I just saw information on Realtor.com regarding historic low rates for mortages.  Everyone has been saying that now is the time to buy and it is really really true.  With interest rates at their lowest in several years and the inventory being priced now at the most attractive for homes to sell, this is truly a buyers market.  Sellers should not feel that their home's value will be lost,  homes that are priced competitvely can move quickly because true gems don't stay on the market long.  Homes that are priced too high for the area will increase days on market.  My advice to my buyers is now is the time to really start looking, don't wait for the spring market because the rates may not support your search.   Here is what I found on Realtor.com 30-Year Rates Fall Below 5 Percent Mortgage ... 01/17/2009

I think its going to be an exciting week next week.  I would encourage everyone to witness a historic event and remember where you are.  Hopefully it will be the start to pointing the country to more positive than negative.  As a realtor, and a business person we are facing very difficult times with real estate, job losses, businesses losing ground.  Consumers have to learn they can't spend more than they earn, and saving if and when you can is the best way to make a dream possible.   For those who have always been saving, my hat's off to you.  Now is your time to find the best deals around in real estate so you can have a home.   Have a great weekend and a reflective holiday.  Yes we Can!     01/15/2009

Welcome to Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts is a unique community in its mix of cultural and social diversity, intellectual vitality and technical innovation. The city is home to internationally-known Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; over one-fourth of all its residents are students, while one-sixth of all its jobs are in higher education. Yet residents feel that it is far more than a college town.  Cambridge MA real estate is very active with the relocation trends in the community. One of the first towns settled by the 700 Puritan founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the community was established as Newetowne in 1630. Today, world-renowned Harvard Square sits where the original village site once stood. Now the oldest and most prest... 01/15/2009

  No... she didn't. Just kidding.   I sell real estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts and while I've spotted John Malkovich at the ATM (he does live here) and Matt and Ben come home to visit family and friends, Cambridge is not L.A.   Our stars are more likely to have found fame on the small screen - usually PBS - not the big screen. In fact, Julia Child's and Bob Vila's houses have sold since I started in real estate.  That's Julia's house on the left. It sold in 2002 for $2,350,000 - minus the kitchen which went to the Smithsonian.  When you're touring property in Cambridge it's not uncommon to realize you're in the home of a Nobel prize winner, or a former advisor to Kennedy or Clinton, or a best selling author.    My coworkers tug at my sleeve - "Come on. We're falling behind. Let's g... 01/11/2009

I just saw a blog from a realtor in Maryland that put a great list together of top ten things she learned this year.  I feel that it would be a great time to put my own list together of what I learned this year.  Working in the Cambridge market has been challenging and yet homes and condo's have sold well.  If I listened to the media, I would have stayed home all day.  Surprisingly, open houses had a great traffice before the holidays and yes buyers were looking for deals.  I realized that I need to pre-approve my buyers before showing lots of homes.  And even then, really clarify why someone is looking so that valuable time isn't wasted.  I would love to hear the top ten things other agents learned this year so we can compare.   Buyers will buy very different homes than what they told ... 12/29/2008

Cambridge Massachusetts Condominiums For Sale - Direct MLS Access for Map Based Search Click  on Cambridge Condominiums to view MLS condominiums listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Select condominiums under "Types". To view condominiums in other Massachusetts communities: Click here and the Virtual Homes MLS Map Search map will appear. Type in a town in Quick City Search.  A map of the town will appear with all properties listed shown on the map.  Select condominiums under the Select Types option - either single family or condominiums.  All condominiums for sale will be located on the map.   Visit the Cambridge, MA Virtual Homes web site at www.cambridgemarealestate.com for community information about Cambridge, Massachusetts The VirtualHomesMLS tool provides a map based search of al... 12/07/2008

The number of multi-family homes sold in Cambridge, MA during the month of October increased from 5 sold (2007) to 8 homes sold in 2008. The average selling price deccreased significantly from $1,001,475 in 2007 to $760,625 in 2008.  The average DOM (Days on Market) decreased to 51 days from 62 in 2007. 11/25/2008

