AAA rated Marblehead – again
As this For seventh consecutive year Marblehead attains AAA bond rating Marblehead Reporter article points out, Marblehead is one of just 45 of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns to be rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s.
S&P cited Marblehead’s “very strong economy, strong management with good financial policies and practices, strong budgetary performance, very strong liquidity and budgetary flexibility, strong debt and contingent liability position, and strong institutional framework” as positive credit factors, according to the Town’s press release.
These factors contribute to a robust real estate market, described thus in the Town’s Comprehensive Financial Report:”… continues to be in the revitalization stage of the real estate cycle as demonstrated by the continued number of “tear downs” and redevelopment of 17 new dwellings. Additionally, smaller subdivisions are in the planning stages. Local realtors continue to maintain that this market has seen the strongest demand since the peak of the market in 2006. Average marketing time for properties is less than 3 months if priced properly. Demand continues to outweigh supply resulting in a seller’s market and an upward trend in values.” (more…)
Still no Private Islands for sale in Essex County
One of the advantages of being part of the Sotheby’s International Realty network is that it provides access to luxury homes throughout the world, for example Elvis’s Honeymoon Hideaway.
The search options therefore include a couple of non-standard features:
Today’s Open Houses
Today may not be a great beach day so it is a good day to go to Open Houses. (more…)
First Elvis’s house, now…..
If you can’t afford the $6.9 million asking price on Elvis’s Honeymoon Hideaway( see Elvis HAS left this building) then perhaps an item from this August 13 Auction at Graceland of Elvis memorabilia will appeal. (more…)
This week’s new listings
This week’s new listings continued to be at a slow summer pace : (more…)
Summer ice in Boston and Maine
I played golf yesterday in York, Maine, and noticed that the greens were not as immaculately smooth as they usually are. I was told that the indentations were the result of Monday’s hailstorm.
And then I saw these photos in the Boston Globe with the title Summer ice in Boston. And understood the dents. (more…)
Million Dollar Sales – now vs the peak
Million dollar sales in Essex County continue to pick up and are approaching the levels of 2005/06, but there are some marked variations from town to town, while sales at the highest level continue to lag.
First the overall picture by price range for the whole of Essex County: (more…)
Marblehead Gardens open this Saturday
As part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day Program these Marblehead Gardens will be open to the public this coming Saturday, August 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (more…)
Marblehead home prices exploding…..
It is almost three months since I last poked fun at Trulia and I really didn’t intend to do so again but I could not resist posting this after seeing it in my inbox:
Source: Trulia
How to keep your home cool without A/C
Most towns in New England contain houses built in the 18th and 19th Centuries. While these houses have great character and charm, they were built long before the days of air-conditioning.
Here are some tips for keeping cool in such houses during the summer. The simplest are: keeping blinds down and windows mostly closed during the day to keep the hot air out, and opening windows at night to let the cool air in. (more…)
What can you buy for $725 million?
A lot of baby-boomers today are thinking of down-sizing.
But what if you want to up-size? What are the options? (more…)
Just say no to a lock box
A topic which came up for discussion at this week’s office meeting was the use of lock boxes on properties which are for sale. The subject arose because I have shown three properties recently with lock boxes.
My experience – and that of my buyers – was one of great frustration. Apart from the fact that it always seems to take me 5-10 minutes to open lock boxes, here are my main gripes: (more…)
New Listings as languid as the weather
The number of new listings continues to decline: (more…)
Mortgage rates dip below 4% again – where next?
National mortgage rates for the 30 year FRM (Fixed Rate Mortgage) dipped below 4% again this week after seven weeks above 4%.
Source: Freddie Mac
And the 30 year FRM is still lower than it was a year ago:
Source: Freddie Mac
Forecasting that mortgage rates will rise has been a favourite occupation of soothsayers ( or economists as they like to call themselves) for a couple of years now. My last article on the subject in June was Mortgage rates “forecast to reach 4.5% by year end”, quoting the Mortgage Bankers Association.
When will the Federal Reserve raise rates? (more…)
Home Prices are rising, but so are Rents
Quite often I read articles about home ownership “affordability” suggesting that rising home prices are making home ownership more difficult for many people. Yet these articles rarely if ever point out that the alternative to home ownership – renting – is also seeing rising prices.
This Bloomberg article Your rent’s about to get even higher points out that
Source: US Census Bureau, Bloomberg
Rising rent = more of your money being paid to the person who owns the home in which you live, while that person benefits from any increase in the home’s value
Rising home prices = an increase for you in the value of your home if you own it.
So who do you want to help make money – you or your landlord? (more…)
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