At $585,000, the median sale price of single-family homes in Franklin, Massachusetts currently stands 19% above its prior all-time high of $489,900, set back in 2018.

It was a similar story for the overall real estate in Massachusetts: the median home sale price in the Bay State jumped 21% in the first half of the year.

Strong market for Franklin homes in 2021

As shown in the graphic above, the demand for homes in Franklin has been exceedingly strong in 2021. In addition to the 27% jump in median price, closed home sales and pending transactions rose in the first half of the year, while the average days on market fell to only fourteen days. Most tellingly, there currently is only just over a half-month of home inventory in Franklin – amazing!

Low housing inventories across Massachusetts

Scant housing inventory has become the norm throughout Massachusetts. Currently, there is only just over one month of housing inventory for sale in Massachusetts. Back when the market was weak in 2012, there were eighteen months of housing supply in the Commonwealth!

Such a strong housing market is not something that happens very often. You’d have to go back to the mid-1980s to find similar overwhelming demand for homes and such sharply rising home values, both in Franklin and across Massachusetts.

Video on your best strategies to succeed in 2021 real estate market in Massachusetts

The above video details the numbers that explain what is going on in MA real estate in 2021. It suggests strategies for both home buyers and home sellers that will empower you to navigate this active market and achieve success.

What the current market means for home buyers

Buyers have gotten used to long lines at open houses at listings that are new to the market. New listings draw lots of buyers.  If you put an offer in on a brand new listing that had a crush of buyers at the open house, you’ll likely be only one of many offers. Hot new listings routinely get ten, twenty or even thirty offers . . . in extreme cases , even more.  That’s a recipe for many frustrated home buyers!

Unless you are financially strong and can make an all-cash offer, or can pay at least 20% cash at closing, with hot new listings the odds are stacked against you. With so many competing offers to consider, sellers have to differentiate between all the offers in some way. The offers with less than 20% cash at closing likely won’t make even the initial cut.

Why get dismissed out of hand? You can increase your chances of getting your offer accepted by changing your strategy: don’t chase the hot new listings! Focus instead on longer days-on-market (DOM) homes. Homes with longer DOMs (10 to 14+ days on market) have failed to sell immediately. There will be less competition for those listings. These home sellers need you, and will view you as important. You’ll have a far better chance to get your offer considered and negotiate a sale. 

Many of the homes that do not sell immediately will have problems or objections.  If you can solve the problem or can live with the objectionable feature, you will be the “right buyer” for that listing.  Often it’s the “right buyers” who are the ones who get their offers accepted

What the current market means for home sellers

The amazing jump in home prices in 2021 will have a huge impact on your finances and your lifestyle options moving forward. If you’ve owned a home in Massachusetts for more than just a few years, you’re likely sitting on significant home equity.  You may now be in a position to use that equity to move to a better home that is more suitable for your current (and future) needs

If you’re in your 50s or 60s and have been living in your current home for many years, you may be able now to move to a new home to improve your financial health and advance the quality of your life.  (For example, you may decide to move to lower-cost housing or find a residence that is less burdensome to maintain.  Alternatively, many older homeowners seek to relocate to another area of the country to pursue new interests or to follow the kids as their adult lives unfold.) 

Determining your best next home

The hotlink at right and in the image above leads to a review of the housing choices and options people typically face as they advance through life.  The article covers the varying housing needs of people in each stage of life from early adulthood to retirement.

Finding your next home

Today’s fast-paced real estate market means you would be very wise to know where you are going to move to before you put your present home on the market.

If you don’t already own a second home, or are in the process of securing your next home,  how do you determine what to buy and where to live?

There is a very helpful planning tool that will guide you towards what features – and locations – you should prioritize in your next home. Created by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the Real Estate and Lifestyle Planning Guide will help ensure that your next home matches your lifestyle and housing needs for years to come. You can download the first section of the Guide here, or by following the hotlink in the image above.

