General Index 

Analysis of Sudbury Housing Market Statistics

Sudbury has cooled off slightly, and is not seeing the same demand as Natick and some other really hot towns. This is largely due to the larger than expected number of homes for sale. But don't read much into that, the market is pretty healthy, showing a huge jump in the average sale price, which demonstrates solid sales across all price levels of an expensive town of Metrowest. The days on market for actives is starting to get a little long - and momentum is showing softening as we head into fall - so there should be a good round of price changes coming up. As noted before, the sub 700K market in Sudbury is much stronger than the luxury and Million Plus market. Buyers need to be more aggressive with seeing and bidding on property in the lower levels in Sudbury as there is much more competition.  No real change in the foreclosure or short-sale numbers.

Sudbury Housing Market Statistics - Raw Data

• There are 141 homes (vs. 137 in the last Sudbury Homes Sales Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 127 houses sold (vs. 123) in the last 6 months, and 82 homes (vs 90) sold in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 159 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 161 days of the homes For Sale.
• There was an Average Sold Price of $735,284 for sold homes.
• Sudbury has 3 properties advertised (vs. 2) as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Sudbury has 8 properties advertised (vs. 7) as short sales required by lender .
• Sudbury “Hot Seller Index”: 76 Last Report: 80

*All statistics are for Single Family Homes.

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Top Articles

• 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?
• I need a house cheap! Is a home foreclosure or an REO property the right way to go?
• 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.

Analysis of Southborough Housing Market Statistics

Southborough continues to improve for sellers, as buyers struggle with the options available. For the most part, the sellers and buyers have kept pace with each other, but the buyers are chipping away at the home for sale, and now Southborough has just 75 properties available. 77 houses sold in the last six months is probably the best pace in several years, but it'll slow a bit now that the fall is here - and sellers aren't moving much inventory on the market.

Southborough Housing Market Statistics - Raw Data

• There are 75 homes listed as For Sale (vs. 85 in the last Southborough Home Sales Report).
• There have been 77 houses sold (vs. 64) in the last 6 months, and 51 homes sold in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 134 days (vs. 151) for just SOLD homes.

• There is an Average Market Time of 155 days of the homes For Sale.
• There was an Average Sold Price of $551,342 for sold homes.
• Southborough has 1 properties (vs. 1) advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Southborough has 4 properties (vs. 2) advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Southborough “Hot Seller Index”: 82 Last Report: 78

*All statistics are for Single Family Homes.

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Top Articles

• 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 tention powerlines?
• I need a house cheap! Is a home foreclosure or an REO property the right way to go?
• 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.

Analysis of Shrewsbury Housing Market Statistics

Shrewsbury has improved for sellers.  This neutral market has gotten a little tighter for buyers.  Active days on market is falling, showing less pressure on sellers to cut prices, and average prices are up - showing buyers are willing to pay a bit more as well.  There's still not enough inventory to suggest that Shrewsbury is a sellers market, but buyers be warned - properties in good condition in good locations will generate a lot of activity and move quickly if priced right.

Shrewsbury Housing Market Statistics - Raw Data

• There are 212 homes (vs. 212 in the last Shrewsbury Home Sales Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 173 houses sold (vs. 136) in the last 6 months, and 113 homes sold (vs. 95) in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 132 days (vs. 155) for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 162 days of the homes For Sale.
• There was an Average Sold Price of $395,613 for sold homes.
• Shrewsbury has 1 properties (vs. 1)  advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Shrewsbury has 13 properties (vs. 10) advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Shrewsbury “Hot Seller Index”: 72 Last Report: 76

*All statistics are for Single Family Homes.

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Top Articles

• 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 tention powerlines?
• I need a house cheap! Is a home foreclosure or an REO property the right way to go?
• 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.

MCAS Comprehensive Rankings: A Caution

Although I spent quite a bit of time collating this data, and feel it has significant value, I'd also like to point out a very simple fact: MCAS results are just PART of what makes a good school system. Personally, I feel there is much more to a good school system than test scores. Below are good questions to ask any community member of a potential town/school system you may be relocating to. These rankings are NOT a substitute for doing your own research, merely a guide for where you may want to start. 1)How old are the schools?