The number of condominiums sold in Cambridge, MA during the month of October remained the same at 46 sold in 2007 & 2008. The average selling price increased significantly from $423,081 in 2007 to $513,336 in 2008.  The average DOM (Days on Market) increased slightly to 69 days from 67 in 2007. 11/20/2008

The number of single family homes sold in Cambridge, MA during the month of October increased dramatically from 4 sold (2007) to 13 homes sold in 2008. The average selling price decreased by 19% from $1,008,275 in 2007 to $817,885 in 2008.  The average DOM (Days on Market) decreased significantly to 102 days from 158 in 2007. 11/17/2008

  Cambridge Massachusetts Bank Owned Property (REO), Foreclosures and Short Sale Property for Sale FREE SERVICE!  New listing alert and MLS search of all property including foreclosures. Sign up to receive new listings owned by banks (financial institutions) in Massachusetts. Here's how to receive this free service: 1  Click here at MA Foreclosures For Sale , fill in your information and submit. 2. You will see confirmation that asks you to check your email for a "Welcome MLSpulse" message. 3. Follow the directions for login and you will see the options for searching. 4. Select the town(s) and set the price range (recommend 0-9999999). In the remarks section enter the words bank, foreclosure, short.  This will search all listings that are bank owned, foreclosures and short sale opportun... 11/16/2008

Now that the election has been decided and interest rates are dropping, I feel as though it's time to roll up our sleeves.  As a realtor I believe there is no better time than now to start looking at the great inventory of homes on the market.  So many of my clients are anxious to get on with their lives and find a home. Many of my first-time home buying clients have taken a long time to make a decision on a home.  Here are some statistics that might motivate those on the fence to jump in: Here are some statistics for October:               Active                                       Sold Total number of listings were                              263                                       42 Average days on market for all listings                 98                                      ... 11/07/2008

  Gena Brown, 48, Died after saving her four children Email|Link|Comments (16) Posted by David Dahl, Regional Editor September 16, 2008 01:00 PM   Gena R. Brown, a Lexington woman known for her devotion to her children and for enjoying rides on a motorcycle, died Saturday Sept. 13 after saving her two daughters from a dryer fire that ignited their home. Brown, 48, yelled for her daughters to get out, as the fire tore through the house on Paul Revere Road in the early hours of the morning. Jordan and Kendal Brown, ages 10 and 12, climbed out a second floor window and warned neighbors to call 911. Brown was unable to escape before firefighters arrived at 5 a.m. The fire is believed to be the result of lint buildup in a clothes dryer. A mother of three, Brown was active and involved, takin... 10/22/2008

The food stalls at Porter Exchange offer a taste of Japan that is pretty darn cool and also light on the wallet, or you can opt for sushi at Blue Fin and sit at the sushi bar.  However, it's usually just a pleasing to eat at one of the stalls and it's what I prefer.  The trip is never complete without a visit to the Japanese foodstore inside the building.   You can stock up on everything from soba and buckwheat noodles to dried fish products (if you're so inclined), sushi grade fish and condiments, along with Japanese candy.  There's also a great little gift shop with pottery pieces, notepaper and other smaller its.   The variety of incense is wonderful and hard to find in other places, a tad pricey but worth it. 09/19/2008

What Was REALLY Cooking. . . ??? Bon Appetit! Was Julia Child Sending A Secret Code?   Papers to be released on Thursday indicate that Julia Child, the indomitable PBS hostess from Cambridge Ma, had more cooking in her pot than just chicken! Documents indicate that Chef Julia was an early operative during WW II, for the office that later became known as the CIA.  Child was a beloved former resident of Cambridge and was world renowned for her culinary talents.  Apparently this Massachusetts resident knew more than how to skin a chicken!  Yes indeed, our dear Julia was in fact. . . a spy!! Long known as a role model for Martha Stewart, it seems that the cooking icon may have been more like the forerunner for Angelina Jolie's character from "Mr. & Mrs. Smith!"     *courtesy API   http://ne... 08/13/2008

