Similar Sales are Somerville's Sales (MA) RE 1st half 2011

What we are trying to say with the tongue twister up top is that Somerville’s sales for the first half of 2011 exhibited a remarkable similarity to the same period in 2010. Starting with multi family properties, we count (according to MLS), 75 transactions in 2011. In 2010?…we count 75 transactions. Average days on market? 83 days…80 days for 2010. We may well speculate that the extra three days on market was the extra effort put out by our friendly real estate agents going the extra mile for their listing clients and negotiating ‘round the clock Friday through Sunday to get the average price up….(hey…stop laughing). At any rate, average price WAS up from a bit below $496k in 2010 to a whopping $531k in aught 11.

Singles? The 28 singles that sold did so in 71 days and allowed owners to cash out at an average of $457k. In 2010, the average was a tad over $453k. In the efforts of full disclosure, we should note that 39 homes cut the deed in the first six months of 2010.

Condos? well ever an interesting game. The similarity falls off in unit sales (157 for 2011 versus 211 for 2010), but that is offset by significantly higher prices -- $392k for 2011 up from 2010’s 369k. Average days on market grew from 78 to 88 (hard negotiating again?). Ya just can’t put a bead on condos – just like last year and the year before: maybe that is the best similarity of all.

No Big Splash for Watertown Real Estate Sales so far in 2011

Watertown buyers haven’t exactly made a big splash in real estate so far this year, but they haven’t exactly jumped a sinking ship either. Total numbers of units sold for the first 6months of 2011 were down compared to the same period in 2010, 159 for 2011 versus 174 for ’10, but the blame for the drop rests with the Condo “fleet”. In 2010, 114 new condo owners set sail on the rocky waves of ownership: in 2011, a mere 89 have tested the waters. Average price? Down in the shallows --- 4 grand less than 2010.

Single family sales were up in units sold and price. (42 for 2011, 33 in 2010; $475k vs. $472k on the average price front). And Multis?…up by one unit over 2010 to 28. Average price was up to $506k, an increase of $16,000 over 2010. The only problem with the Multi sales was that agents had to tread water for an average of 99 days before bringing the deal to safe harbor. It took a mere 30 days to do it in 2010.

There might be some smooth if not spectacular sailing ahead. Not much direction here, but if something need be taken away how about conjuring an image of the annoying agents who block the hydrant with her BMW NOSE DEEP TREADING WATER IN THE SALTY BRINE FOR 99 DAYS…works for me!

How is Real Estate Shakin' Down in Arlington MA so Far?

How's it shakin'? Well,...shake an apple tree and the apples fall down. You can say that, and that may well have a few of your local agents shaking in their boots, but hold on, take a breath -- innnnn, hold it:....outtttt. Now let us do some math...

Hmmm, carry the two add column one plus the seven and ah, -- according to MLS, that source of unyielding approbation amongst agents, total sales in Arlington fell (for the first 6 months of 2011) from 2010's 150 units down to 121: a drop of over 19 percent. Yet, lest we panic and jump out our windows, sniff some chocolate and bear with me:

Unit sales were down but prices were up: 69 singles swapped hands in 2010 (Jan-Jun) at an average price of $486k (give or take a few bucks). "Only" 56 "manses" blew out in the same period for 2011, but they did so for a whopping $562k -- over $75,000 more per home.

Condos you ask?. OK, I tell: 2010 saw 69 sets (yup, same number as single homes) of owners crossing pens at the closing tables. In 2011, a mere 60 condos swapped out. Average price in '10 was $397k; in '11 $379. A wee bit of motion sickness there, but let's not call TARP yet -- take a Pepto and call me in the morning...

Multis? Well, 12 in aught 10; a mere 5 in '11, with prices moving UP an average of EXACTLY $1,942 -- the number was so small, I "figgered" I had room to put it all in.

What can we make of all this? I "dunno", but it IS my turn to cook dinner tonight -- I'm suddenly in the mood for some "Shake-n-Bake".

Waltham gets "Clocked"

Right in the kisser -- that's where sales of took it in the first half of 2011. Looking at details out of MLS, we can count out 112 single homes that were thrown into the ring. This goes up against 134 homes for the same period in 2010 (Yur outta the weight class, baby!). Average sale price fell to $389k from 2010's 417k, and if that was not bad enough, sellers had to listen to their brokers whine for an average of 108 days: this compares to only 63 days of snivelling from brokers in 2010!

And the situation is the same for the "middleweight" class of ownership -- condos. 91 sold in 2011 down from 2010's 123. Average price?...310k in '11 and 382k in 2010. About the only thing going for condos were the days on market: agents toiled 69 days in '11 to sell the units. In 2010 they took 85.

Multis, in their small market showed a tad of promise. Average sale price up 7l to 462k, and the 23 sales topped 2010's 17.

