Make sure your plumbing pipes are protected. Pipes freeze under three common scenarios: quick temperature drops, poor insulation and thermostats that are set too low. (more…)
Marblehead 2016 housing market: new record
In 2016 the median price of a Single Family Home (SFH) increased by $23,500, or 4%, to $620,000, the first time the median price in Marblehead has exceeded $600,000 for a year. As in every year since 2000 except 2010 and 2011, the median price was higher in the second half of the year than in the first half.
Sales were in line with those of the two prior years – 248 vs 245 and 239 – while the number of SFHs for sale on average was much the same as 2015 but down about 25% from 2013 and 2014.
It is important to bear in mind that only around 4% of Marblehead’s more than 6,200 SFHs change hands publicly in any year, but 4% is a reasonable sample, with sales taking place from $300,000 to $4 million.
Median price
The first chart, with the numbers below, shows the median price for the two halves of the year and for the full year. 2016 was the third year in a row where the median price reached $600,000 in the second half of the year, but the first where the full year exceeded $600,000. (more…)
Twenty Questions with the Marblehead Assessor
Tax bills went out Dec. 27. If you’ve ever wondered how those bill break down here is your answer.
The FY2017 (July 1, 2016 – June 30,2017) tax rate has been set at $11.01, down from $11.10 in FY2016. The median single family (SFH) assessment increased 6.1%, or $33,000, to $578,000, and the median single family tax bill increased 5.2%, or $314, to $6,364.
The commercial rate has once again been set at the same level as the residential rate.
Note that the tax rate includes the cost of debt exclusions (mainly for school construction and the transfer station) voted by residents. These account for $1.07 of the 2017 tax rate, up from $0.99 in 2013. Excluding voter approved exclusions, the tax rate fell from $10.11 to $9.94.
Marblehead’s 2017 tax rate will be the third lowest of the 17 North Shore cities and towns and the fourth lowest of 34 Essex County communities. The highest rate in Essex County belongs to Amesbury at $19.95; the lowest Nahant at $10.47; and the median is $14.41. Swampscott’s residential rate is $17.45 and it commercial rate $32.20.
Approximately 70% of Marblehead’s revenue comes from property taxes.
Real-estate assessments for Fiscal Year 2017 were mailed at the end of last year. Assessor Mike Tumulty answered questions about the process.
1. What is the timeframe upon which assessments are based?
MT. For FY2017, assessments are based upon values as of January 2016, using sales data for calendar year 2015. Sales that took place in calendar year 2016, therefore, will be the basis for the assessment for FY 2018.
2. What percentage of properties sells each year? (more…)
Happy New Year
To buyers: may 2017 produce your dream home that you buy with no issues discovered on inspection
To sellers: may 2017 produce your dream all cash no inspection buyer
And may you and your family enjoy good health.
Property tax rates: 2017 Essex County town by town guide
(Click here to download a pdf of the 2018 report.)
Essex County property tax rates for FY 2017 for all 34 cities and towns have been announced and the bills will be arriving in the mail any day now. (Spoiler warning – your taxes are going up!) Below is a map (so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns) followed by an alphabetical list of tax rates for the last three years. After that I explain how taxes are calculated and give an early look at the likely outcome for 2018.
You can download a pdf of this report by clicking here.
Median and Average Tax Rates
The median and average tax rates are both $14.41. The highest taxed town, Amesbury, is therefore 38% higher than the average, while the lowest, Nahant, is 27% below the average. Or put another way, the highest tax rate in Essex County is 90% higher than the lowest.
Tax Rates of Neighboring Towns
Where taxes become interesting is when one can compare tax rates in neighboring towns. Many people, especially those moving to the area, whether from Boston or elsewhere, are willing to consider more than one town.There are many factors in the decision about where to live, but tax rates can be a significant influence on the decision.
Note, for example, that Marblehead’s rate is much lower than Swampscott’s; Newbury’s is significantly lower than the surrounding towns’; and that Manchester’s is a lot lower than Hamilton’s or Wenham’s. Some – normally the officials of higher-taxed towns – argue that their lower property values offset higher taxes. Frequently, however, residents of highly taxed towns cite taxes as a reason for wanting to move.
Tax rate changes in 2017
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County, 22 have announced decreases in their tax rate while 12 have had increases approved.The median change was a decrease of just 0.7%.
Of the 22 decreases 13 were 2% or less, while the largest decrease was the 6.9% in Newbury.
