Although 2 and 3 family homes are only a small percentage of the properties in Stoneham, this segment of the market has the highest change in the amount of time taking properties to sell. Although there are 4 less multi family homes for sale this year versus the same time last year, it is now taking on average 2 months longer to put these homes under agreement.

There have been changes in the condo market in 02180 as well. There are currently 43 condos for sale right now where there were only 22 condos for sale at this point last year. It is now taking about a month longer to sell condos in Stoneham as well with days on market now up to 190 days.

The Stoneham single family market has remained a steady market over the last year. There are currently 50 single family homes for sale right now and according to MLS, there were 50 single family homes for sale this time last year. The average days on market has also stayed the same at 136 days in order to have an accepted offer on a property.

Winchester’s housing inventory is primarily made up of single family homes. As you can see from the chart above, both the single family homes and condos in the city are still selling in an average time frame and the real estate market for these properties is pretty much at equalibrium. Winchester doesn’t have many multi family homes (at least those that haven’t been converted into condos during the past few years). Unlike most of the surrounding communities where multi family homes sell for more than single family homes, the reverse is true in Winchester and the numbers are showing us that it’s still a buyers’ market for multi family homes in 01890.

As you can see from the chart above, absorption rates are quite low for the city. Only the multi family market is out of equilibrium. This is due primarily to the fact that during the height of the market, so many contractors came into the city and bought up as many 2 and 3 family homes as they could. Somerville has a condo review board and the approval process slowed down the number of apartments converted to condos in the city. But these investors could make so much money selling each apartment individually that they bid up the price of multi family homes to a point where these homes no longer made financial sense to the typical multi family buyer – the first time buyer or small investor looking for rental income.

The average sale price over the last 6 months of multi family homes has come down to a much more realistic $471,296, so the “normal” multi family buyers are starting to come back to the market.

Obviously this is a win/win situation – the homeowners get to stay in their homes and the banks don’t have to go through the expense of foreclosure.

What does this mean to you if you’re currently looking to buy a home? First, let me give you a definition and then we’ll talk more below.

Definition of a Short Sale: A situation where the seller owes more on their mortgage than their house is currently worth. The only way to avoid foreclosure is to sell the house with the bank’s agreement that they’ll accept less than the amount that they are owed on the mortgage.

Right now most banks are taking 3 weeks and up to 3 months to make a decision on accepting a short sale. If you currently have an offer in on a short sale property, or are looking at homes that are short sales, know that the additional funds pledged to help struggling homeowners might mean that the owner of the home you’re trying to buy can find a way out of their situation. We’ve already seen a few properties taken off the market because the homeowners have now been able to modify their loan so it’s more manageable. So, if you are a buyer looking at short sale properties, be prepared that there’s a chance that the seller might be able to come to terms with their bank and be able to keep their house. There are plenty of other houses out there from owners that do want to sell.

If you’re a seller having trouble with your mortgage payments – contact your bank right away. Even if you’ve talked to them in the past and didn’t get any results, these additional funds just might help you out of your situation.

I’d like to share with you what I do so that I make sure buyers can find the properties I have for sale.

A Video of the Home
I take a full video of the property. This allows buyers to see not just the rooms, but the layout and how the house flows. Have you seen any real estate videos where you feel you need to take Dramamine because the camera is moving so much? I use a steadycam so that I can walk through the home without making viewers sick.

The first step is making the video. The next step is making sure people can find it. I post my house videos to YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video, AOL Video and Vimeo as well as real estate specific sites Realtor.com, WellcomeMat and Zipvo. The video is also attached to the MLS listing where it can be seen anytime a buyer searches through another agent’s website.

A Website Just For The Property
Each house or condo I put on the market gets its own website based on the address, like www.18ShipAve.com. This way it makes it very easy for prospective buyers to remember where they can find all of the information. The website has a full photo tour, link to the house’s video, satellite maps and listing sheet. There are even links to show you how walkable the location is.

Priced Well
Since there is a lot of competition on the market, I educate my clients as to what a realistic price will be for their property. As we go through the market analysis, we find many properties that are so overpriced, they aren’t truly on the market.

