AAA Marblehead: Finances stay in the Black
New town Administrator, and former Finance Director, John McGinn presented the FY2016 (July 2015 – June 2016) Financial Outlook this week.
The headlines are:
– Marblehead is one of just 22 Massachusetts communities rated AAA by Standard & Poors
– As has been the case for the past 10 years there is “no need to consider any permanent (tax) overrides to fund the town’s operating budget.”
– Marblehead enjoys “No deficits; strong budget oversight; and appropriate revenue estimates, all of which allow us to avoid fiscal emergencies.”
– 78% of the Budget revenues derive from property taxes, 9% from State Aid, 5% from local receipts (excise taxes, permits etc.) and 8% from free cash and enterprise payments.
This presentation will form the basis of the formal Budget to be voted at Town Meeting on May 4th.
Here is the Marblehead FY16 Budget presentation. (more…)
What does $27 million buy in Nantucket?
Answer: a 5,000 sf, 5 bedroom home on 1.5 acres, but….. it is on a cliff overlooking Nantucket Sound.
8 homes in total sold for over $10 million in 2014.
It may not be Nantucket but the North Shore offers great value in oceanfront property and I expect a strong market for such properties in 2015.
Read this Nantucket mansion sales through the roof article from boston.com.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Dreams, real estate, murder and war
I awoke this morning, blog day, at 5:20 am with a vivid image in my head of a blog post entitled “The Rousseau property market.” A quick search of my “mind” showed me that the Rousseau referenced was Jean-Jacques, the 18th Century Swiss philosopher whose writings influenced the French Revolution, not Conrad, the Marblehead mortgage lender.
But what was the link with real estate?
I found this quote:”The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said “This is mine,” and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.”
Wow, I know that people can become quite passionate about real estate, but wars and murders?
A word of advice for Conrad: stick to mortgage lending.
And a word of advice to me: take a sleeping pill next Friday night.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Essex County Housing Market 2014 Review
Here are the highlights for the Essex County market for 2014. Note the difference between the SFH and condo markets when compared with the prior peak.
Single Family Homes (SFH)
– the median SFH price increased 3% to $380,000, which is 4% below the 2005 peak of $394,000.
– sales dipped very slightly, while non-distressed sales increased modestly
Condos
– the median condo price increased nearly 5% to $252,000, beating the prior peak of $246,000 in 2005
– sales were down slightly and are still well below the levels seen in the 2003-06 period
Tax rates
– for FY2015 23 cities and towns have announced a reduction in the tax rate while in 11 towns the rate has been increased. Note that a reduction in the tax rate does not imply a reduction in the tax bill. I will be publishing a report in the near future on the average tax bill per city and town in Essex County to go with my recent Essex County 2015 property tax rates report.
I will also publish a fuller market report in the near future.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home, or have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Marblehead 2014 housing market reaches new high
Here are the highlights of the market in Marblehead in 2014.
Single Family Homes (SFHs)
– the median SFH price increased 10.3% to a record high of $590,000, beating the previous peak of $585,000 in 2006
– sales of SFHs increased to 245, the best year since 2004
– the Assessed Value to Sales Ratio (ASR*) dropped from 90.5% to 88.0% overall, an indication of rising prices
Condos
– the median condo price in 2014 was down 0.6% to $328,000. Because the condo market is small and bifurcated in Marblehead I will break the numbers down into segments in a later report
– sales were 43, much the same as the two previous years and, in fact, in line with the average for the last 9 years
– the ASR* dropped from 94.5% to 88.5%
Property Taxes
The tax rate for FY2015 is $11.08, virtually unchanged from $11.09 in FY2014. The average tax bill will increase by $309 or 4%. (more…)
Winterize your garage to gain more space
“In New England people don’t use their garages for cars but for storage.” This was said recently by the selling agent when I was showing the house to a buyer.
How true!
But you don’t have to limit your garage to storage. (more…)
Essex County 2015 property tax rates
FY2015 tax rates have now been announced for all 34 Essex County cities and towns. As usual, they show wide variations: for residential property, from$10.84 in Manchester to $20.56 in Amesbury; and for commercial, from $10.84 in Manchester to $33.58 in Lynn.
There have also been significant differences in the changes for tax rates for FY2015, ranging from a decrease of 14% in Wenham to an increase of 14% in Georgetown.