Cambridge/ Somerville MLS Market Trends for June.  Active Listing Trends show that inventory has dropped by over 22%, 198 units pretty evenly divided per city.  The days on market have come down by an average of 38%, which equates down from approximately four months to closer to three months on the market Under Agreement Trends show a increase in activity with more 60 more condos U/A this year - an increase of 30%. Cambridge had the larger increase with 49, Somerville 11 more condos U/A The DOM stayed pretty much the same at just over 2 months. The Sold Market Trends continue to drag with 34 less closings in Cambridge and 6 less in Somerville. The days on market reduced slightly for Somerville -6.5% and increased in Cambridge by over 45% to 101 days. Detailed report by city upon request. 07/10/2008

I wanted to give my clients a brief understanding of how quickly things change in the current market.  So I did some research on the condominium listings that sold in the month of June that had been on the market for 45 days or less.   The stats as I found from MLS for June:   List price $484,000   vs  Sale price $473,600 So this means that as real estate agents, if we price the property right - homes will surely sell close to our listing price.  Estimated at about 97% of list. Two properties sold within 2 days on the market - Yahoo! to those agents Ten properties sold within 7 days on the market -  Great to see I didn't dig deeper to see if there were hot selling areas over others.  Cambridge is overall an active city for most of the year.   Additional statistics from the City of Cambr... 07/08/2008

This year the spring market started late (it's usually good weather that jump-starts the market in January or early February) and from all indications will continue into the usual summer downtime between June 15 and Labor Day.   The market in Cambridge and pockets of Boston and surrounding towns is good this year despite the national news.  Low inventory in certain price bands is driving many sales. An interesting turn of events has occurred in the 5% first-time home buyer category.  Usually, the home of choice in this location for the single, first-time home buyer is a one-bedroom/one-bath condominium in desirable locations like Harvard Sq., Davis Sq. in Somerville, and the Back Bay, South End, North End, Beacon Hill and Waterfront in Boston.  If a buyer secures a home in those locatio... 06/04/2008

Many of my clients have been asking me "THE QUESTION"."THE QUESTION" is one that every active agent and broker has heard dozens upon dozens of times in the last year; it comes from family, friends, clients, past clients, new aquaintances, and, well...pretty much everyone I meet. It usually is preceeded by a pregnant pause. Sometimes, depending on whether or not the person asking needs to buy or sell a home, the pause is joined by a nervous twitching.THE QUESTION, of course is: "So, uh...how is the market doing these days?"Now, the great part about the THE QUESTION is that depending on who you ask, you may get one of many answers.  Real estate agents are fantastic pessimists and are usually unable to distinguish their personal businesses from the larger market.    For example:  Bob Usedt... 10/19/2007

REALTOR® Magazine Online reported April 3, 2007 that Greenwich, CT was the richest zip code in the nation, and Cambridge, MA placed fifth. No other Massachusetts or New England zip codes made the top 10."During the five-year boom in housing prices, from the third quarter through the third quarter of 2006, the prices in the nation’s richest zip codes rose dramatically." "For the United States as a whole, the five-year increase in the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index was 63.7 percent, while the increase was 79.5 percent for those zip codes with a median sales price of $750,000 or more, according to Fiserv Lending Solutions, which supplies data and software to lenders."View The Top 10 Richest Zip Codes 04/29/2007

So we had the inspection yesterday, and the contractor came through, and I had 2.5 good learning experiences. Learning experience #1, listing agents read blogs too. HA! Good eye Danny!  ( errr...I meant to write that I'm NOT pumped about this project unless the seller concedes eleventy billion dollars)Lesson #2  needs to be prefaced...So the home inspector and the Contractor are scheduled to come around the same time, home inspector gets there first.  And we're going through the house (that is a fixer upper to begin with) we start in the basement. The systems are on the older side, no big whoop we need to replace those any way, an "antique" brass water main (chlorine + brass = corrosion apparently), whatever..  The contractor shows up while we're still in the basement, so we start walki... 08/18/2006