From our President

The results of a recent homeownership study are in and there's one trend in the way American's think about the real estate market that stands out. "Nearly half of all home buyers (44%) believe the housing market will improve once the new President takes office in January, 2009."

The study reveals a changing tide in public opinion. Despite some confusion about changing mortgage rules and the typical anxiety about making a big purchase, most buyers express an evenhanded sensibility about the market and are willing to make trade-offs in order to buy the house that meets their lifestyle needs.

In Cambridge, it looks like many buyers have realized that oversimplified forecasts of real estate doom and gloom just don't jive with what's happening here. The result is that buyers are taking action, particularly in the first-time buyer price point of $200,000 to $500,000. Each month since January, the number of properties purchased has increasingly surpassed the number of new offerings. The cumulative effect is that, in Cambridge, we just don't have enough inventory and it's not at all uncommon to see a property under contract in just a few days and after a heated bidding war. Imagine that!

Here's a great tip to add instant value if you're selling your home. My wife, Cay, and I
always "stage" our property when we're selling. Like we always say at WEICHERT, REALTORS ... IT WORKS!

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '...holy sh*t ...what a ride!'
-George Carlin

Continuing the theme from my previous post, I wanted to take a look at trends in the Cambridge condo market. Here are two graphs that paint a picture of what's been going on recently.

Notice the trend in the first graph. The number of sold properties and pending or "under contract" properties is growing each month. The market is definitely active as the volume of sales is increasing!

Now take a look at the second graph. It shows how the stock of available inventory is decreasing. Ah hah! Does this mean more and more people are buying at a time when inventory isn't being replenished? Could we be facing an actual shortage of available homes for sale at a time when affordability has improved and the cost of mortgage money is still very attractive? If this trend continues, could we actually face the possibility of price increases in the near future because of a alack of inventory?

My advice is to buy now while the market is on your side. Don't wait for a future market that could be characterized by a shortage of inventory, higher prices and the possibility of higher interest rates! Your best opportunity to take advantage of the American Dream is today, not tomorrow!

Based on an online arcticle from CnnMoney.com by Ben Rooney home buyers are taking advantage of plummeting home prices. Here is an excerpt.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Thursday that the number of existing homes sold during May rose 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million units in May from a level of 4.89 million in April.

But sales remain 16% below the 5.93 million-unit pace in May 2007, the report showed. And Thursday's report marks only the second time in 10 months that sales have increased.

Analysts were expecting the sales rate to increase to 4.95 million last month, according to a consensus of analysts' estimates gathered by Briefing.com.

You can view the entire article here

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The Wall Street Journal put out a "cheat sheet" on the ups and downs of local real estate markets in the US. The Boston area made it to their list of "insider tips" about markets that are holding their own. Though it's no secret to us that Cambridge (and Boston, too) have some of the most sought after real estate in the country, it's always nice when the business world's newspaper of record gives us our due.

And there's some good advice too:

For today's buyers, this means that shopping for housing bargains is increasingly complicated. The best deals may be where prices have slid the most, but such areas could easily fall a good bit more before hitting bottom. Meanwhile, you'll get few bargains if you buy a home in San Francisco or Manhattan or downtown Boston.

As for our area itself, a Boston brokers sums up the situation quite well:

No one is taking prices higher these days just to see if they can get it, like they used to. But you have to come with realistic expectations. This is a highly desirable area, and you're not going to find a steal.

If you want to read the details about Boston, New York, Chicago, L.A or San Francisco, you can find here

In a recent message to Weichert affiliates, Jim Weichert, the president and founder of the Weichert family of companies, shares some of his thoughts about customer service.

It has been said that the traditional way of doing real estate is on its way out. The reasoning goes as follows. A growing demographic of tech-savvy buyers with information at their fingertips relies less and less on the assistance of real estate agents when buying a home. So, if real estate agents are to stay ahead of the curve, they have to respond to buyers' increasing demand for instant information. A recent article in the Boston Globe describes this trend.

