Holiday Greetings

November Newsletter

Will the Government Shut Down Affect the Real Estate Market?

September Newsletter

Great Option for Islanders!

 

 

Cape Cod Five Cents Municipal Mortgage Program:

 

-100% financing available to Municipal Employees of Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket and Plymouth Counties

-Low 30 year fixed portfolio loan at 4.375% 0 points APR  4.294 (as of 7/31/13)

-Purchase of a primary residence -No first time home buyer requirement

-Income caps of $106,000 for Barnstable County and $119,000 for Dukes County

-Eligible borrowers- Police, Firefighter, School Teachers, employees of municipalities, counties, state and federal government, employed in areas of public safety, law enforcement education, healthcare and social services.

 

 

 

August 5, 2013

 

August 1^st brought us cooler temperatures, lower humidity levels and lots of summer visitors.  And with all these visitors, I have only one question, “Where are all the buyers?”

The real estate market on Martha’s Vineyard is not living up to my “hopes and predictions”.  The number of property viewings has dwindled to just a few each week. For example, last week I had 3 showings of the 28 homes I have for sale and none of these were above the $600,000 price range!  The only explanation I have for this comes from Dave Liniger, founder/owner of RE/MAX international, whom I had recently had an opportunity to “skype” with.   He says that the second/resort home market historically lags 12-18 months behind a “jump” in the primary home market and if you are following the national real estate market, areas like Las Vegas and Boston are seeing double digit growth and multiple offers on many homes.  So it appears as though we are in a “wait and see” scenario for Vineyard real estate.

There were 25 residential sales in June (avg. price $805K and median price $600K) compared to 35 sales in July 2013 (avg. price $938K and median price $540K) and compared to 26 sales in July 2012 (avg. price $827K and median price $562K).  So, the average price is DOWN (14%) from last month and DOWN (3%) from the same month a year ago. The median price is “UP” (11%) when comparing month over month and UP (7%) compared to July 2012.  The average “Days on Market” in July is down to 220 days, from 283 last month and from 274 in July 2012.  Again, as last month, the numbers mixed with the lone positive being the increase in median price.  As mentioned above, the lack of current buyer interest tells me that we are in a bit of a slump.

As with last month, let us look only at the prices and days on market when comparing YTD totals.   The YTD (2013) average price is $886K and median price is $570K compared to 2012 YTD sales with $931K avg. price and $535K median price.  These numbers show the average price declined (by 5%) while the median price is up (by 7%).  These numbers mimic what we saw last month.  Average days on market is 307 for YTD 2013, up 21% from YTD 2012.

Lastly, interest rates have ticked up a bit again (many 30 year rates are over 4.5%) which will help those buyers who are “sitting on the fence” jump into the market.  We have some new lenders offering incentives for the “Jumbo” loans (those over $417K so hopefully we can entice some buyers to take advantage of these programs.  On a similar note, one local lender is offering 100% financing to any Dukes County municipal employees (teachers, medical profession, social service providers, etc), so I hope to see some buyer take advantage of this opportunity.

Please let me know any questions you might have about how this prediction affects your property. As always, I appreciate your trust and patience in what I do.  All the best in real estate and otherwise.

 

Doug Reece                                                                            

Certified Residential Specialist®,

Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist®

Accredited Buyers Agent®

 

 

July Market Picking Up

 

July 3, 2013

Happy 4^th of July!  The island is hopping, the traffic is backed up and summer season is upon us...and I say “Bring it on!”

The real estate market has finally picked up after a lackluster June.  The number of property viewing has increased in the past few days and is hopefully a sign of good things to come.

There were 26 residential sales in May (avg. price $1.03M and median price $587K) compared to 32 sales in April 2013 (avg. price $882K and median price $576K) and compared to 29 sales in May 2012 (avg. price $1.08M and median price $672K).  So, the average price is UP(16%) from last month but down (5%) from the same month a year ago. The median price is “STEADY” when comparing month over month but down(13%) compared to June 2012.  Although these numbers are mixed, I like the direction we are going!  

As last month, let us look only at the prices and days on market when comparing YTD totals.   The YTD(2013) average price is $905K and  median price is $576K compared to 2012 YTD sales with $945K avg. price and $535K median price.  These numbers show the average price declined (by 4%) while the median price is up (by 8%).  These numbers are very positive since the “decline in average prices is the same as last month TYD totals and the median price continues to increase.  The only negative I see this month is the average “days on market” which is up to 327 days in 2013 compared to 251 days in 2012.

Lastly, interest rates have ticked up a bit again (many 30 year rates are over 4%) which will help those buyers who are “sitting on the fence” jump into the market and purchase.  This is supported by an increase in consumer confidence across the board.

Please let me know any questions you might have about how this prediction affects your property. As always, I appreciate your trust and patience in what I do.  All the best in real estate and otherwise.

 

Doug Reece                                                                            

Certified Residential Specialist®,

Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist®

Accredited Buyers Agent®

June 4, 2013

 

The island is gorgeous right now with all the “rhodies” and other flowering plants in bloom across the island.  Today is a fabulous blue sky day!

The real estate market has been a bit sluggish in the past few weeks.  This is a very typical scenario since mid-May brings college graduations, spring youth sports, high school proms and June welcomes high school graduations.  These activities keep many potential buyers focused on family activities and not in second/vacation home shopping.  I expect activity will increase before the end of June.

There were 32 residential sales in May (avg. price $882K and median price $576K) compared to 28 sales in April 2013 (avg. price $936K and median price $505K) and compared to 36 sales in May 2012 (avg. price $805K and median price $452K).  So, the average price is down a bit from last month but UP(10%) from the same month a year ago. The median price is WAY UP when comparing month over month and the same timeframe last year.  This is a good sign!  The YTD totals reflect the same: Although YTD 2013 shows a decrease in the number of sales, I am not going to use these numbers any longer.  As I mentioned before the “fiscal cliff” scare at the end of 2012 accelerated the number of sales in December 2012 and therefore “STOLE” a good number of sales that would have occurred in 2013.  Thusly let us look only at the prices and days on market when comparing YTD totals.   The YTD(2013) average price is $888K and  median price is $580K compared to 2012 YTD sales with $921K avg. price and $522K median price.  These numbers show the average price declined (by 4%) while the median price is up (by 11%).  These numbers are very positive since the “decline in average prices is less than last month YTD totals and the median price increase is consistent with that of last month.  The only negative I see this month is the average “days on market”  which is up to 342 days in 2013 compared to 260 days in 2012.

I know these statistics may make your “head spin” somewhat but the bottom line is for the first time since the beginning of the year I am seeing more positive than negative numbers in the Vineyard real estate market.  Here’s to a HEALTHY market the remainder of 2013.

Lastly, interest rates have ticked up a bit which will help those buyers who are “sitting on the fence” jump into the market and purchase.

Please let me know any questions you might have about how this prediction affects your property. As always, I appreciate your trust and patience in what I do.  All the best in real estate and otherwise.

 

Doug Reece                                                                            

Certified Residential Specialist®,
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist®
Accredited Buyers Agent®