Use the form at the bottom of this post to request the complete Real Estate and Lifestyle Planning Guide. It will be instrumental in helping you secure the right “next home” for you. There is no cost, no obligation. Ask for your copy of the Guide today, by using the form below.

Getting your current home ready for market

The above image is from a home currently for sale on the MLS. Yes, someone allowed their home to be marketed with torn and half-removed wallpaper in the dining room – wow!. Just think of the unintended messages about the home (as well as the homeowner and the listing agent) this photo is sending to prospective buyers!

While there’s no need in today’s active real estate market to do a compete makeover of your home in order to sell it, you do have an opportunity to sell for a lot more money with some sensible, cost-effective pre-sale preparation.

What projects are sensible and which ones can you skip?

Follow the hotlink in the image above or at right to see how you can get your home in shape for marketing without spending a lot of time and money.

What your own home needs

If you’ve lived in your home for many years, it may very well have dated décor and tired fixtures in the kitchen and baths. (No buyer wants to move into a home that is still in the 1990s.)

And if you are like most people, you’ve collected lots of “stuff” over time.  So your home also could likely benefit from some serious decluttering.

See examples of how we have helped home sellers do strategic repairs and undertake the decluttering needed to get their properties in proper selling-shape. We can help you, too!

Use the form below to request a personalized analysis of how best to “showcase” your home for market. There’s no charge or obligation for this free consultation. (You can also use this form to ask for a copy of the Real Estate and Lifestyle Planning Guide discussed earlier in this post.)

Put yourself in position to take advantage of the historic run-up in home values. Contact us for a copy of the Guide and a free consultation today!

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Buffett extolled the wisdom of buying at today’s attractive home prices during a live appearance on Squawk Box, CNBC’s morning news program.

If he had the time

Buffett said he’d be personally investing in a large number of homes right now if he had the free time and handyman skills.

Because prices and mortgage rates are so low, Buffett speculated that real estate investments may perform even better than stocks over the long run.  And Buffet is really bullish on the stock market’s prospects as well!

Optimistic about America

Quoting from a report on the Buffett interview:

“Aside from the housing sector, Buffett says the U.S. economic recovery is healthy and won’t be derailed by rising oil prices.  He repeated what he’s been saying throughout the recession, that it’s always been a “terrible mistake” to be pessimistic on the U.S. over the long term.”

Please contact Warren to look at the opportunities available now on the MA real estate market!

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But the apparent muddle in MA real estate stats may derive from the different data sets being reported on by the two organizations.  Hopefully the data will present a clearer, more uniform picture by the end of the spring Massachusetts home selling season later this year.

The bad news from the Case-Shiller Boston Index

The S&P/Case-Shiller Index for the Boston metro area has now fallen for the sixth month in a row after staging an encouraging 6.9% rallyduring the spring and summer months of 2009.  (Index results for February 2010 are the most recent released by Standard and Poors.)  

Metro Boston home sale price slump

As tracked by Standard and Poors, MA home sale prices in the metro-Boston region for February are now up only 3.8% from their March 2009 lows and are a paltry 1.8% higher compared to one year ago.

Upbeat view from The Warren Group

One day after the release of the rather gloomy S&P/Case-Shiller Index for Boston, The Warren Group, publisher of the influential MA real estate trade publication Banker & Tradesman, trumpeted some new, upbeat Massachusetts real estate market stats.

The Warren Group reported that the median sale price for single-family homes in Massachusetts rose a healthy 7.8 percent in March 2010 (to $275,000) from $255,000 in March 2009. The Warren Group noted that it was the fourth consecutive month that median home sale prices had risen over prior year levels.

The Warren Group also reported that the median single family home sale price for the first quarter of 2010 was $276,750, an 8.5 percent increase compared to the first quarter 2009’s $255,000 median price figure.

MA home sale volume soars

The Warren Group also released very bullish Massachusetts home sale figures for March 2010.

