Needham => 15 new home / condo listings, 4 under agreement, 180 on the market - Last week was a quiet holiday week and the real estate industry reflected that.  This week is the rebound week with a very respectable number of new listings but barely any under agreement. Of the four under agreement, two of them came on the market this week.  Interestingly, this time last year Needham was in the third week of a 15 week decline in the number of homes and condos on the market.  This year, Needham is in its fifth week of steadily increasing numbers of homes on the market (180 this year vs 161 last year).

Wellesley => 16 new home / condo listings, 5 under agreement, 196 on the market - It was good to see the number of new listings go up this week to a very good number for this time of year.  The under agreement number was unimpressive but since it was a holiday week we will wait and see if that rebounds this week.

Would you like to know how these trends impact the value and marketability of your home?  Give me a call at 781-929-2453 and I would be happy to discuss your property with you.  Know someone looking to move?  Please send them my way.

Have a great long weekend!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
bill@billpaulson.com
www.billpaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor

Needham - 8 new home / condo listings, 6 under agreement, 171 on the market - After a fall market high of 15 the week of Sept 15, the number of new listings has gone down each of the past two weeks showing the fleeting nature of the fall market.  The numbers are higher than the same week last year and there are more homes / condos on the market signaling hope that the fall market will hold on a little longer.  We typically see a small bump the week after the religious holidays.  On the under agreement side though, Needham has been bumping along in generally unimpressive fashion since late July. 

Newton - 21 new home / condo listings, 15 under agreement, 378 on the market - Last year, there were three really strong weeks of new home / condo listings in September.  This year, we had only 2 strong weeks before things went down hill quickly.  This week last year we had 24 homes / condos go under agreement, this year 15.  That's a pretty big difference.

Wellesley - 11 new home / condo listings, 6 under agreement, 189 on the market - Wellesley had 11 new home / condo listings this week which put it into the range of late spring weeks which is great.  Under agreement numbers though are not in the same league as those late fall weeks when homes / condos were really moving.  The result is an inventory of homes / condos for sale that has increased slightly for four weeks in a row.

Would you like to know how these trends are impacting the value of your home?  Call me any time on my cell phone at 781-929-2453.  If you like this information, "Like" my facebook page or "subscribe" to this blog and you will get it every week.  I blog on the weekly activity on Fridays and on monthly actiivty within the first few days of the month each month.

Have a great week!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
bill@billpaulson.com
www.billpaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor

The Boston Globe reported today that the six months, March through August, nationally had the lowest number of new construction homes sold in the past 50 years.  In certain parts of the country, this comes as no surprise as you see abandoned housing developments in progress and foreclosure signs all around.  The area around Las Vegas has lost 75% of its value and speculators are now starting to come buy the properties with cash hoping to make a killing when the market recovers.

Here in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley, we have an excellent location, amazing schools, and beautiful neighborhoods that are sought after by young families coming west from Boston as well as families relocating from other parts of the country and the world.  That is why our property values have held up as well as they have.  We don't have undeveloped land into which new developments are being built.  Rather, our new construction market is 90% knock-down activity.  The graphs above show that through September 27th, 2011 is shaping up to be another strong year in new construction sales in our towns.  If you spend some time driving around town, this will come as no surprise as it seems everywhere you look there are holes in the ground being replaced with fresh lumber and attractive landscaping.

The graphs above only reflect the data that is in the real estate multiple list service (MLS).  There are definitely additional new construction homes that were sold directly by the builder.  Therefore, consider these numbers to be very conservative.

Looking at the graphs for the three towns, you can see that Newton has a strong condo market and Wellesley has very few.  Needham is in between.  The biggest year for new home construction was 2005 in all three towns.  The numbers have fallen off from that peak but Newton and Needham are ramping up.

Wellesley - You see the impact of the Wellesley McMansion by-laws that were put in place a few years ago impacting the number of new construction projects there.  For a few years, the building was going crazy there with many very high end homes being built.  Wellesley seems to have settled into a pretty steady number since 2007.  As it is, of the homes built and sold in 2011, the average sale price is over $2m.

Needham - As of today, Needham has built more new construction homes than all of 2010 or 2009 and we have three months left in 2011.  The number of condos is off but there is a set of condos going in over on Jarvis Circle which may push that number up before the end of the year.

