Massachusetts Real Estate Updates
Only 28 miles west of Boston with highly desirable schools and a mix of gorgeous homes in all price ranges makes Southborough an excellent town!
If you’re in the area this Sunday August 29th, check out the Summer Nights Festival at the Neary School. It starts at 5pm and has a mix of attractions for all ages. Kids will love the dunk tank, obstacle course and moonwalk. There is live music for the adults and fireworks around 8:15pm for all ages to enjoy. This is a great way to meet people in the community! The event is free and draws a great crowd!
While you’re in the area, take a drive around to check out all the amazing neighborhoods! One home worth checking out is 1 Davis Road , a custom designed colonial with a private accessory apartment, great for an au-pair, extended family, or as a rental. If you’d like to see it in person, email me at Nikki.Devaux@SothebysRealty.com to schedule a showing.
Cheers!
~Nikki
You can reach Nikki directly at 617-276-5247 or at Nikki.Devaux@SothebysRealty.com
“Where excellence is a level of service, not a price range”
This weekend, August 14th and 15th is a great time to decorate and update your home! Massachusetts is having a sales tax free weekend for purchases up to $2,500.
This is a great time to do any updates to your home to prepare it for sale (a $2,500 bill at Lowes or Home Depot means a savings of $156.25) Not bad….with JUST the savings of $150 you could update a small bathroom! You could get this vanity , this faucet, this mirror, and this lighting fixture and still have money left over for paint! And that’s just with the money you’d save from not paying sales tax!
What will you shop for this weekend?
Need inspiration? Check out HGTV’s Smart Chic bathrooms for some great ideas!
Cheers! ~Nikki
As always, if you’re looking to sell your home or buy a new home, you can contact Nikki at
617-276-5247 or via email at Nikki.Devaux@SothebysRealty.com
I just read this article at SmartMoney.com about the possibility of a housing shortage in the future. This is not something you’d think could happen; particularly when so many people are having trouble selling their homes. When you step back and think about it, it does make sense. Right now only about 600,000 new homes are being built each year, but we need about 1.3mil to 1.4mil new houses per year to sustain the growing population long-term. Why isn’t it a problem right now? Not as many people are buying….potentially due to lack of employment or concerns about job stability. The college grads are moving home to live with their parents, other people are renting. One woman I spoke with who manages a luxury apartment complex told me that she’s at 100% capacity and that it’s common right now. What happens when the job market improves and these people decide to buy? Will we be faced with a housing shortage?
What do you think? Will we have a housing shortage in our future? If so, how many years away are we from it happening? Post your thoughts below! :)
~Nikki
You can reach Nikki directly at:
Nikki.Devaux@SothebysRealty.com
617-276-5247
Today’s Tuesday Town Spotlight is Needham! LOVE Needham! I recently sold a gorgeous home to a wonderful couple and their 2 little girls in Needham and they fell in love with the town. They had lived in the city, and were a bit nervous about leaving the city life….but after spending some time in Needham (a hop, skip & a jump from the city!) she realized that there’s so much to do in this town! There are more parks & playgrounds for kids than I can even list, some amazing restauraunts such as Blue on Highland, Sweet Basil, and Masala Art to name just a few! It doesn’t hurt that Needham’s school system is highly desirable! And if that’s not enough, Needham has quite a few T-Stations throughout the town, which makes it very accessible to Boston.
If you’re thinking of moving, Needham is worth a visit! If you’d like to see the town “in action”, visit this week on Thursday July 29th 2010 at 7pm to see Needham’s Community Band perform at the Memorial Gazebo Park on Highland Ave. It’s part of the Arts in the Park series! And, don’t forget to grab some ice cream at Abbott’s Custard….the saying is that’s where God gets his ice cream; so you know it must be good!
Happy Summer! ~Nikki
nikki.devaux@sothebysrealty.com
617-276-5247
“Where excellence is a level of service, not a price range”
CNN’s Money Magazine’s list of Top Places to Live came out recently and I’m happy to announce that four Massachusetts towns made the list!
#3 Newton, MA
This comes as no surprise. Newton is an excellent city, and it’s actually made up of 13 villages such as Newton Centre, Chestnut Hill, and West Newton to name just a few. Newton is rich with culture, amazing restaurants and lots of shopping opportunities! Residents of Newton love it’s proximity to downtown Boston…and the ease in which they can get there! Lots of T stops around Newton, and if you’re driving it’s right on the Mass Pike and 95. Newton public schools are highly desirable as well; making this an excellent place to live! If you choose to live in Newton, you can expect to pay in the $600k range for a 3 bedroom home….but don’t let that scare you, there are many housing options in the various Newton villages to suit most budgets.
#28 Waltham
I love Waltham. I really do. I love it’s diverse mix of people, the mix of housing options, and the many restaurants available on Moody Street. One of my favorite Waltham restaurants is Biagio’s…..the food is amazing, the atmosphere can compete with any upscale Boston restaurant. Plus they have a great roof-deck. I clearly love food as much as I do real estate! ;) Take a visit to Waltham and you’ll see why so many people are making this “urban/suburban” location their home. There’s a great mix of old mill buildings that have been converted into luxury lofts, new construction townhouses on tree lined streets, and of course, single family homes. A fun fact about Waltham? The actor who played Big Bird makes Waltham his home.
#39 Brookline
Everyone loves Brookline!!! I really have never met anyone who wouldn’t love to live there! What isn’t there to like?! Stunning architecture, one of the most incredible golf courses around, the ability to walk to Fenway Park (yes, I said walk!), great local parks like Larz Anderson Park for the kids (and the dogs!)…not to mention some seriously gorgeous homes (priced as high as $20 million!) make Brookline very desirable!