7 of the 12 increases were 2% or less. The largest increase by far was the 8% in Wenham, where the removal of Penguin Hall from tax rolls impacted the total valuation.
How property tax rates are calculated
There are two main points to understand:
The dollar amount raised by property taxes is based on a simple formula: the dollar levy for the previous year plus 2 1/2% (Prop 2 1/2), plus any new growth (e.g. new construction), plus any voter-approved overrides or debt exclusions.
The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the dollar amount by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY 2017 (July 2016-June 2017) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2015.
Thus, the dollar amount (and tax bills) will always increase from year to year, but the tax rate depends upon what happens to Assessed Values (AV). Here are examples. All assume a 4% increase in the dollar amount to be raised from taxes.The variable is the change in the AV. In the years when AVs were declining, tax rates rose. As AVs are now increasing we should expect to see tax rates flat to down.
Outlook for FY 2018
As we approach the year end the median price of a Single Family Home in Essex County will increase about 5% in 2016, and it is 2016 sales which will be used in calculating FY 2018 tax rates. Since the dollar amount to be raised from property taxes will naturally continue to increase, at this stage it seems reasonable to expect a modest decline in tax rates for FY 2018, but there will, as always, be fluctuations from town to town.
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 Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com.
Read Which broker will find the buyer for my house?
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
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@OliverReports
Merry Christmas from Santa’s house
Do watch this delightful short video from Zillow of Santa’s house
Merry Christmas to you all. Ho ho ho! (more…)
New Listings week of December 23
There are just three new listings this week and no Open Houses tomorrow (there is one on Monday at 3 Lightning Lane in Salem from 1:30 -3:00):
(more…)Mortgage Rates continue to rise – is this the peak for now?
As expected, mortgage rates increased again this week, reaching 4.3%, a level not seen since….as recently as April, 2014. (more…)
Open Houses December 18
The snow has gone, so visit these Open Houses and pick a new home to put under the tree: (more…)
Mortgage rate outlook after Federal Reserve increases rates
For the second time since the introduction of the iPhone (the first was in December 2015) the Federal Reserve (Fed) increased interest rates this week. The increase, like last year’s, was 1/4%. What does this mean for mortgage rates? The key is to understand which rates are impacted by the Fed Funds rate and which are dependent upon interest rates set by the market.
Which rates are based upon the Fed Funds rate?
30 year fixed rate mortgages (FRN) are not based on the FF rate, but are most closely tied to the yield on 10 year US Treasuries(10T). More on that in a minute. (more…)
Will Marblehead reach 250 SFH sales in 2016?
My very first post on Oliver Reports in November 2012 referred to the expectation that sales of Single Family Homes (SFH) would exceed 200 that year for the first time since 2007. They did reaching 227. And this year, as of December 16, there have been 240 sales with a further 9 scheduled to occur before the end of the year, suggesting that sales in 2016 will fall just shy of 250, a good level but still below the 285 of 2004. There is no doubt that the shortage of houses for sale held back the number of sales in 2016.
(more…)Small Business Optimism Soars after Election
Small business optimism remained flat leading up to Election Day and then rocketed higher as business owners expected much better conditions under new leadership in Washington, according to a special edition of the monthly NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism.
“The November index was basically unchanged from October’s reading up to the point of the election and then rose dramatically after the results of the election were known.”
The full November index, calculated as it is every month, improved 3.5 points to 98.4, which is just above the 42-year average and only the third time since 2007 that it has broken into above average territory.
New Listings week of December 16
No surprise – another quiet week for new listings: (more…)
One reason mortgage rates won’t go up this week
With the near certainty that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will vote to increase interest rates this week, many people assume that mortgage rates will automatically follow. Not so. At least not directly. The Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates will have no direct impact on fixed rate mortgage rates.
The last time the Fed raised interest rates was just a year ago and at that time I wrote What the Fed’s rate increase means for mortgage rates.
I will update the report after the Fed’s decision on Wednesday. (more…)
Solar roof tiles 2.0 – a major improvement
Just over a year ago I published Solar panels – are they right for you?, with a not very positive comment based largely upon their appearance.
As with many products, however, dramatic improvements seem to have been made and a recent Bloomberg video
No one saw Tesla’s solar roof coming shows just how much. When Elon Musk of Tesla presented recently, the audience members were unaware that the homes showed had solar roofs. “The interesting thing is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses,” Musk said. “Did you notice?”
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