Newton - Between 2002 and 2004, Newton built a ton of new condos.  The new condo activity is now up and down depending on the projects that get under way in a given year but 2009 was the worst year of the last ten and the trend is upward.

Would you like to know how the market is impacting the value of your home?  Give me a call today at 781-929-2453.  I would be happy to meet with you to do a free market analysis of your home in today's real estate market.  Know someone looking to buy or sell their home?  Tell them to call Bill Paulson at Prudential today!

Do you find this info interesting?  Visit my blog at http://blog.billpaulson.com and subscribe today using the link at the very bottom of the page.

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
www.billpaulson.com
bill@billpaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor

Newton => 34 new home / condo listings, 29 under agreement, 376 on the market - Even with Washington and Wall Street doing their best to scare people, the Newton real estate market continues to thrive with a very good week of new listings, although not as strong as the same week last year, and a jump in the number of under agreement listings reflecting the large numbers of new listings over the past few weeks.

Needham => 13 new home / condo listings, 8 under agreement, 169 on the market - The number of new and under agreement listings this week are very close to the same week last year.  Interestingly, the homes that went under agreement this year had an average days on market of 169.  I have been seeing about 40% of the under agreement listings showing a days on market of 30 days or less but not so this week.  This may reflect that a good number of the new listings in the past couple weeks were re-lists having been on the market in the past.

Wellesley => 11 new home / condo listings, 9 under agreement, 183 on the market - Both new and under agreement listings went down this week, perhaps influenced by the news out of Wall Street and Washington.  Contrary to Newton and Needham though, 4 out of 9 of the under agreement listings this week had been on the market for 30 days or less.  The big winner though was 92 Hundreds Road which went under agreement after 575 days with a final list price of $3,950,000.  It is expected to close October 7th so we will learn the actual sale price then.

If you would like to know how the current market trends are impacting the value of your home, feel free to give me a call.  You can reach me any time on my cell at 781-929-2453.  If you find this information interesting and helpful, please "Like" the post to share it with your friends.

Have a great week!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
bill@billpaulson.com
www.BillPaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
www.Facebook.com/conciergerealtor

(download)

Click here to download:

needham-s-2011-school-performance-report-top-10-teasers-HeunetnClBibesjAJFnq.zip (1.21 MB)

Needham's 2011 School Performance Report

The photo gallery will step you through a presentation given, by the Needham School Department's Sue Bonaiuto, to the School Committee at a recent meeting.  Among the many great things Sue does for Needham's kids, she works every year to produce this excellent report on the status of Needham's schools.  The Needham School Performance Report is seen around the state as a model for how to report on school district performance.

The top-ten teasers:

10.  Needham is 300 years old and the more things change, the more they remain the same.

9.  Needham graduates achieving high SAT scores and doing very well on AP exams

8.  Over 90% of Needham 10th graders scoring advanced or proficient on MCAS exams.

7.  Risky behaviors continue to decline.

6.  Emphasis on reducing bullying is working.

5.  A few fun facts - over 500k lunches served last year, over 1800 students enrolled in summer programs.

4.  Overall enrollment continues to increase.  Data predicts that the growth will level off.  [editorial note here:  I don't believe it for a minute.  With 100 or so knock downs every year I just don't see the enrollment figures leveling off any time soon.]

3.  Diversity increasing in Needham.

2.  Student to teacher ratio climbing to a point where Needham is near the worst of the schools that it considers its peers.

1.  Needham's schools continue to be an excellent value.

I encourage you to flip through the performance report.  It is well written, includes some fun pictures of the kids at work and play, and is guaranteed to make you think.

Even better, like this post to share it with your friends.

[ps...full disclosure here, I'm a member of the Needham School Committee.  The closer I get to the operation of the schools, the more impressed I become.]

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
email:  bill@billpaulson.com
web:    www.billpaulson.com
FB:     www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor

Wellesley => 15 new home / condo listings, 17 under agreement, 181 on the market - This week Wellesley had almost as many under agreement homes / condos as Newton even though Newton is three times its size.  Meanwhile, Wellesley had another top-10 number of new listings this week so expect the under agreement listings to continue to be strong again next week.  Don't get too comfortable though, history tells us that this fall market will last only another 2-3 weeks before it starts to trend downward for its long winter's nap.

