Open Houses weekend October 16/17

Here are the Open Houses this weekend. Because of the quirks of MLS properties with OH’s both days do not show up in both days’ lists but do if you click on the individual properties. I will publish the updated list for Sunday tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Click on these links for details: (more…)

 9 small home improvement projects with high ROIs

 9 small home improvement projects that achieve amazing ROIs and really pack a punch.

1. Decluttering and cleaning

When you go to sell your home, depersonalizing it goes a long to show home buyers a blank slate in which they can imagine living their lives—rather than a lived-in home where you’ve lived yours. Decluttering and deep cleaning is a great place to start to remove the lived-in look. With low costs and huge visual impacts, deep cleaning and decluttering are recommended the most by real estate agents. According to HomeLight’s research, 98% of agents recommend decluttering and 91% recommend deep cleaning to prepare for market.

2. Landscaping and curb appeal updates

(more…)

Fall Market Report

Sagan Harborside has published my  Fall Market Report this week. The report includes stats on every city and town in Essex County, with more detailed analysis of the markets in Marblehead, Swampscott, Salem, Beverly, Gloucester, Nahant, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Rockport.

Here are the highlights: (more…)

Marblehead Social Media pages

Read The Facts about Inventory and Home Prices (more…)

Open Houses Sunday September 19

Here is the updated list of today’s Open Houses:

Open Houses

 

Click on these links for details: (more…)

How much does it cost to live in each town in Essex County?

This chart shows the median price of the Single Family Homes sold in each of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County in the first 8 months of 2021, together with Condo prices overall in Essex County, Boston and Massachusetts. Read my comments below the chart:

With the strength of the market over the last year or so, it is important to understand that properties are available at a wide range of prices in Essex County.

Over the years I have said to my sons that sometimes you know where you are going and it is like sailing with a tailwind – and sometimes you have to tack. Maybe right now you can’t afford Marblehead, but you can afford Salem and in a few years, as your circumstances improve, you may be able to afford Marblehead. So you tack.

The other thing – and I think this is really important – is the understand what the median price means. Let’s take Marblehead as an example. The median price YTD is $821,500 on 142 sales. That does NOT mean that you have to pay $821,500 to live in Marblehead. What it DOES mean is that, while there were more than 70 houses which sold for more than $821,500, there were also more than 70 houses that sold for LESS than $821,500.

I have mentioned Salem, but Beverly is another dynamic and vibrant town. The median price of 196 sales was $625,000 YTD, so again there were over 90 sales BELOW $625,000.

Yes, inventory remains in short supply, but widening the search may just provide a solution. And I do have market reports available for each of the 34 cities and towns so please reach out to me to receive a copy of any ones in which you are interested.

The Facts about Inventory and Home Prices

And read these recent articles:

Team Harborside recognized on America’s Best Real Estate Professionals list
Are mortgage rates heading up or down?
Essex County 2021 Residential Property Tax Rates: a Town by Town guide
Naples August Housing Market Review

If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].

“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of Oliver Reports . He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”

Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205

www.OliverReportsMA.com
[email protected]

Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

Andrew Oliver
Sales Associate | Market Analyst | DomainRealty.com
REALTOR®

Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers
[email protected]
m. 617.834.8205
www.MarbleheadSouth.com

Tips for working remotely in a tiny home

I seem to recall a lot of talk about tiny homes a couple of  years ago – heck, I even wrote about them in  Tiny house with great views for $40,000.

Boston.com has an intriguing article about Working from Home in a Tiny House/.

For those considering joining the tiny-house movement while working remotely, Stephanie Burrows, founder of the Tiny Homes of New England Meetup group, offered advice. (more…)

Open Houses Sunday September 12

Here is the updated list of today’s Open Houses:

Click on these links for details: (more…)

New Listings week ending September 10

Here are the latest New Listings:

(more…)

Open Houses this weekend

Here are the Open Houses this weekend. Because of the quirks of MLS properties with OH’s both days so not show up in both days’ lists but do if you click on the individual properties. I will publish the updated list for Sunday tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Click on these links for details: (more…)

The Facts about Inventory and Home Prices

Confused by the market? Is inventory on the increase? What about sales? Are New Listings down? And how can sales be steady if inventory is down so much, especially when compared with 2019?

Let’s try to address these questions.
Is inventory on the increase? This chart shows the daily SFH active inventory for Essex County.There was an interesting phenomenon at the end of June. The SF inventory dropped from 477 on June 24 to 315 on July 2. My guess is there were two factors at work- buyers wanting to get an offer accepted before July 4 – and sellers waiting until after that date to list.
There has also been a drop throughout August which may reflect sellers waiting until Labor Day to list. (more…)

Essex County Inventory and Activity update

SFH Inventory as of September 1 dropped slightly from August 1 and still trails historic levels. See the chart and comment later in this article for more details.

Single Family Homes

Housing Inventory

 

Condos (more…)