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Newton, MA Real Estate News

By Lori Liveston
(Virtual Homes, Real Estate)
Newton MA Homes Report - July 2010 The Newton MA Real Estate Market activity for homes sold in Newton, MA shows that there were 55 homes sold in Newton MA during the month of June 2010 with an average sales price of $962,487 and an average days on the market (DOM) of 68. July is historically a good market for Newton MA home sales and July 2010 was no different.  Prices climbed to $962,487 although fewer homes were sold in Newton MA and DOM was relatively.  The decrease in the number of homes sold can be attributed to expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit and the subsequent affect on move up buyers.       MA Real Estate - Community, relocation and school information with town demographics. MA Foreclosures - Obtain a list of foreclosed and bank owned real estate and short sal...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Before you make your next move be sure to visit City Hall One of the things your REALTOR® should tell you before you buy or sell a home is to look up your property's jacket at City Hall. I stopped into the Inspectional Services Department at Newton City Hall and was greeted, as always, with friendly courtesy. I gave my address to Jennifer Garvin and she promptly returned with the folder of permits and applications for my Newton home. I already knew my house was built in 1927 but it was kind of strange to see the building permit written in fountain pen. The cost for building my home was estimated at $8,000. There were various other permits for different renovations done over the years. Everything looked in order. But image $8,000 in 1927! I guess Newton homes have held their value in the...
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By Bob Tanski, Realtor
(Century 21 Shawmut Properties)
Hello from Newton Massachusetts! After attending RainCamp in Boston on July 26, I decided that I wouldn't be in the 95% group and not do anything with the information that was presented. Time to put my money where my mouth is or at least where my ambitions are and become a contributing member of the real estate community. I have read untold numbers of blogs not only on ActiveRain, but all over the Internet and all have been helpful in some way shape or form. It is time for me to give back in some manner. At the moment I don't have any overly ambitious plans. I am just going to ease into this and see what come of it.      
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Real Estate 6 Month Review Looking at the sales for the past 6 months, I are happy to see an increase in number of sales as well as average sale price. This is good news. Of course, much of this can be attributed to the spring market and the Federal tax incentive program. We may see some wavering in the recovery when summer sales are reflected. Still let's take the optimistic route and visualize an chart with the lines climbing up.      www.janetporcaro.net    
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Ranks Number Three by CNN Money Magazine "These terrific small cities -- even now -- boast plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, and other features that make a town great for raising a family." Read more at www.money.cnn.com Newton is ranked 3 out of 100 for America's best small cities.  Most residents of Newton would agree. I moved to Newton from Cambridge over 20 years ago. At the time, I was sad to be leaving the urban Cambridge with the bookstores, the restaurants, and the shops. I was afraid I would miss the diversity and the culture. But like many fears confronted, my enthusiasm for my new home soon overcame any misgivings. Not only did I have a garden, I found Newton to be the best of both worlds--neighborhood suburb and a hop, skip and...
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By Lori Liveston
(Virtual Homes, Real Estate)
Newton MA Homes Report - June 2010 The Newton MA Real Estate Market activity for homes sold in Newton, MA shows that there were 78 homes sold in Newton MA during the month of June 2010 with an average sales price of $864,993 and an average days on the market (DOM) of 54. Average home sale prices for June are flat from the same month in 2009.  It should be noted in these statistics that the sale of the 3 acre estate sold in Old Chestnut Hill was excluded.  It sold for $6,500,000 however since this sale is atypical for Newton (there have been three sales in the last ten years in excess of $5,000,000), it skewed the average sale price to $936,323 and I chose to exclude it.         MA Real Estate - Community, relocation and school information with town demographics. MA Foreclosures - Obtain...
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By Melissa Juarez
(Massachusetts Buyers Broker Agency, LLC)
CNN Money has named Newton, MA the third best place to live in its annual poll.   Newton mayor Setti Warren said, "This is a great city, with 13 unique villages, a rich community life, and so many residents that are leaders, both in their city and in the state and the country. They're the real reason Newton is great."   Warren said that he hopes many of the changes Newton has made in the last few months will contribute to another high ranking next year. "We recently became one of Massachusetts' first Green Communities, and are continuing our commitment to the environment with changes like single-stream recycling," Warren said. "We've also instituted a transportation advisory committee to make this a safer city for bicyclists and pedestrians. We're going to keep moving forward." Congrats!