Massachusetts single-family home sales rose 27.6 percent to 3,162 in March from 2,477 in March 2009. Home sales in the first quarter jumped 17.5 percent to 7,310 from 6,223 in last year’s first quarter. It was the first increase in first-quarter home sales since 2004, according to The Warren Group.

“We’ve seen a significant turnaround in the local housing market. Monthly home sales have been increasing year-over-year since last July and that has propped up the median selling price statewide,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. “The homebuyer tax credit has been a wonderful impetus for the housing market. We hope that it has been a strong enough factor that consumers will continue entering the housing market.”

Clearer picture coming?

As we’ve seen, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index publishes with a two month lag.  We may see the Boston Index show an uptick in prices once the Index readings for March and April are published. 

If that happens, then there will be some much-needed congruity in the real estate data being published by Standard and Poors and The Warren Group.

In the meantime, if you’d to know what your home is worth in today’s market, please click the hot link to get a Home Value Report  . . . it’s free, no charge, no obligation!

Copyright ©2010 02038.com

2009 MA home sale volume up

The Warren Group, publisher of the influential real estate trade publication Banker & Tradesman, released annual home sale figures Tuesday showing a three percent rise in MA home sale volume for 2009 compared to 2008.  The rise marks the first time annual single family home sales in Massachusetts have risen in the past five years.

Boston home sale prices slump modestly

In another report also issued last Tuesday, Standard and Poors posted its November 2009 reading of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. (There is a 2 month lag in Index reporting).

The Index showed only a slight 0.7% drop in Boston area home prices over the last 12 months (from December 2008 – November 2009.)  

Greater Boston home prices rise from 2009 lows

From its low set back in March 2009, the Index has risen 5.6%, peaking in August 2009 before settling back down a bit in following months.

Seasonal home price slumps

We have seen such home price slumps occur over the last several years, following a fairly regular pattern.

As you can see from the above graph, Boston metro home prices over the past several years as tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index have peaked during the summer months and have fallen back during the cold, dark winter months.

We will watch the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index very closely over the upcoming several months to see if MA home prices resume their recovery as the spring home selling season gets underway.

Keep checking back for updates!

Copyright ©2010 02038.com

MA home prices well above March lows

Despite September’s price lull, Metro-Boston single family home values remain a solid 6.7% higher than the 145.83 Index bottom seen last March, according to Standard and Poor’s.

Massachusetts home sale volume up

More upbeat news was published this week in a separate report issued by The Warren Group, a Massachusetts company with over 135 years experience in tracking the New England real estate market.

Sales of single family homes in Massachusetts soared 17.2% in October 2009 compared to October of last year, according to the report. 

October marked the fourth consecutive month of rising Massachusetts home sales.

“The tax credit that’s being offered to home buyers has certainly stimulated home sales. And while unemployment is still a concern, I think that people who have jobs are probably feeling a little bit more optimistic about the financial markets and the overall economy and they’re more willing to go out and make big purchases like buying a home,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.

Copyright ©2009 02038.com

Trade-up and trade-down home buyers take note: if you’ve been in your current Massachusetts home for a number of years and qualify for the tax credit, now looks to be a good time to make that move you’ve been thinking about!

Click here to get a free, no-obligation Home Value Report from Warren.  He’ll bring over 10 years of home selling success to your home sale.  Check out all the testimonials happy clients have written on behalf of Warren.

So contact Warren today or simply call him at 508-613-2889 and take the first step on the road to your new home!

Copyright ©2009 02038.com

 Here’s a new video that shows you how to decide what price to offer on a home for sale in MA:

This video is a companion to a recent blog post on this topic.

If you have any questions about asking prices on homes for sale in MA, the mechanics of offer and counter-offer in Massachusetts, or any other home buying issues, just ask! 

Simply fill out the “Have a Question?” box in the left column – no obligation  . . . I’m here to help!

