Acton MA Housing Market Report; Prices Rebound But Fewer Sales in 2011

Acton MA Market Report - January 2012

5 Year Comparisons 2007 - 2011; December Sales and Current Market Conditions

Median and Average sale prices for single-family homes sold in 20011 rebounded to 2008 levels. The number of homes sold was also very close to 2009; fewer than in 2010 and 2011.

Days on market is an important factor when pricing a house to sell. Buyers always want to know how long a property has been on the market. They assume the longer it's been on the market the more motivated the seller must be and the less they will offer.

December Sales: There were 13 single-family closed sales in Acton during December 2011; there were 14 in September 2010; and median and average sale prices were also less. The median sale price was $635,000, up from $533,900 in December 2010. The average price was $563,173, also up from December 2010 when it ws $545,055.

Current Market: There are 57 single family homes for sale in Acton MA; last year there were 62 at this time. List prices range from $199,000 to $1,100,000. The median list price is $525,000; the average list price is $526,217. both higher than one year ago when the median was $517,400 and the average list price was $541,565.

Of the 57 single family homes on the market, 9 have offers accepted waiting for contingencies to clear; and there are 13 homes with sales pending; 5 are new construction with closing dates ranging from the end of February to the end of May.

Condominiums and Townhouses: There are 52 condominiums for sale. Prices range from $74,900 for apartment/garden style units to $609,800 for new detached single-family style homes with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 2 car garages. There are also a variety of young and new attached townhouses in the 400s, some but not all are age-restricted/55+.

There were 8 closed sales during 2011. The median price was $204,000; the average was $246,008.

Source: MLSPIN (Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network)

Buying or Selling a Home – What’s Your Recipe?



Recipe for success!

The other day I was at Brett’s Luggage and Gifts in Sudbury and a woman came in and asked if they sell recipe boxes. They did not but the manager suggested that she try The Paper Store or Duck Soup. I thought for a minute that it was kind of quaint that someone is still using a recipe box and then went about my business. But for some reason, later on that day I started thinking about recipes and real estate, and how people go about buying and selling a home.

What's the connection? Well, recipes aren’t just for food! The word recipe is defined as a list of ingredients and instructions for making something; a “method” of doing something or a combination of circumstances likely to bring something about. We’ve all heard that “hard work is the recipe for success” or “sounds like a recipe for disaster” A recipe is a process, a set of instructions, a way, formula, steps, procedure, or technique.

In sports they call it a “game plan”; in business it’s a “business plan”; home sellers want to know about my “marketing plan”… there are recipes or plans for everything! If you were going to have a dinner party, would you just start cooking or would you ask: who’s coming/who will be helping; what do the guests like/do they have special dietary needs; where will the party be, when/what time do you want people to show up; why are you having the party/is it a special occasion or just a casual get-together; and finally, but most important: how will it be paid for?

The recipe for buying or selling a home starts with asking these same questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Buying or selling a home is a process and it’s all about you; answering these questions is the first step in your recipe for success!