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Home Sold in Northborough

Another one off the market, as our listing Indian Meadow, which has seen good activity this spring, with some very quick sales, has finally closed. Best of Luck to the new owners.

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Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler

Hello-

There's other places you can see fireworks besides the Esplanade.  Thanks to the Boston Central for this list.

Fireworks Shows

Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler

Analysis of Southborough, Massachusetts Housing Market Statistics

Southborough has seen a jump in inventory, but the jump in sales is one of the best we've seen on the blog. I think this provides some evidence that the market is starting to move Westward, as we've just seen too much demand in the sub 700K price range in Sudbury, Natick, Hopkinton and Holliston. No jump in foreclosures or short-sales in this report, as noted elsewhere, those numbers seem stable (unlike the shadow inventory reports have been predicting). I can tell you are listings are still seeing good traffic, but not as good as about six weeks ago. There certainly seem to be a lot of buyers, not really sure what they are waiting for, but you've got to give them credit, they are a patient bunch. Buyers should be aware the best properties are moving in a week or less, but there are some good, well priced homes not moving quite as fast. Sellers should be aware that the market is more crowded than it has been in the last two years, but if sales continue at this pace, it should chop down the inventory numbers very quickly.

Show Me Southborough, MA Homes for Sale

Southborough Housing Market Statistics - Raw Data

• Southborough has 85 homes (vs. 62 in the last Southborough home sales report) listed as Active. 
• Southborough had 64 houses (vs. 44) sold in the last 6 months, and 47 homes (vs. 23) sold in the last 3 months. 
• Southborough has an Average Market Time of 151 days for SOLD homes. 
• Southborough has an Average Market Time of 123 days for ACTIVE homes. 
• Southborough has an Average Sold Price of $558,038 for sold homes. 
• Southborough has 1 properties (vs. zero) advertised as lender owned (typically foreclosure) . 
• Southborough has 2 properties advertised as short sales required by lender . 
• “Hot Seller Index”: 78 (Trending Up) 

*All statistics are for Single Family Homes.

Wondering about my Market Methodology? Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics.

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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.

It's a sign of where I am in life that I'm actually excited about a new grocery store coming to town. But this is no ordinary grocery store.

Wegmans to Northborough Crossing-By The Numbers

1. This is Wegmans first store in Massachusetts, in fact, it's being billed as the first store in all of New England
2. It's the really the key retail element of Northborough Crossing
3. At 145,000 square feet, I believe it will be the largest grocery store in this area, by a lot. For reference, the Wal-mart in Northborough is 120,000 sq feet.
4. The Wegmans will create over 500 jobs.
5. Wegmans was started in 1916.
6. Wegmans is a family run company
7. They had to get permission from the state legislature to do it, but I think this is the first grocery store with a full wine/beer/liquor license.  
8. The store will be open (scheduled anyway) on October 16th, 2011

Other stores Coming to Northborough Crossing:

BJ's is moving in, with a larger store and gas

Kohl's is coming

PetSmart has a sign up.

TJX is relocating as well

Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler

A quick post here to let you know that I've started a new page for flipping and staging houses.  I'm always looking for new clients that want to do flips, and staging is an important part of selling real estate.

You can find the page here, and I'll be expanding it from time to time.

Flipping and Staging

Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler

Analysis of Housing Market Statistics

Well, it's that time of year again!

Each summer it seems, there are a number of reports in the Metrowest area of the contractor scam.  Marlborough is the first town I've seen this year to report them, but they can (and do) happen in every town in Metrowest.  More on the official notice from the Metrowest News on the link below, but here's some general head's up information:

Read More Here

What's a Contractor Scam?

These scams have several different variants. I'm going to describe some of the more common ones that have been explained to me (fortunately, I haven't actually seen a perpetrator yet, but I hear they prey primarily on the elderly.)

Type #1: We're in the neighborhood.

This scam is often used by purported driveway fellows, but it can work across multiple industries.  The scammers knock on your door, and say "We just finished paving a driveway on a home in the neighborhood, and we have extra material.  We don't want to bring it back to the shop, and we can use it to repair your driveway, for a discount."  Sometimes, they ask for a deposit - and then never show up.  Sometimes, they give you a "deal", but the amount of material and quality of work are far below what they promise at the time. And sometimes it's some other type of scam.  Remember, there's no stock formula.

Type #2: You've Won a Prize

This one often comes over the phone, not through the door.  They call up, say that you've won a prize, but in order to collect, you must pay the "contest entry fee".  The prize is usually a large denomination, and the entry fee is usually smaller (so pay $300 to collect $3000).  But you won't get paid.  Validate who your callers are by calling them back.

Type #3: You're not Up To Code

This is similar to number one, in that they knock on the door telling you that work has been done on your home that's not up to code and it needs to be fixed.  This is very unlikely to be true, as this is not how towns enforce code regulations.

