Marblehead House sells for 23% over List Price

The most frequent questions asked of Realtors is:”how’s the market?

Here’s one answer.

99 Atlantic Avenue was listed for sale on January 16 at $895,000 and sold on February 9 for $1,105,000, some 23% abhove List Price.

And by the way the Assessed Value is $675,800.

 

Marblehead FY 2024 Property Tax Explained

Marblehead’s property tax rate for FY 2024 (July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024) has been set at $8.96, down from $10.00 in FY 2023 following a dramatic 16% increase in Assessed Values.

The formula for calculating the property tax is: take the $ amount of the previous year’s Tax Levy, add 2.5% for Proposition 2 1/2, and also add any New Growth (such as new construction or a condo conversion). This figure is the new tax levy. To this figure is added debt service – the Principal and Interest payable on the town’s debt – to produce the total Tax Levy.

The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the Tax Levy by the Assessed Value of property – and, crucially, that calculation is based upon prices as of January 1, 2023, using date from sales in calendar year 2022.  What that means is that 2023 sales are used for the calculation of the tax rate in FY2025 – not FY2024.

Here are the numbers for Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, remembering that FY 2024 runs from July 2023 to June 2024.

The Tax Levy calculationThe dollar amount raised by the property tax will increase year by year. That is because of the formula: last year’s number plus 2.5% plus new growth. In the table above you can see how the FY 2023 tax levy of $69,217,826 becomes the base for FY 2024. Add $1,730,446 for Prop 2.5% and $468,709 for new growth and the new figure is $71,416,980 . To this number is added the debt service of $10,813,091 – to give a total amount to be raised of $82,230,071..

The Tax Rate
The actual tax rate depends upon the total Assessed Value of all property: residential, commercial and personal. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the total dollar amount to be raised by the total Assessed Value of all property. Thus, while the $ amount raised by the tax (and therefore the median tax bill) will increase each year, the headline tax rate will fluctuate depending upon the direction of Assessed Values.

In simplistic terms, the $ amount raised before debt service will increase by a little more than 2  1/2% each year, so if the median Assessed Value also increases by a little more than 2  1/2% the tax rate will be unchanged. If the increase in Assessed Values is less than 2  1/2%, then the tax rate will rise. And if the increase in Assessed Values is more than 2  1/2% then the tax rate will fall. One additional factor is the cost of debt service.

In FY 2023 the tax rate was $10.00, achieved by dividing the $79.1 million to be raised by the $7.9 billion of Assessed Value. And in FY 2024 the calculation is $82.2 million divided by $9.2 billion, which produces a rate of $8.96. The median tax bill, based on the higher Assessed Values, will increase by $244 or 3%, to $8,318.

Note that the calculation of the tax rate is made simpler by the fact that Marblehead’s Select Board votes each year to have a single tax rate for both residential and commercial property. In towns which elect to have a differential rate – i.e. by taxing commercial property at a higher rate than residential – there are generally two different tax rates, achieved by dividing the amount to be raised from residential and commercial taxpayers by their respective aggregate Assessed Values.

How does debt service affect the tax rate?
The announced property tax rate announced each year also includes the cost of debt service:

What is the outlook for FY 2025?
In 2023, the year that is the basis for the FY 2025 property tax calculation, the median MLS SFH sale price through December 16 was $987,000, an increase of 4% from 2023’s $938,000. This suggests that the actual tax rate should be flat or show perhaps a slight decline for FY2025, but we will get a clearer idea after the town publishes its budget next February .

Read these recent reports: Why Mortgage Rates will fall in 2024
How a tax break of up to $3,200 can help heat your home more efficiently this winter
Conventional Mortgage Loan Limits increased for 2024
INFLATION and RECESSION UPDATE
Most Sales Still Over List Price
Core Inflation Prices Barely Budged in August
MARBLEHEAD Q3 MARKET REPORT 2019-2023
SWAMPSCOTT Q3 MARKET REPORT 2019-2023 SALEM Q3 MARKET REPORT 2019-2023
ESSEX COUNTY Q3 2023 MARKET REPORT
(more…)

Most Sales Still Over List Price

Sales in September in Marblehead, Swampscott and Salem continued to be mostly over List Price:

And read these recent articles:
Most Sales Still Over List Price
Core Inflation Prices Barely Budged in August
October Inventory shows Sharp Jump from September</a.
Credit Score Change Could Help Millions of Buyers
August Sales still mostly over List Price
2023 Sales Continue Strongly over List Price (more…)

August Sales still mostly over List Price

In August 60% of sales in Marblehead, 70% of Swampscott sales and 68% of Salem sales, were over List Price.

Marblehead


Swampscott
(more…)

2023 Sales Continue Strongly over List Price

The chart and table below show how the percentage of sales (of SFHs and Condos) dropped in the last few months of 2022 and early months of 2023, befre recovering strongly from the spring of 2023 onwards.

Note that the actual numbers in some months are quite small which can lead to fluctuations – but the overall message is clear: most properties continue to sell over list price.

And these recent articles:
August Sales still mostly over List Price
2023 Sales Continue Strongly over List Price
No signs of improvement in September Housing Inventory (more…)

June Sales in Marblehead mostly At or Over List Pricce

All but 4 of 21 June sales in Marblehead were at or above list price:

 

And these recent articles:
Marblehead Mid-year 2023 Market Stats
Swampscott Mid-year 2023 Market Stats
Salem Mid-year 2023 Market Stats

Economic and mortgage commentary
Two signs Inflation is Slowing (more…)

Bidding Wars return to the North Shore

One of the features of the housing market boom of 2020-2022 was the very high number of sales above list price, an indication that there were multiple offers resulting in bidding wars.
And a logical consequence of the market returning to more normal conditions would be to expect a decline in bidding wars, leading to fewer sales taking place above list price.
Has this actually happened?
Let’s look at the sales in last 12 months in Marblehead, Swampscott and Salem. Here is the chart: (more…)

Mozart Requiem: First Rehearsal TONIGHT!

Registration and the first rehearsal will take place at 7:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, Feb. 22 in the Parish Hall of Old North Church.

Subsequent rehearsals will take place every Wednesday evening from 7:30 to 9 p.m. until the April 2 performance.

Go HERE for more details

The centerpiece of the Lenten Choral Concert will be the “Requiem in D” by W.A. Mozart, universally recognized as among the most poignant and breathtakingly beautiful works of the sacred choral repertoire.

Maria van Kalken, director of the Old North Festival Chorus and minister of music at Old North Church, extends a warm and enthusiastic welcome to all singers to join the chorus for its annual Lenten Choral Concert, which will be the first time the chorus has performed with full orchestra in person since March 2019.

Celebrating her 34th season as director of the Festival Chorus, van Kalken has planned a memorable choral concert to take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 2, Palm Sunday (more…)

Marblehead 2022 Housing Market Review

Single Family Homes (SFH)

The median price of Single Family Homes (SFH) sold in 2022 increased 10.4% to $938,000, and reached exactly $1 million in the second half of the year. Sales, reflecting a number of headwinds – amongst them, reduced inventory and a doubling of mortgage rates – dropped below 200 for the first time since 2011.

The share of sales over $1 million increased from 34% in 2021 to 46% in 2022, driving the median price for the year to over $900,000.

Condos (more…)