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Artist Dick Simon Finds "a Whole New Dimension" Behind the Camera Syria: Faces from “The Axis of Evil” Photographs by Dick Simon At Newton Open Studios last month, I took in Dick Simon's wonderful collection of photographs from his recent trip to Syria. His pictures tell a timely story. They are a study in contrasts, yet they project feelings of warmth, and they are quite beautiful. "My family and I went to Syria to better understand the human story inside this Axis of Evil. The Syria we experienced was not what we expected, the way our media has portrayed it. We found Syria to be a beautiful place with wonderful people." ~ excerpted from Dick Simon's artist's statement In the photo below, see Patty Simon dressed in red strolling comfortably near women covered in black. In anoth...
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By Lori Liveston
(Virtual Homes, Real Estate)
Newton MA Homes Report - May 2010 The Newton MA Real Estate Market activity for homes sold in Newton, MA shows that there were 53 homes sold in Newton MA during the month of May 2010 with an average sales price of $823,182 and an average days on the market (DOM) of 81. Average home sale prices are on the way up but still have a ways to go to get back to their high of $907,466 (still down 9.2%).  One interesting thing to note is that the DOM has been down from 2007, and when you delve deeper into the data and look at different price ranges, the DOM is all over the map.  In my opinion, DOM is not an indicator of the market in Newton currently (however I have included it in my graph because it still should be noted by potential sellers).     MA Real Estate - Community, relocation and schoo...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Celebrates More Than a Century of Educational Excellence Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we've gone "Back to the Future" with this high school building.  According to my research, the new Newton North High School, due to open for business in September 2010,  is located on the site of the original high school which was constructed in 1859. Newton has been debating issues surrounding school construction since the mid-nineteenth century. The discussions began when Massachussetts law mandated that each town with a population of 4000 or more establish a high school. In 1849, a committee was established to argue against the construction of a single high school due to the distance between the varous villages. After various committees and planners hashed the options back and forth, ...
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By Jennie Norris, Denver Regions Premier Home Staging Resource,
(Sensational Home Staging)
The Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) Course from Stagedhomes.com (www.Stagedhomes.com) - the industry leader in Home Staging Training - is coming to the BOSTON-NEWTON, MA- JUNE 8-10, 2010.   This class is being offered for both Realtors and Home Stagers that would like to earn both a professional Accreditation and Designation for Home Staging.  Realtors attend the first 2 days (JUNE 8-9) and learn about Home Staging as a listing and marketing tool, as well as things they can do to help their own clients prepare their houses for sale.  They become members of the International Association of Home Staging Professioanls (IAHSP) - the only professional association that serves only Home Stagers and the Home Staging industry, and has standards of membership that begin with education.  No ...
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Visit the Newton North Greengineers on June 5 between 12 and 5 pm and witness cutting edge education in action! No, this is not an alien. This is Sam Shames suited up in his "Personal Protective Equipment," better known as PPE around the shop. "Stay Safe!" says NNHS English Teacher Stephen Chinosi. First thing students have to do is to run through a safety course before entering this exciting science and enginerring program. Sam is working his Senior Project to build a better biodeisel reactor--better being more efficient, easier to use, and safer. Better because the students at North are already producing biodeisel fuel from the recycled cooking oil from the school cafeteria. Not quite like your average high school science project as I remember! I have to admit, I thought the Bunsen Bu...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Lisa Monahan, Architect Turned Artist at Newton Open Studios www.switchgearkit.com Contact: info@switchgearkit.com Snappy SwitchGear™ Kits are Designed for Endless Possibilities!  Lisa Monahan has been working as a metalsmith for the past 15 years. She uses her creative talents tocraft beautiful jewelry and sculptured wall art. To many her most interesting work is her line of hoops, loops and necklaces in her patent pending product called SwitchGear™ Kits. Each kit makes 100+ combinations and is a gift of creativity that keeps on giving! The earrings are light weight and comfortable and come in a variety of materials from copper, silver, gold, semiprecious stones and vintage pieces. One thing we can be sure of in this world is change. These clever little kits are made for todays world. ...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Open Studios - Retired Surgeon Works in Pastels EDWARD W. FRIEDMAN MDARTISTemail: efried@massmed.org The pastel collection was at the Villa Villekulla in West Newton MA. Dr. Friedman retired from his position as surgeon at the Beth Israel Hospital in 1999. He then launched his career as an artist by taking classes at MassArt http://www.massart.edu/. He especially expresses gratitude for his pastel teacher, Janet Monafo.  http://www.artistsguilds.com/paintings/JanetMonafo.htm "Pastel is a direct and chemically uncomplicated medium which offers wonderful lush color, great flexibility and permanence." ~ Janet Monalfo Pastels for me are associated with a certain gentility much like the good doctor. Doesn't he look like he is sitting in a villa in Italy?