MCAS Tests Don't Tell you Everything You Want to Know

This question is important for two reasons. First, if the schools are old, the town is likely considering upgrading or building new ones, and these have tax implications, as well as Prop 2.5 override implications. If they are new, the town may be more fiscally stable, with more of its finances in order. All school systems require money to innovate and improve, building new buildings can sometimes interfere with that, if the town is strapped financially. Older buildings also may not have amenities that younger buildings may have. 2)How involved are the parents? I personally believe that without the support of parents, very few school systems can succeed. Active PTA groups, strong school committees, and a populace that supports their children as well as the teachers is key to a strong school system. No parent, in my opinion, should leave the responsibility of teaching their child just to the schools. As such, what you do at home will have a significant impact over your child's success at school and beyond. 3)How many school related Proposition 2.5 overrides have been asked for, passed or not passed? As noted above, towns that pass overrides on Proposition 2.5 for the schools are more likely to have powerful grass-roots involvement in the school system, and that is usually beneficial. Financial support for schools is an indicator of the community support of the various towns. 4)What kinds of extra curricular activities are also available by the town? Many studies have shown that extra curricular activities are important to fostering school success. Certain towns, in these tough times, may be cutting back on important programs that may affect their rankings in the future.

Consolidated MCAS Scores Methodology

These rankings do not include each and every school in the commonwealth. I created this to help rank towns PUBLIC schools systems in their entirety. Since most Charter schools are not available for open enrollment they don't make the list. The MCAS results for each town are already available, and this ranking is based on the 2009 numbers as published on-line at Boston.com. No charter schools (which typically do not provide K-12 services) nor vocational schools (same issue) are ranked. Where towns share schools at some level (such as a shared high school) efforts have been made to add the regional school scores to all districts it represents. As there are two-3 test per grade, and four grades that are tested, each year provides about 10 different scores to examine if one wished to look at an entire towns score. I found that difficult and time consuming, so I consolidated it. It is worth noting, that the Boston.com rankings are laid out to make difficult the very consolidation I have done on purpose: to prevent parents form jumping to conclusions about school systems based on solely and MCAS number. The rankings take each Math and English score of each grade and combine them, and then each grade is combined and the four scores are then divided by four (1 for each exam respectively). No Science exam results are included. I have noticed, in doing my research, that from year to year small changes in scores can make big differences in the rankings, so when the 2010 rankings come out I will collate them as a separate entity and and also average both years together. A two year ranking will likely be a more reliable indicator of MCAS success than the single year collected here. Sample: Rank Score School 50. --153.5-- Lincoln Public Schools 51. --153.0-- Canton Public Schools 52.-- 153.0 -- Ipswich Public Schools 53.-- 152.0 -- Hanover Public Schools 54.-- 151.8 -- Ashland Public Schools 55.-- 151.3 -- North Attleborough Public Schools

Why Are The MCAS Results Encrypted?

My 2009 Consolidated MCAS Rankings are below, but they are encrypted, and you'll have to email me (at matt_heisler@heislerandmattson.com) for the code. This is primarily to protect this work from any misuse and unauthorized distribution.

Click Here to Show the encrypted results!

E-mail me for the code !

Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler

Analysis of Northbridge Housing Market Statistics

Northbridge Housing Market Statistics - Raw Data

• There are 96 homes (vs. 92 in the last Northbridge Home Sales Report) listed as For Sale.
• There have been 61 houses sold (vs 53)  in the last 6 months, and 33 homes (vs. 27)  sold in the last 3 months.
• There was an Average Market Time of 185 days for just SOLD homes.
• There is an Average Market Time of 218 days (vs. 237) of the homes For Sale.
• There was an Average Sold Price of $293,325 for sold homes.
• Northbridge has 2 properties advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) .
• Northbridge has 10 properties advertised as short sales required by lender .
• Northbridge “Hot Seller Index”:61    Last Report: 59

*All statistics are for Single Family Homes.

Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

Our Top Articles

• 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?!
• Can I use an FHA loan for a condo? It depends.
• What is Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure?
• I need a house cheap! Is a home foreclosure or an REO property the right way to go?
• 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.

Southborough has some great events coming up as they do every fall. Here's a quick listing.

Southborough Summer Nights (rescheduled)

September 30th, 5-8PM

Trottier Complex

Thanks to Irene, Summer Nights will have the flavor of Fall this year. Hopefully the weather will still be warm.