Plastered All Over the Internet
It doesn’t matter how good a video or website is, if you don’t reach the right group of buyers, it’s worthless. That’s why my listings can be found on over 45 different websites such as Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, FrontDoor, ERA.com, and Homes.com.

Easy to Show
Okay, you’ve marketed the house well and have buyers interested in seeing it, but if you can’t get them in the door, you’ve hit another stumbling block. I have the good fortune of working with great clients who understand the importance of making the house available for showings and why we need a lockbox to make the showing as easy as possible for the buyer and their agent.

A well thought out marketing plan that includes a video, website and a broad range of internet sites will expose a house for sale to potential buyers and greatly increase your chance of selling in the current real estate market.

These numbers tell us that the market in Arlington is very healthy. How do I know? Take a look at the absorption rates. Absorption rate is a way to look at the number of properties currently on the market and then using the number of recent sales, allows you to estimate how long it would take for every property currently on the market to sell if no new properties were allowed to go on the market. This figure helps you to see if the market is speeding up, slowing down or staying level. The city-wide absorption rate for Arlington has stayed level at about a 2 month figure. This is very low. There are many cities in Massachusetts with over 11 months of inventory on the market.

Arlington’s good school system, proximity to Boston and diverse, active community has allowed it to ride through the current market downturn without being affected as strongly as most other communities.

As you can see, there are very similar numbers of properties for sale, however, there are many more single family homes under agreement than multi family homes and even fewer condos under agreement. Don’t let this disparity fool you into thinking that the condo market in the city is in trouble. Take a look at the absorption rates. Absorption rate is a way to look at the number of properties currently on the market and then using the number of recent sales, allows you to estimate how long it would take for every property currently on the market to sell if no new properties were allowed to go on the market. This figure helps you to see if the market is speeding up, slowing down or staying level. As you can see in the chart, although there are less multi family homes on the market than either single family homes or condos, the multi family market is currently the slowest of the 3 categories.

So, what do the numbers tell us is happening in the Medford, MA real estate market? They show us that the market is continuing to improve. Two months ago, the city-wide absorption rate was 5.4 months and today it is 4.7 months. Medford’s proximity to Boston, good access to public transportation (which will get even better when the MBTA Green Line comes into town) and our broad range of properties and price ranges continues to help the city weather the current economic times better than many other cities in the country. Yes, our prices have dropped from the high of the market, but the good news for sellers is properties are selling. For buyers, the good news is prices have dropped!

I know I’m a number cruncher, but whether you’re looking to sell a Medford home or buy real estate in the city, I feel it’s very important to have a good handle on exactly what’s happening in the market and where it appears to be heading.

Last year a house came on the market in my area in the beginning of October. The sellers had done a nice job decorating the house for Halloween, but on top of the witches and other ghouls, they put bright yellow caution tape around the house. Now, this tape said “Happy Halloween”, but from the picture in MLS, it made the house look like a crime scene. Not only did the house come on the market looking like it was a CSI investigation, the listing agent never changed the exterior photo during the entire 6 months the house was trying to sell. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the house didn’t sell.

This morning, I saw another new house for sale here in Medford, MA only to see that same yellow caution tape again. The moral of the story: If you’re trying to sell your house, don’t sabotage your sale. Go easy on the Halloween decorations so your sale isn’t DOA.

As a seller, it can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow to realize that you might not sell for as much money as you hoped for, but in today’s market, you are much better off pricing your house aggressively rather than pricing it high. I meet with many sellers who feel that they have to overprice their house in order to let the buyer feel they have negotiated while they still get the price they want.

There are markets where you can come down if you aren’t priced right without it negatively affecting your chance of selling, but we aren’t in that type of market now. In the last month, I’ve put 2 of the houses sellers have trusted me to sell under agreement in less than 3 weeks. That’s in a market where the average time a property sits on the market is 109 days. Kevin Costner said, “If you build it, they will come”, but in my market, “If you price it right, it will sell!”