#52 Weymouth
Don’t feel like driving to work? If you live in Weymouth, you don’t have to. You could take the Harbor Express commuter boat into Boston! Weymouth is in a fabulous location….very close to Boston and even closer to Cape Cod. An excellent mix of work & play! Many of the homes in Weymouth are waterfront….so if you’d like to come home to the beach each day after work, consider living in this quintessential seaside New England town.
As always, if you’re thinking of moving (or know someone who is), you can reach me at 617-276-5247 or via email at Nikki.Devaux@SothebysRealty.com I work with a great group of agents throughout the entire state of Massachusetts and we can help you find a home in any town (and any price range) you desire.
Cheers! ~Nikki
~Hallmark Sotheby’s International Realty: Where excellence is a level of service, not a price range~
All day, every day, conforming and FHA mortgage rates in Massachusetts are in flux. Rates move in response to hundreds of factors which exact varying levels of influence.
Among the biggest influences on mortgage rates is inflation. When inflation is unexpectedly high, mortgage rates tend to rise quickly. Conversely, when inflation is unexpectedly low, rates tend to fall quickly.
But what is inflation?
By definition, inflation is when a currency loses its value; when what used to cost $1.00 now costs $1.10.
As consumers, we recognize inflation by the items we buy on a daily basis becoming more expensive. However, it’s not that goods are more expensive — it’s that the dollars we’re using to buy them have become worth less.
With respect to mortgage rates, this is a big deal because mortgage rates are directly related to the price of a special type of bond called a mortgage-backed bond.
On Wall Street, mortgage-backed bonds are priced, bought, and sold in U.S. dollars so as inflation renders those dollars less valuable, so it does to mortgage-backed bonds as well. It’s a chain reaction by which mortgage bonds lose value, leading investors sell them, causing bond prices to fall on the excess supply.
And, because mortgage rates move opposite of bond prices, as inflation takes hold, mortgage rates rise.
Lately, inflation has been exceptionally low. The Federal Reserve acknowledged as much in its last statement to the markets, and available data backs that position. This, after predictions that inflation would be “runaway” in 2010.
The Cost of Living is up just modestly this year and it’s helping mortgage rates stay low. And, so long as it lasts, the cost of owning a home will remain relatively inexpensive.
The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to delay enforcement of the new lead renovation, repair and painting rule. Read the full article here. Currently there are only 300,000 certified contractors, but about 79 million homeowners with homes built prior to 1978. If you’re a home owner who would like to view a list of certified lead renovation contractors, click here for the full list. A quick search for Massachusetts yielded 10 certified contractors….hopefully this number will be going up by the end of the year. Independant contractors have until Sept 30th to register for the class and they must complete it by Dec 31st 2010.
This has been a busy month! Many of my clients are moving into their new homes after taking advantage of the tax credit! A question I get asked over and over is for suggestions on where to start with decorating. Having a new home to decorate can be a daunting task! One of my favorite new sites is called My Deco . It has a great feature called “Decorate” where you can create your own Moodboard.
There are thousands of products from popular retailers loaded into the Moodboard. You can pick couches, end tables, linens, pillows, rugs, accessories….literally anything you can think of. It also shows you the price of each item, with a running total at the top. If you love the look, a quick click transfers you to the site to purchase the item.
You can save your moodboards, email them, etc. It’s a great way to visualize what the room will look like.
Hope everyone finds this tool as fun as I do! Happy shopping!! :)
~Nikki
If you plan to finance your home with a conforming interest only mortgage, get your loan application submitted no later than this Friday, June 18.
Starting next week, Fannie Mae is clamping down on the popular loan product.
An “interest only” mortgage is exactly what its name implies — a mortgage for which the monthly payments consist entirely of interest with no principal reduction. Because there’s no amortization, payments are less costly on a month-to-month basis.
For example, assuming principal + interest payments at 5 percent, a $250,000 mortgage carries a monthly payment of $1,342. The payment on a comparable interest only mortgage, however, drops to $1,042.
That’s a payment difference of $300 and the size of the cost savings, not surprisingly, is the biggest reason why Fannie Mae is making its changes.
In its official announcement, Fannie Mae says it wants the give the interest only option to “borrowers who are in a position to choose it as a financial management tool” rather than allowing homeowners use it as an affordability tool for their budgets.
Going forward, there are new minimum standards for interest only home loans.
- Applicants must have a 720 credit score or better
- Applicants must have at least 24 months of reserves
- The property type may not be a 2-unit, 3-unit or 4-unit
- The property must be a primary residence, or vacation home
Furthermore, only purchase and rate-and-term refinances are eligible. Cash out refinances are prohibited.
Interest only home loans aren’t for everyone, but if you plan to finance with a Fannie Mae mortgage and interest only is your preference, get your loan application submitted as soon as possible. Starting Monday, approvals will be tougher to come by.
As the mercury rises into the summer months, don’t forget to change your home’s air filters regularly. It not only extends the life of your HVAC unit, but can help keep your energy costs down, too.
Not all air filters are created alike, however. Don’t go cheap.
Your local hardware store carries a variety of air filters ranging in price from less than a dollar to $20 or more per filter. They’re all purported to do the same job, but after watching this 1-minute video, you’ll see why cheaper isn’t necessarily better.
Airborne particles are smaller than most mesh filters. Pleated filters are recommended instead.
Most high-quality air filters start around $11 and can be purchased in bulk from Amazon at discounts of up to 20 percent. 3M’s Filtrete line of products is a popular, well-selling brand and can last up to 3 months.
If your home has shedding pets or is dust-prone, consider changing them monthly.