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Open Studios - May 15, 16 2010 City-wide Event Showcasing the Works of Local Artists and Craftspeoplewww.NewtonOpenStudios.org  Scattered throughout the villages of Newton, local artists and craftspeople invite guests to view and purchase their work which includes painting, photography, mixed media, jewelry, historic maps of our community, furniture, and more. Download the pdf brochure here. If you are thinking of moving to Newton, or have questions about the different villages, this is a great opportunity to get a flavor of the neighborhoods and enjoy the wide range of cultural talents that makes Newton a desirable community. "The Bachelor" pictured at left is from Patty Simon's 2009 installation called "What is Love."  Read my blog from last May. This year, Patty is reinventing...
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By Lori Liveston
(Virtual Homes, Real Estate)
Newton MA Condo Market Report - April 2010 The Newton MA Condo Market activity for condos sold in Newton, MA shows that there were 29 condos transacted in April 2010 with an average sales price of $480,424 and an average days on the market (DOM) of 192.       MA Real Estate - Community, relocation and school information with town demographics. MA Foreclosures - Obtain a list of foreclosed and bank owned real estate and short sales MA MLS - View all listings in the statewide MLS. MA Homes for Sale - Map Search - Search by location, neighborhood and commuting. Newton MA Condos for Sale - Map based search Virtual Homes Real Estate provides search tools to assist you in learning about the community, listing and market conditions. Click on the following links for your choice of services. Vi...
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By Lori Liveston
(Virtual Homes, Real Estate)
Newton MA Real Estate Market Report - April 2010 The Newton MA Real Estate Market activity for homes sold in Newton, MA shows that there were 50 single family homes transacted in April 2010 with an average sales price of $796,974 and an average days on the market (DOM) of 72.       MA Real Estate - Community, relocation and school information with town demographics. MA Foreclosures - Obtain a list of foreclosed and bank owned real estate and short sales MA MLS - View all listings in the statewide MLS. MA Homes for Sale - Map Search - Search by location, neighborhood and commuting. Newton MA Homes for Sale - Map based search Virtual Homes Real Estate provides search tools to assist you in learning about the community, listing and market conditions. Click on the following links for your ...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Newton Public School's Technology Department Employs The Best Newton Public School's Technology Department Employs The Best Jessica Duval, Web Facilitator for Newton Public School's Technology Department (www3.newton.k12.ma.us), was recruited from Waltham's McDevitt Middle School, where she worked as a technology teacher. She's a great catch judging by her love of design, her strong technological background, and her upbeat and creative perspective. She works within the NPS Technology Department as Web Facilitator and the results have been a thing of beauty. The clean design of the revamped site is easy to navigate, handsome, and filled with interesting content. (http://www3.newton.k12.ma.us/) The site will be evolving over the summer with many new proposed improvements. Still the site a...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Bringing Down the House - the City of Newton Says Good-Bye to an Era Next September the new Newton North High School will open after many years of delay and controversy. Over the past few months, a new mayor was voted in and a new superintendent will start on July 1.  This is a pivotal time for The Garden City, Newton. To mark this occasion PTSO and alumni volunteers, with the cooperation of the school department and city hall, are crafting an amazing city-wide event. www.NorthPTSO.org. To StartTheatreInk, Newton North's teaching and working theatre department will launch the celebration on June 4 at 7:30 pm with Kiss the State, a retrospect of forty years of high school theatre performed by students and special guest alumni. For ticket information, see http://www.theatreink.net/. Satur...
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By Janet Porcaro, Janet Porcaro
(Keller Williams Realty)
Second Appearance - a Cheerful Consignment Shop801 Washington StreetNewtonville, MA 02460(617) 527-7655 Everyone loves to find a bargain, a hidden gem, a designer label at a bargain price. Nothing like a new top to freshen up your wardrobe. Notice the green dress in the window--it is a designer original (I won't say which one.) Stop in and ask proprietor, Sue Wilkin. She is friendly and full of fashion sense. The store is well organized, artful and arranged beautifully with carefully selected pieces. Long established in the Newton community, the consignment has been in Newtonville for over 35 years. Sue has run the business for the past 8 years. Her business system is computerized with a database called ConsignPro. The way it works is when you bring in an item, Sue enters it into her sy...
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