Southborough Road Race

Sunday, October 9th, Registration begins at 8:00 am. Race starts at 10:00 am.

Trottier/Neary school complex

Second year with the 5K/10K format. A good run!

Pumpkin Lighting

in front of Library on Common Street

Sunday, October 9th, 5:00 - 8:00 pm

One of the more original and unique events in Metrowest. Lots of fun too! Bring your pumpkin carvings to the wall, or just see the hundreds of creative carvings and in their night time best!

Heritage Day Festival

Monday, October 10th

St Marks Lawn

Plenty of goodies for all down on the lawn for the annual festival that gets a little bigger every year!

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

What is a Homestead Protection, and What is the Homestead Protection Act?

Massachusetts has a Homestead Protection Law that dates back some time. A Homestead Protection protects a homeowner from creditors. By creditors I mean people to whom you owe money, usually serious money. Now don't get to excited - a homestead filed on your home doesn't make your debt disappear. What it does mean is that if your creditors decide to come after you legally for the money, they can't come after any equity in your house, and can't (generally) grab your house and sell it out from under you (more on this below). These are good things! The Homestead Protection Act is the law that allows this protection.

The Homestead Protection Act in Layman's Terms

The Homestead Protection Act, is probably best explained with an example. Again, the act is designed to protect you from creditors, and we're usually not talking about $500 either. This fictional example is designed to illustrate how it works.

The Accident

Let's say you're driving along a quiet country road, when you get that important text from the office. Now we all KNOW that Texting and Driving in Massachusetts is ILLEGAL, but, against your better judgement, you figure you'll text a quick reply back. Well, we know what happens. You take your eyes off the road and drive right off of it, lose control of the car, and crash into someone's else's garage where - just your luck - you wreck their Ferrari. And the rare Bentley beside it. Fortunately, no one, including yourself, is hurt, but OH BOY, have you done some damage. Your insurance company uncovers the evidence that you were texting when you were driving, and your registration had expired the day before, and promptly denies your claim (and yeah, they can do that....). That now means you are personally responsible for the over 300,000 dollars in damage to the garage and the two specialty cars. And you don't have 300,000. The owner of the two cars does have insurance, and his insurance company (who is now a creditor) decides to go after you in court for the damages.

Homestead Protection

In this example, we'll assume that your 500,000 home is paid off. (Good for you!). So you own the home free and clear, and it's this asset of your that the insurance companies have their eye on. Fortunately, you have Homestead Protection. With the homestead protection, a judge can not seize and give the insurance company (the creditor) your home. That means even if you lose in court, you get to keep your house. Now if (and when...) you lose in court, you'll still owe the money, but at least you won't be homeless. They might garnish your wages, take your car, and grab your trading account, but you get to keep your home while you pay everything back, or declare bankruptcy.

Homestead Protection Act Details

OK, now we understand that the Homestead acts in our defense against liabilities that we may incur, and protects our home from seizure. But there are details. First of all, the protection is only up to $500,000. So if you have more equity than that in your home, it is not protected. Second, the homestead only protects your primary residence. No double dipping! Third, your Homestead application must be filed with the state. If you have not filed, you are only entitled to $125,000 of automatic protection (this is a new provision of the updated homestead law). As of this writing, a homestead can be filed for under $40, and requires very little paperwork - so there's absolute no reason you shouldn't do this, if you haven't already.

Other Notes about the Homestead Protection

• You only have to file once for each primary residence. It doesn't expire or wear out.
• You should discuss with a licensed MA real estate attorney your homestead and your coverage as it applies to your situation. Although straightforward, there's no substitute for actual legal advice for a homestead filing. Don't consider this post to be legal advice, as it is not.
• Trusts are now eligible for homestead protection. Trusts are often used for tax advantages in real estate, but had to forego the protection until recently.
• There are creditors that can avoid the homestead protection. For example, the banks that hold the mortgage, for instance, are unaffected by the homestead act. Also, the federal government (IRS) and state government are not affected by the act, should they choose to seize your home.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Home for Sale in Westborough: 6 Elizabeth

This six bedroom, 5.5 bath home is a good fit for those with a large extended family! Located on a lovely street in Westborough with similar homes. Space for all!