It is too early to say Waltham is down for the count; premature to "throw in the towel" as they say. Aferall, there are 6 more rounds to go and the final story is yet to be told. To keep the boxing metaphor going, we shall ask: will it be "Cinderella Man" or will it be "Reqiem for a Heavyweight"?

Marching (or should we say "Juneing") Orders

Up top there we are talking about Orders, allright...Orders of Notice. For those not in the knowing, Orders of Notices are the little tidbits that come out of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Land Court -- Department of Trial Court, and they say, blahblah blah, "has filed with said court a complaint for authority to foreclose said mortgage in the manner following: by entry and possession and exercise of power of sale..." or some other such similar alliterative nomenclature snaking across the page.

In Belmont, as of today (6/10/11), 8 property owners have gotton one of these notices in the mail in 2011. In all of 2010, 12 folks were blessed with the banking benediction.

A quick look about shows that these owners in 2011 are spread out throughout the town: from the Waltham border to Cambridge up to the Lexington line. From "high end" to modest. Singles and condos and multi's (...oh my!).

I cannot say how this will play out, but can't help but wonder -- if Belmont is seeing this, what is happening elsewhere -- stay tuned.

First Quarter Real Estate "Round Down"

Get it? Round-up? ... "down"?... Never mind. The idea up there was a hint that first quarter 2011 sales were down in numbers of transactions in 2011 versus 2010...at least in the areas that I haunt.

Looking at the 3 Musketeers of residential RE (Singles, Condos and Multis), only Watertown improved over 2010 in the seven towns where I did some work. Belmont was down 2 (32 in 2011 versus 34 for 2010), Newton dropped 7 units from 2020's 122; Lexington sank to 58 from 2010's 62. Waltham got "clocked" (get it? Waltham Watch/Clock Company?) -- down to 78 sales from 2020's 93. Medford finished out the quarter at 79 sales (11 below 2010); Arlington ran out at 69; 8 shy of 2010's total. Only Watertown upped the ante: 61 sales for Q1 2011 UP from 2010's 52.

I wouldn't put too much stock into this, yet folks. Let's wait 'til we review the numbers and the mix -- then we can decide what to do with "all" our stock...Stay tuned.

The Race is ON in Somerville

Can you believe it?...2 weeks left and we are DONE with the first quarter of 2011. How time flies -- seems like only last year I was sniffing mimeograph paper and discovering the joys of watching Valerie Werner smooth out her "Bobbie Brooks" (but that is another story).

At any rate, at the risk of jumping the gun, I feel it is time to begin the look see at how Real Estate is holding up in my corner of the world, and today we will start off with Somerville and its agents as they race to the 1st quarter finish line.

So far this year, according to MLS, 64 properties have had the "T's" crossed and the "i's" dotted on the bottom line (6 singles, 35 condos, 23 multi-fams) -- SO FAR, we say. In the first quarter of last year (the full quarter) 107 properties did the ol' fliperino. Doesn't look good does it? But wait...

Digging a little deeper finds us a few nuggets of hope; we see (through the fog) 33 properties are Under Agreement and are scheduled to close by 3/31/11. According to these projections, the first quarter of 2011 in Somerville will close out with 98 transactions, about an 8% drop. That is nothing to toot our horns about, but it is, likewise, no reason for Chicken Little to be running about saying the sky is falling. The "goodest news" (as my grandmother used to day when she worked at the First National [remember the FN?...remember the JUMBO for that matter?]) -- the goodest news is in Condo sales, where days on market have fallen from 2010's 123 days to 108 (so far) days in 2011.

No real bad news here. The "baddest" we can find is that agents may well have to ride the Lexus about for another season before trading up to the Beemer.

Agents are Full of S**T

Here in my corner of the world, the next time your bubbly agent tells you how great things are in the world and how that world will only be greater for you if you buy this home "TODAY!!!!!!", ask that agent of yours about "ORDERS of NOTICE". Now, mind you, they probably do not know what those things are. My advice in that situation is to get another agent, FAST! Just call me, actually.

That is an order of notice over yonder the right there. Not a pretty thing I would hazard (privacy information has been blocked out), AND, it gets uglier as one learns about them.

Herewith is a small primer on what we will now abbreviate as OON:

An OON may be considered an solid indicator of foreclosures coming up. It is a required document filed at the Registry of Deeds that notified folks that their lender is going to foreclose on them. The OON is required because any person in the military can seek relief under the Service members Civil Relief Act (one rightly cannot foreclose on a bloke shooting down some scum bucket who wants to do harm to Americans).

An now, hers are some stats to ponder.

Looking at this year to date (1/1 - 3/18) there have been in "my" areas (Belmont, Arlington, Watertown and Medford) 66 OON's plopped in mailboxes of sinking homeowners; 37 of those are in Medford, by the way.