How To Protect Yourself From Contractor Scams

1. Be Wary of Anyone Who Knocks First.  They aren't all bad guys, but this is the way the bad guys maintain their anonymity.
2. If it Sounds Too Good To Be True:  It is.  No one works for 75% off.
3. Get Contracts for Work, Establish a Paper Trail:  Real Contractors proposed bids on letterhead, with their brand fully on display, business cards and the like.  They back up their work with guarantees and promises.  They also have phone numbers that can be called, and often websites and e-mail addresses that can be looked up. They take checks, and do not require cash. Do as many of these as you can to make sure the person who is here today can be found tomorrow if there's a problem.
4. Beware of "Today Only":  If they want the business they'll come back tomorrow after you check them out.  So go slow, and don't let anyone rush you into making an important decision about your money and your house.
5. Get Competitive Bids.  Find out what you might not know by getting your WRITTEN estimate reviewed by another contractor, that you call yourself.  He may tell you things you need to ask about, and warn you about industry deceptive practices.
6. And ALWAYS contact authorities (your local police department) about any suspicious activity.  Remember, your neighbors might be next on their list.  It's better to be over protective or your neighborhood than regret making that phone call later.

Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler

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I wouldn't be a Red Sox fan if I didn't occasionally look at the glass as half empty.  But I think it's an interesting discussion, that's the real motivation.  Before we get to that though:

Congratulations Bruins!!!!!

I'll admit, when the Finals started, I felt bad for the Canucks. It was a shame, I thought, that a team that had never one a championship might end up on the short end of the stick. We certainly remember what that feels like - the hopeless empty feeling that the universe is aligned against you.  But the Canucks quickly changed my attitude on that.  From there cheap chippiness, the finger biting, the ridiculous cheap shot on Horton, the DENIALS about the cheap shot on Horton, the whining, the diving.  They were simply impossible to root for.  And I'll tell you something else: If the Canucks had fans like the Bruins, they would have won this series.  The Bruins fans were AWESOME, and made the new Garden Rock. Didn't see much of that in Vancouver, and of course, what happened afterward, well, just sad.   So good for the team, good for the fans, better luck next year Canucks.

But this is not a Bruins blog, so I digress....

Red Sox Weaknesses

The Red Sox are on a torrid pace.  How Hot are they?  They have, unbelievably, put 100 wins back in play. The Yanks are on their way out, with Colon out, Joba out, and Jeter's out (which could actually help them).  It will be interesting to see how far they fall.  So it's not like I'm worried about the division.  The Rays will finish second, but they just don't have the hitting to win the wild card (watching tonight I think I've seen four hitters at or below the Mendoza line.)  But the Sox do have some problems they're covering up.  Let's look at them.

JD Drew

I know everyone's heard about JD Drew's retirement at the end of the year.  But it looks like he's decided to retire early.  He has an OBP of .325 and a SLUGGING of .330.  How bad is he?  I actually root for him to strike out just so he doesn't hit into a double play.  I never, ever, thought the last two years of his contract would look like the bust that it's turned out to be.  I always respected Drew - even when his hitting wasn't where the average fan expected it to be - for playing right field at Fenway, and playing it well (Dad, don't write in, I already know you don't agree).  It was a huge reason they signed him, and made many seasons serviceable.  But you can't be banking $15 million this year for 40 RBI's.  Anyway you cut it, RF is a mess for the Sox.

Carl Crawford

Speaking of overpriced contracts, we have Carl here.  Yes, April is a distant memory, and his numbers have been better.   But not really Carl Crawford-esque. I can deal with the an .800 OPS if the steals were there, but they're not.  Something is still not right with Carl, and I hope we don't need the full Crawford down the stretch.

Catching and Short

Salty's numbers have been rising steadily, so it might be easy to assume the Sox are OK here.  But they're playing Jason a lot, and I know he's tough, but if he starts to fall off, and the pressure of being the everyday catcher falls to Salty, I worry that we'll be looking at some more weak numbers. Lowrie is definitely trending in a direction where he can't help the club (he re-injured the shoulder tonight, look for the DL tomorrow), and although I can't really call Marco a weakness of the club, their depth issues here are serious, Marco staying healthy for the rest of the season looks to be a long shot.

Lackey and Ortiz

Folks, no one loves Papi more than me.  I've never turned on him yet.  Wondered, yes, but not turned on him.  But here's a news flash that shouldn't surprise anyone: he will slump this year.  Now it's impossible not to notice that his numbers and his new commitment to hitting the opposite way are no co-incidence, so maybe I'm wrong about this.  But I think that it's very possible a small slump turns in a big one because he is doing more things this year than the last few, and that could make it easier to get all mixed up at the plate.  Speaking of mixed up, my favorite whipping boy can't get through this column without a mention.  Back from the DL, Lackey has 'survived' a couple of starts, but he's still a long way from a competitive fifth starter in the AL East.  I give him points for swallowing his pride, going on the DL and agreeing to a rehab start, where he clearly fixed some things that couldn't be fixed up with the club.  Here's hoping he's not at the end of that progression.

Add it all up, and the club doesn't really look like the juggernaut they've been out on the field.  It's really no stretch to say that the bottom third of the order could very quickly turn rather ordinary, and although their rotation is still deep and strong, it's not the Philli's either.  They still look like favorites to me, but that's why they play the games.....

Do Good Things Today!

 Matt Heisler