Recall that FY2015 tax assessments are based on values at January 1, 2014, using 2013 sales information; and that Proposition 2 1/2 limits the amount that can be raised through property taxes. In general, when assessed values increase, tax rates go down. But even when the tax rate goes down tax bills usually increase.
Here are the tax rates for the last 4 years for each city or town. The rate for FY2015 applies for the entire year to June 30, 2015, so the 3rd and 4th quarter tax bills will be adjusted for any changes occurring from the new rate.
Residential:
Source: Dept of Revenue, Assessors’ Offices
Commercial:
Source: Dept of Revenue, Assessors’ Offices
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Would you prefer an 8% property tax rate cut or no change?
Would you rather your property tax rate went down 8% or stayed the same?
The answer may not be obvious. Look at Marblehead and Swampscott for FY2015:
Source: Assessors’ Offices
In both towns the average tax bill will increase 4%, but the average $ increase will be $309 in Marblehead and $352 in Swampscott.
Because Proposition 2 1/2 limits the increase in the amount that can be raised through property taxes, when assessed values increase, tax rates generally go down.
FY2015 tax rates are based on values as of January 1, 2014, so reflect prices in calendar year 2013. In 2013 the median sale price in Swampscott increased 11% vs a 5% increase in Marblehead.
In 2014, however, the median sale price in Swampscott was flat while it increased 10% in Marblehead.
Thus, other things being equal, the outlook for FY2016 is for the tax rate in Swampscott to tick up while Marblehead should see a decent reduction.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty
Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Carnegie Hall comes to Marblehead
As part of this weekend’s Christmas Walk, the Old North Festival Chorus performs two concerts at Old North Church, 35 Washington Street, on Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 7:30 pm.
The Concerts, in their 34th year, feature a wide range of music, from Bach’s Magnificat to carols, in which the audience is invited to join in, with appearances from the Old North Bell Choir and the award-winning Old North Children’s Festival Chorus. Truly something for everybody and a joyous and memorable evening is guaranteed. (more…)
Marblehead Home Sales best since 2004
This week’s closed sales took the year’s total to 238, the best since 2004. Based on anticipated sales dates the full year will come in around 245.
Source:MLS, Oliver Reports
Marblehead’s property tax rate drops a penny
While I was away in London, the property tax rate in Marblehead for 2015 was approved at $11.08, down just a penny from 2014’s $11.09.
Remember that assessed values for FY2015 (July 2014-June 2015) are based upon values in 2013, so the strong market in 2014 will be reflected in the tax rate for FY2016, when I expect to see a larger drop.
(more…)
Million Dollar Home Sales hit new record in Marblehead
Record Sales
Sales of Marblehead homes over a Million Dollars have hit a new record in 2014. The previous peak was 36 in 2005, and this year we already have 38 closed sales with a further 5 scheduled to close before year end for a total of 43.
Sales by price bracket (more…)
Homes for sale in Essex County plummet in recent years
This week I am looking at the number of Single Family Homes (SFHs) for sale, as a follow up to last week’s Where have all the Condo sellers gone? article. In that article I pointed out that the number of condos for sale, in both Marblehead and Essex County, was down some 70% from the levels seen in the 2006/07 period, and offered some thoughts on why that might be. (more…)
Flood Insurance: “Because without it your home is a disaster waiting to happen”
It seems appropriate on this morning of another nor’easter to echo the reminder recently sent out by FEMA.
– Flood damage is not covered by most homeowners insurance.
– Flooding is the #1 natural disaster.
– People outside high-risk areas file over 20% of NFIP claims and receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding
– In high-risk areas homes have at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding over a 30 year mortgage
– Flood insurance is mandatory if you live in a high-risk area and have a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender.
For more information go to FloodSmart.gov (more…)
Where have all the Condo sellers gone?
I have noticed for some time that the number of condos for sale in Marblehead has been low compared with the days of my old Marblehead Reporter articles (2008-11) when my memory said there always seemed to be 50 or more for sale.
I checked the numbers for today and compared them over the last 10 years. The questions that came to mind were: was this just a Marblehead phenomenon? Was it maybe because of the time of the year? And if not, what was the reason for the decline? (more…)
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