Newton => 45 new home / condo listings, 20 under agreement, 365 on the market - Meanwhile, Newton again had 45 new listings and the under agreement listings jumped from 13 last week to 20 this week as the buyers digested last week's helping of 45 new listings.  I don't know what to tell you about Newton's future as it has been pretty consistently strong this year but last year after mid-October, things started to slide downhill each week.  You can do it though!  Put your home on the market.  Buy that new home.  We can make a difference!  (whew!  got carried away there for a minute, sorry...)

Needham => 15 new home / condo listings, 8 under agreement, 161 on the market - Last week Needham didn't join the fall market party but it was making up for lost time this week with strong numbers of new listings.  I expect you will see that translate into good under agreement numbers next week.  It is interesting to note that Needham caught up to Wellesley in terms of homes / condos on the market in mid-June and stayed with them through mid-August.  Wellesley has now pulled away again though.  Some of that reflects the lower days on market in Needham (138 days) v Wellesley (203 days) but buyers like to have choices, especially new and interesting choices.

If you would like to know how this information is impacting the value of your home, feel free to give me a call any time for a free market analysis of your home.  If you are looking for a new home or want to sell your current home, give me a call right away.  I will help you to weigh your options based on up-to-the-minute market trends.

Have a great week,

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
email:  bill@billpaulson.com
web:  www.billpaulson.com
FB:  www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor
blog:  http://blog.billpaulson.com

As expected, the sellers came back from their Labor Day long weekend and put their homes on the market this week to take full advantage of the fall market.  The buyers were somewhat slow to catch up but I expect we will see them arrive next week signaled by a jump in under agreement listings. 

Newton => 45 new home / condo listings, 13 under agreement, 338 on the market - The 45 new listings was the 7th largest number this year.  The last time we saw a number this high was back in June toward the end of the spring market.  11 of the new listings have an asking price of over $1m.

Needham => 12 new home / condo listings, 6 under agreement, 158 on the market - Needham had the weakest jump of the three towns but it was almost the same as this week last year.  The list price of the new listings ranges from the high $300k range to up over $1.5m.  This week, after 449 days, 16 Country Way went under agreement with a final list price of $2,299,000.  It is expected to close on 9/30 and it will be interesting to see what it sold for.

Wellesley => 18 new home / condo listings, 7 under agreement, 176 on the market - Wellesley's number of new listings this week was tied for the 5th largest number this year.  Of the 18 new listings (which started in the high $300k range), there were 7 with asking prices over $1m and 6 with asking prices over $1.5m.  Wellesley continues to sell very high end homes at a much higher percentage than Newton and Needham.

The fall market is off to a great start.  I have had good activity on my new listing at 110 Country Way (OH tomorrow 2pm to 4pm).  If you are considering listing your home, or if you are looking to purchase a new home, give me a call today so you can take advantage of the fall market.  My cell number is 781-929-2453 and much to my family's dismay, it is always on.

Have a great week!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
bill@billpaulson.com
http://www.billpaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
http://www.facebook.com/conciergerealtor

Going into Labor Day weekend, the sellers were not putting their homes on the market this week because they didn't want their first weekend to be the holiday weekend.  For the second week in a row there wasn't a broker's caravan this week in Needham.  Part of that was because of the limited number of new listings.  Part of it was because the brokers are on vacation.  Next week however, I expect we will see a big jump in new listings like we did last year.  Here are the numbers for this week:

Newton => 6 new home / condo listings, 16 under agreement, 316 on the market - Considering the size of Newton, 6 new listings is a really small number.  Last time we had this few homes on the market in Newton was in March when the inventory was on its spring climb.  The lowest number of home / condo listings on the market recently was Jan 1st when it was 185.

Needham => 4 new home / condo listings, 9 under agreement, 150 on the market - This was the lowest number of new listings since the last week in December.  Under agreement listings though are holding their own.  The result is a decreasing inventory but that should change starting next week when the fall market gets underway.

Wellesley => 2 new home / condo listings, 11 under agreement, 163 on the market - Under agreement listings in Wellesley have been quietly on a climb for the past 5 weeks.  From 5 per week at the end of July to 11 this week, Wellesley buyers have been doing their part to keep things moving.

Now's the time to list your home to take advantage of the fall market!  Give me a call today to discuss your home and its value in today's market.  My cell number is 781-929-2453 and it is always on.