Copyright ©2009 02038.com

First Rise in 8 Months

April’s home price rise breaks what was up until now an 8 month stretch of home price declines in the Boston area.  April’s Index data is the most current available from Standard and Poor’s. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is published each month with a two month lag.

The upturn is consistent with improved consumer confidence on the national level and the markedly stronger home buyer activity noted by local real estate agents starting back in March 2009.

Home prices rose in April in several other metro markets reported on by Standard and Poor’s.  Participating in the modest home price upturn were Washington DC,  Atlanta , Cleveland, Dallas and Seattle.  Home prices continued to decline in other US markets tracked by the Index.

Market Bottom?

April’s home price increase in the Boston region may signify the bottom of the Massachusetts real estate market. 

Or it may prove to be a short-lived seasonal price bounce, similar to what happened in 2006, 2007 and 2008 where prices rose modestly for a few months early in the year only to fall back further as each year progressed.  (See the rises and falls in Boston home values over the past few years in the chart above). 

Time Will Tell

We’ll need to see several more months of Boston home price performance in 2009 before we’ll know if we are finally at the end of what has been the worst real estate market in MA since the severe New England real estate recession of 1989 – 1991.  But any price increase is very welcome news!

Copyright ©2009 02038.com

All this is giving some economists a sense of optimism; as a financial analyst on CNN said this morning , “no one’s doing their happy dance just yet”, but there are reasons to be encouraged about real estate on a national level.

The cover of Business Week magazine for April 13 has the huge headline “Signs of Life”; the feature story details how some of the worst real estate markets in the country have enjoyed more home sales, are carrying less inventory, and are seeing many more purchasers out looking and buying.

Quoting from the article:

“Some of the very regions that led the U.S. housing market into the abyss are beginning to show signs of life. Sales on the Gulf Coast of Florida, California’s Inland Empire near Los Angeles, and the Las Vegas metropolitan area surged by more than 80% in February vs. the same month last year . . .

What’s more, first-time buyers are finally rushing in, lured not only by plunging prices but also government incentives like ultralow interest rates and hefty tax breaks. Such sweeteners are just too tasty for some to pass up, at least in markets that have already plunged by 50% or more.”

Frenetic buying in a few depressed areas doesn’t mean the national bust is over—far from it. But it does herald the start of a new phase in the boom-and-bust recovery cycle. Economists might call it equilibrium: Prices have fallen so much in some areas that shoppers are getting interested again, improving the balance between buyers and sellers. That doesn’t mean prices will surge anytime soon. But heavy buying should at least begin to put a floor under prices.

“Are we at the bottom?” asks Christopher Thornberg, an economist with Beacon Economics. “We are getting close.”

END OF EXCERPT

Bear in mind that the Massachusetts real estate market is not nearly as damaged as the highly depressed US markets discussed in the Business Week article.  So a rebound might come more quickly here. 

So if you’re thinking of buying your first home or maybe doing some real estate investing, 2009 in Massachusetts might be a great buying opportunity!

Copyright ©2009 02038.com

It was very good to see the high end of Franklin, MA home sales break well over the $700,000 barrier in March 2009. 

At $750,000 and $735,000, respectively, 7 Addison Ave. and 9 Cranberry Dr. were the 2nd and 3rd highest single family home sales to date in Franklin, MA for 2009.

Single family sale volume improved in March 2009 from February’s levels.  But total single family sales was less than March 2008 figures

11 single family home sales for the entire month of March 2009 may not seem like much for a town the size of Franklin, MA.   But Franklin’s March home sale tally was very welcome coming as it does on the on the heels of February’s extremely low real estate sale results.

At least the 20 pending home sales registered on the MLS for Franklin in March 2009 were close to the number of pendings for March the year before.

With mortgage interest rates remaining at or below historic lows, there are grounds for optimism as we head deeper into 2009!

Copyright ©2009 02038.com