It makes absolute sense that if more and more buyers want to communicate by IM chat or text message and seek out real estate professionals on social networking sites, real estate agents should accommodate. But it's misleading to say that technological expertise can replace the essence of salesmanship: personalized service. It never gets old.

Jim Weichert explains.

Personalized Service is Still King.
That's Why People Buy People Before Products or Services.

No one can deny the positive impact the Information Age has had on real
estate. A significant number of buyers search online for a home, and there
are hundreds of real estate blogs and other Web sites that provide
consumers with information about the industry. At the same time, people
have begun relying heavily on e-mail when communicating.

While this is all well and good, please never lose sight of this fact:
While the Internet and e-mail can be effective in delivering information,
it can never replace personalized service. A computer can't close a
transaction, just like an e-mail alone will not typically win you a new
client.

Our business was built on service, and we all need to be salespeople,
first and foremost. Remember to take your clients to tour properties
first-hand and not just virtually. Follow-up on your e-mails with a phone
call the same way you would have for a postcard or mailer.

Remember, people buy people before products or services.

Jim Weichert

We share this philosophy at Weichert, Realtors - Channing Real Estate. While we continue to embrace innovative ways selling real estate, we'll always roll out the red carpet for our clients. It's personalized attention and the human touch that make our services unique.

Buyer's who plan to stay in their properties for a number of years are at an advantage if they buy before the market finds its "bottom." Here's the caveat: think local.

Some towns have a ways to go to reach that point. Other markets, like Cambridge, are buzzing along again. In fact, we're seeing a shortage rather than a glut of certain kinds of property. There are so many buyers looking for three bedroom condos and singles above a million in Cambridge that the supply of listings just isn't enough.

In either case, the winning strategy for buyers is somewhat counter-intuitive. DO buy while prices are falling. Your bargaining power is greatest when sellers are uncertain about when and if home prices will reach bottom. Once the market hits bottom, you'll find it harder to get a seller to make concessions.

Here's an article from the Boston Globe that explains it all.

Wondering why we affiliated with Weichert, Realtors after twenty years of going it alone? Please read the following article from this week's Broker and Tradesman newspaper...
Here's an excerpt.

Residential Real Estate

Real Estate Market Slump Fuels Weichert Expansion

Weichert offers a system for everything from recruiting new agents, to managing leads, to running open houses, to doing listing presentations.

Cambridge broker Bill Luther was so impressed that after 20 years of operating his business, Channing Real Estate, he joined Weichert last July. He said his first introduction to the company came through the relocation business that Weichert was funneling to his firm.

"As I began to suspect that the market was changing, I began to think back to the last downturn I experienced in 1989 and 1990, and began to think about how it was a struggle to move through that downturn," said Luther. "I thought aligning myself with a national organization would give my agents lines of incoming business that they would never have been able to have."

I was right

You can access the full article here.

Somerville's Union Square has been an excavation site the last couple months. It's part of an ambitious project part civic engineering part urban renewal -- and the City says that the contractor is ahead of schedule. There's also a lot of buzz about the Green Line extension to Union Square. The bureaucratic mechanism has been set in motion, the gears and cogs grinding along through the myriad studies, community meetings, urban planning briefs, paperwork and funding processes.

We're all excited about the quality of life improvements this spells for the area. Union Square is located in a part of Somerville near the Cambridge border, at a walkable distance from Harvard Square and close to downtown Boston. It's home to an active community of artists, a farmer's market, cafes, restaurants and shops from the globe over.

With the Square's makeover and the promised subway stop come some interesting questions. Should you buy property in Union Square with the expectation of cashing out big once the Square gets a T stop? How long will it take? Just how much should these future improvements influence current property values? In a nut shell, it comes down to whether you're willing to hold on to the property 'till it all comes together. Something to think about.

Speculations aside, an article in the Boston Globe spells out what to expect in the coming years. Union Square: A little pain amid gains