I write weekly and monthly stats regularly.  If you find this information interesting and helpful, return the favor by spreading the word.  The more people that read my real estate market reports, the more people that are going to call me to help them with their real estate needs.  I really appreciate your referrals.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
bill@billpaulson.com
www.billpaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
Facebook:  Realtor Bill Paulson

[See trend graphs below]

Looking at both the number of homes and condos sold in a month as well as the number that went under agreement gives us an interesting perspective on the past, present, and future of our real estate market.  This month's under agreement listings turn into sold listings in 60-90 days.  We can therefore look back at the under agreement listings from May and June and understand why the sold numbers are what they are in August.  On the same token, we can look at July/August under agreement listings and predict what we will see for sold listings in Sept/Oct.  Below is what the data is telling me but you can look at the graphs below for yourself...

Newton - Since April, Newton home / condo under agreement listings have been stronger than 2010.  In three of those months, including August, the 2011 numbers are higher than both 2009 and 2010.  In my weekly market updates I have been saying for a while that Newton has had a very good year.  You can see it in the graphs below.  The July and August sold numbers were better than 2010.  I'm therefore predicting that in September, based on the under agreement stats, we will see a big breakout where the sold numbers will rocket past 2009 and 2010. 

Needham - The Needham home / condo total sold graph line looks incredibly similar from 2009 to 2010 to 2011.  The trend reflects the strongest market in the spring and the second hot period in the fall with steady and predictable dips in between.  In August, the total sold stats are right in between 2010 and 2009.  Moving forward though, 2011 July and August Needham home / condo under agreement numbers were higher than both 2009 and 2010.  Like Newton, I expect that the total sold numbers for Needham will come out on top of both 2009 and 2010 starting in September for a month or two.  I'm not expecting anything dramatic but it is a sign that the market in Needham continues to do very well.

Wellesley - The Wellesley home / condo total sold number for August 2011 went up from July and was right in the middle between 2009 and 2010.  This increase reflected a strong month of June where Wellesley had a substantially higher number of homes go under agreement than the prior two years.  Some of those under agreement listings may show up as September closings.  If not, the weak under agreement numbers for July and August, lower than both 2009 and 2010, portend trouble ahead for the Wellesley total sold stats in September and October.  I should say that the under agreement numbers were not way below 2009 and 2010 so I'm not expecting anything dramatic but it bears watching.

Other than watching the weekly activity, I don't have a numbers way to predict what the under agreement stats will do this fall but I'm guessing that, like years past, after Labor Day we will see a big spike in new listings and the fall market will be off to the races.  I know of a couple new listings that are all set up and waiting for Labor Day to come and go.  If you are considering selling your home, now is the time.  The fall market does not last as long as the spring so you don't want to miss out on even a week of the season.

[See trend graphs below]

If you would like to know how this data is impacting the value of your home, feel free to give me a call at any time on my cell at 781-929-2453.  If you find this information interesting and/or valuable, please visit my Facebook Page, "Realtor Bill Paulson" and "Like" the page.  You can also "Like" the individual posts and/or forward them to your friends.

Have a great week!

Bill Paulson
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
Bill@BillPaulson.com
http://blog.billpaulson.com
www.BillPaulson.com
Facebook:  Realtor Bill Paulson

This weekend Hurricane Irene will be making her appearance in our area.  I hope you all are well prepared and survive the storm without damage to your homes.  Given the storm and normal summer vacations, the real estate markets in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley have been quiet this week.  Having said that, if you look at the trend charts, we are a week or two away from the start of the fall market.  If you are going to sell your home this fall, now is the time to contact your realtor (I know a good one... ;-), de-clutter your home, and get it on the market.  The fall market doesn't last as long as the spring market so don't miss out.  Numbers for this week:

Newton => 15 new home / condo listings, 15 under agreement, 348 on the market

Needham => 5 new home / condo listings, 8 under agreement, 165 on the market

Wellesley => 4 new home / condo listings, 7 under agreement, 174 on the market

If you would like to know how these trends are impacting the value of your home, give me a call at 781-929-2453. That is my cell and you can reach me any time.

Please visit my facebook page and hit the "Like" button. That way you will get these updates each week. You can also "Like" the individual blog entries and then your friends will see them as well.

Have a great week!

Bill Paulson.
Prudential Advantage Real Estate
781-929-2453
EMAIL: bill@billpaulson.com
BLOG: http://blog.billpaulson.com
WEB:  www.billpaulson.com