Full Listing Detail

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Red Sox Hit Rock Bottom, Playoff Prospects Dim

In sports, not much gets worse than rooting for your team during a slump. Slumps just aren't losing stretches in baseball. They are periods of time where you can't get the big hit. Errors come at the worst time. Normally reliable players disappear. And it's not just your team - you typically have to watch the other team get the call they need to extend the inning, or watch their number 9 hitter get hot.

Red Sox have been Streaky

Much to my surprise, the 2011 edition of the Red Sox has been quite streaky. When they've been bad, they've been horrible. Early on, it was hard to watch their start, as they couldn't pitch or hit for beans. And they've had two other bad streaks during the season, where they've dropped games badly to teams that have much less talent. Well, they're in another slump, but this one is different than the others. It's different, because they don't look anything like the team they were even a month ago.

Red Sox Out of Starters

Earlier I posted that the Sox, for all purposes had lost 60% of their rotation. (Lackey, worst season of his career bar none, Buckholz out, Dice-K gone). And now Beckett is down. Expected back, but what we've been watching is what happens when 80% of your rotation is gone or being useless. And it's not pretty. The Sox, in September, have quickly posted the WORST ERA in the AL, giving up over 6.3 runs a game. Post all star break they are a frightening 8th. And that includes the bullpen, which has been stellar until this week. It's not a co-incidence. The starters can't get through their innings, so the bullpen gets tired, and then they get sloppy, and that small margin is the difference between getting whacked around and successfully competing. As good as their line up is - and it will recover before the month is out - it won't matter if they can't pitch. Few teams survive the playoffs without sharp pitching, and as we the post season draws near, we would do well to remember that. Getting Beckett back helps, but it's no quick fix - the Sox need a someone to get hot in the bullpen for the 7th inning, Bard needs to regain form for the 8th, and Eric Bedard - yes, Bedard - has become an important lynchpin for the Sox. Neither Lackey nor Wakefield have inspired any confidence for two months, and while I believe Wake has a chance, a small chance, to get hot and help the local 9, it's about time to close the book on Lackey. How Francona will make peace with himself and start Lackey in a playoff game I have no idea, but you can't expect to win that game.  Lots of IF's there, enough for me to take a deep breath, and start to think this may not be our year.

Red Sox not the only Club with Pitching Issues

If there is a silver lining, it's that the other playoff teams seem to have their own issues as well. Nolan Ryan expressed concern his Texas rotation looks "tired," (club has been 6th in ERA post all-star) and they are losing ground steadily to the Angles in the West. Yankees are dropping games almost as quickly as the Red Sox, which instead of vaulting the Sox in first has instead resulted in similar standings to where we were at the end of August. Verlander is still having his Cy Young season, but as noted earlier, not sure they can count on anyone outside of him, but they have the #2 team ERA in the American League, and should be considered contenders on that basis alone to represent the AL in the World Series. Pitching is so important, we'll be taking a detailed look at each rotation as we get closer to the end. Hopefully, the Sox will get a chance to improve on that 6.3 ERA this month.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler

Although I've been trying to treat today like a typical day, it's been hard. My thoughts continue to turn back to the scar left on my psyche by 9/11. I did lose people that I had known, but not well. I do have friends who lost someone close. I know that I am lucky in this regard.

And yet, as most of us grind away at the tasks of the present, it can do the soul good to reflect for a moment on the past. So with that:

I can't think about 9/11 without re-living that "pit in the stomach" moment that we all seemed to share for days, or weeks. The hours we all spent glued to the TV trying to comprehend the horror that anyone would contemplate this, the anger that they succeeded, and emptiness left at all the needless suffering.

However, I also can't think about 9/11 without thinking about what happened afterward. The heroes that emerged, the compassion by the many, the generosity of the millions, and the commitment of the common people. Those are good memories, powerful memories. And while they don't erase the awful ones, I feel we can use the good memories for a

reminder about what it means to be in a community, be it small, like your local PTA, or large, like the USA. That we can remember that we have more in common than we have differences. The fact that we wish harmony for all, and to be a beacon for those in the dark. The fact that if we put aside our petty differences, what can be achieved by the collective can be stunning, worthy of song, and memorable. We can be who we aspire to be, not as individuals, but as a community, and that doing so is much more satisfying than what we can accomplish on our own. Given where this country is politically and economically at the moment, hopefully I am not the only one remembering these things.

My heartfelt condolences go out to those for whom this is a day of sadness.

Do Good Things Today!

Matt Heisler