In the same period last year, there were 14!...Yes only 14 (11 in Medford).

That is a big clunk. When one thinks of all the foreclosures that have been laid to rest, and these numbers coming up that ARE NOT in the stats,...well conjecture is worth a few moments when next we "latte at Starbucks".

What does this mean? Well, we will expand our stat collection and see if the patterns are "All over the board". Then, we will be better able to discern if your happy agent is full of S**T, or completely down and out of the crapper already.

JuMMMMBOOHHH

It looks like President Bush will sign the stimulus package Wed. It’s unofficial, but it looks like the new Jumbo loan limits for the area (based on 125% of the median home price per county—we think…)
The unofficial numbers:
Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk counties will go to $518,375
Barnstable will go to 512,500
Nantucket & Dukes Counties will go to 477,355
All others to stay the same—i.e. $417,000

Under Agreement in 11 Days

Two-Family
Under Agreement in Under 11 Days!!
What May I Do For You?
Al. Gutterman
Century 21 Commonwealth
617.470.8085
Al.Gutterman@CommonMoves.com

The Power of Positive Thinking

Cash flow, that is. The pictured home has it. Great for the beginning investor and priced at $439,900, 66 Cottage Street, Watertown, MA, is an efficient 2 Family, has been done over from top to bottom, and features beautiful modern living on a low traffic street close to Harvard Sq., MIT, Brandeis and other universities. Right on the joist where Cambridge, Belmont and Watertown collide, this home is as convenient to everything as it is easy to maintain. Jump in. Become a Real Estate investor. Let the power of positive (cash flow) thinking work for you.

Come the the SUPER BUY SUNDAY OPEN HOUSE -- yes, that is February 3, 2008 from 12-2. This home really deserves to be in your playbook. See you there, 66 Cottage Street, Watertown

And now a Finance word from FIRST INVESTORS (Belmont, MA)

This from Jim Brown of First Investors Mortgage in Belmont (MA)617-484-8383 or
email: jimbrown@firstinvestorsmortgage.net

Although the news and media keep reporting on the Fed lowering the discount rate, 50 basis points yesterday, mortgage rates have actually moved upward a slight bit.

I am sure over the month they should slide back but in any event they are excellent.

Also there is rumor that the conforming limits will soon be increased to help ease the burden on the larger loans. (lets hope so !!!). In general rates should help spur the purchase market a bit.

There are some Community homebuyer programs that have come back in play which provide for lower downpayment and easier loan qualifications. We have a program for:

1 Unit 100% LTV
2 Unit 97% LTV
3 Unit 95% LTV
4 Unit 90% LTV

The max combined income is $108,000.00. This is a great program
for first time homebuyers.

CONFORMING
30 YEAR FIXED

5.625% 0 Points
5.125% 2 Points

15 YEAR FIXED
5.125% 0 Points
4.500% 2 Points
JUMBO
30 YEAR FIXED
6.125% 0 Points


7/1 YEAR ARM
5.625% 0 Points
5.125% 1 Point

Give them a call with questions, scenerios, or pre-approvals
First Investors Mortgage Inc.
MB0063
24 Trapelo Road
Belmont, Ma. 02478
Work # 617-484-8383
Fax# 617-489-4976
Email: jimbrown@firstinvestorsmortgage.net

I Have Moved to Better Help You Move

I am pleased to announce my affiliation with CENTURY 21 COMMONWEALTH, the number one selling entity in Massachusetts. My new situation offers me a vibrant framework through which I may better serve you -- whether you are a buyer or a seller, the resources and clout behind me now will lead you to the most advantageous pricing in your transactions.

I'd love to meet with you in any of our conveniently located offices to discuss how I may best serve you.

Best of everything.
Al.

O.H. redux

Don't forget. I'll be at the Open Houses this Sunday. The 172 Brattle St in Arlington runs from 12:00 - 2:00, and then I will zing off to the 18 Cushing Street OH in Medford from 1:00 to 3:00. (I realize I will not be in 2 places at once, but Scotty's been tuning up the transporter so I should be able to transfer fairly fast.). One of my colleagues will be at the houses when I am not. Hope to see you!

"O.H." ing

For those who have asked, yes I will be on the Open House curcuit this weekend. I will be at 172 Brattle Street in Arlington, MA and 18 Cushing Street in Medford, MA. Check your local listing for game times, sports fans (always wanted to say that!).

Brattle Street is a charmer for the first timer, condo alternative, or a great looker for the downsizer. See my review of it from 2 days ago.

Cushing Street has explosive income potential on a quiet street. A 2 unit job with a finished thrid floor that could make for a stupendous master bedroom. Now it is an exercise/playroom.

So stop in and tell a joke or hear a joke, and don't forget make an offer. I'd love to see ya.

For more information, visit John Montanro RE.