refinance Program.

An Overview of the New HARP Mortgage Refinance Regulations

The President has been exploring ways to assist homeowners that got crushed in the housing downturn. Some of those are options are open to him without going through Congress, and he pursused those with this expansion of the HARP. A good overview of the basics of the mortgage refi program are here.

What are the key differences between the old and the new Mortgage Refinance Rules

The key differences that have been put in place are that the New Mortgage Refinance Rules don't care about how much you are "underwater" in your mortgage. The old rules put a cap - you could only be underwater 125%. So if your home was worth 200,000, you could refinance $250,000. Now, that "cap" has been removed. The other key differences are that the governments are making it easier for the banks to take the redo the loans, by waiving the necessity of an appraisal, and making the fees cheaper for the home owners. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the program has made it possible for lenders to "compete" for these refinancings, and that could make a big difference in the number that actually happen.

Who Won't be Helped by the Expanded HARP

The program won't help people who aren't current on their loans - so if they've had trouble paying, things won't get any easier. It also doesn't reduce principle on their home, so if they are hoping to move, it won't help them either, at least, not until they pay down the principle, which will take a while. There is a program designed to reduce principle on loans: it's called HAMP, or the Housing Affordable Modification Program, but it has largely been ineffective as most banks have not allowed their customers to qualify for the program. And if you've already used the program, you won't qualify either, but hopefully you've been helped enough.

How many people could be Potentially Helped

The figures the government agencies are  publishing are that 1 million new homeowners could take advantage of the new rules. But it's suspected to be a much smaller number.

How the New Mortgage Refinance Program Will Help Massachusetts Home Owners

Well, I don't have great statistics to back this up, except that in Massachusetts, most homeowners aren't underwater more than 120%. The market is down roughly 20% from the peak, so most homeowners qualified under the original program. So the benefits of the program are going to go to people in Arizona, Nevada, and Florida and other places where real estate is down up to 50% from it's peak.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

The Year of Storms Ends

For weather fanatics, it was quite the year in Metrowest. We had some of the most snow, the deepest ice packs, more ice damning than I can remember probably ever. Blizzard of '78 managed to do a lot of damage over a long three day span, but last winter had the same amount of punch - but it was more like constant jabs instead of a single round-house right. As if that wasn't enough, we had hurricane Irene, AND Snowtober, both events that caused huge amounts of downed limbs and power outages across the state. For long time residents, I think we can all agree the amount of damage and problems was quite a lot for one year. So what are we headed into? Certainly Snow in October is an auspicious start.

Long Range Weather Forecast for 2012

As Thanksgiving looms, and I'm getting the last of the leaves off the lawn, I can't help but begin to wonder what kind of wonderful winter we'll be having. Last year was a doozy, although the forecast was for just a tough start to the winter, (Which we had) it was bad all through February. I know that I was not the only one who was struggling to figure out where I'd put the snow if any more fell.

Winter Forecasted as Typical Weather

This year, the Accuweather Long Range Forecast has us having a typical winter, and happy we don't live in Chicago. I'm only giving them 5 points out of a possible 10 for last year, so I'm certainly a little more skeptical about the accuracy of such predictions. But, every year the technology improves, so we'll see!

The forecast says we'll have storms, some bad storms, and above average snowfall - but not much. They are forecasting another quick start to the season, with snow in December and January. I always seem to hope for a white Christmas and a warm March.

Stay posted!

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler