Wayland Real Estate Report - Prices Up in 2013; Current Shortage of Houses for Sale!

2013 was a very positive year for home sellers in Wayland!

The median single-family house sale price was $612,000, approximately 13% higher than the 2012 median.

There were 80 closed sales; slighter fewer than in 2012. And it took less time sell a house.Click here for details.

Currently there are only 20 single-family houses for sale in Wayland. Last year there were 33. List prices range from $374,900 to $9,300,000. The median list price, $997,000 is higher than last year at this time when it was $939,000. The average list price is $1,668,845, also higher than last year.

"The early bird catches the worm"! If you want to sell your house, this is a great time to put it on the market. Buyers are waiting for listings so why wait for the competition?

Home-buyers, be prepared to move forward if you find a house that fits your needs. While can be difficult to make a decision if you have only seen one or two houses, if you wait you run the risk of not finding another house within your budget. As the spring market progresses, you will have more competition and limited supply will cause prices to go up. Additionally, there is a lot of discussion about mortgage interest rates going up too, further decreasing you purchasing power. Click here to contact an experience buyer agent/broker to help you set up a "game-plan" to put you in a winning position.

Sellers, it's easy to have unrealistic expectations in a "sellers' market". However, correct pricing is still the key to getting your property sold. As good a the market was in Wayland in 2013, there were 146 price changes on 89 single-family properties; the average price change was -7.51%. And, there were 40 "expired" listings; these are houses that did not sell during the listing contract period.
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Visit www.marilynmessenger.com for the latest market information for Wayland, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow, and Concord MA. 



 

What Can You Expect?

The two most frequently quoted constants in life are death and taxes. Two more things would-be homeowners can expect in the near future are increases in mortgage rates and housing prices.

Interest rates have been kept artificially low for several years by the Federal Reserve in an effort to strengthen the economy. Policy is shifting to allow them to seek their own natural level and that will surely result in higher mortgage rates. Rates on 30 year fixed mortgages are up over 1% from January, 2013.

Foreclosure activity is down, new home starts are up and prices have been increasing in most markets for two years. Most experts agree that the cost of housing is going up.

If the price were to go up by 2% and the mortgage rate by 1% while a buyer is “sitting on the fence” making a decision, the payment would go up by almost $175.00 each and every month for the term of the mortgage. Even if a person can afford to make the higher payments, what could they have done with that extra $175.00 a month? Buy furniture? Car payment? Principal reduction?  Retirement contribution? Save for a rainy day?

Click here to determine what the cost of waiting to buy will be using your price home.
















Inventory is extremely low in most towns; only 44 single-family homes for sale in Sudbury, 17 in Wayland; and 15 in Maynard. I will be posting and emailing market updates in the next day or two.

Low inventory makes this a very good time to put your house on the market before the spring becomes more competitive as more people decide to sell. And you will have the edge on other buyers who still need to sell in order to move forward.

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Home Selling: What Kind of Showing Was It?

One of the most frequent calls from homeowners to their agents is about the listing’s inactivity due to the lack of showings. The homeowner commonly believes that the home is shown only when a buyer walks through the house with an agent.

Today’s buyers are more sophisticated than in the past due to the abundance of information available to the public on the Internet.  There are seemingly inexhaustible sites with homes for sale, valuation estimates and virtual tours.  There are extensive mapping sites with satellite images, traffic conditions, entertainment, shopping and other points of interest.

There are actually three legitimate types of property showings.  A knowledgeable buyer can view a home for sale online and make a reasonable determination of whether the home will fit their needs. Occasionally, buyers will drive by a home to get a feel for the home and also the neighborhood which might cause them to eliminate any further examination or consideration.

The third type, the physical showing, certainly gives the buyer the opportunity for the closest scrutiny but is generally reserved for properties that have passed the inspections of at least one other type of showing.
Sellers should be aware of the different types of showings and that a sales agent’s job is to help the buyer find the right home. The listing agent’s job is to market the home so that the right buyer finds it either through their own efforts or that of the buyer’s agent.

Communication is crucial to the success of the selling process. Real estate agents need to know what's going on with their listings and let their seller clients know what's going on in order for them to make the right decisions moving forward. If a property is getting lots of activity on line but few or none are resulting in visits to the house it means there is a disconnect between what the buyers expect to see for the price and what the photos and description show compared with other properties.

As a listing agent, I always provide to my clients. For online views I subscribe to updated service on Realtor.com, Trulia, etc. and can share the number of times the listing showed up in a search as well as the number of times someone clicked on the listing for details. For live showings, I personally follow up with each agent and share the feedback with my sellers.
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Like every industry, real estate has changed. Please contact me if you want to talk about how people buy houses in today's world. Visit www.marilynmessenger.com to see houses for sales, view market reports for Concord, Sudbury, Wayland, Maynard, and Stow; request a home valuation, and more.

Sudbury Housing Market Update - Prices Rise as Inventory Shrinks

Sudbury Real Estate - Local Housing Market Update



Click here for the latest report from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. including data for condominiums in Sudbury.
 

Single-Family Homes: Both the number of single-family homes sold and the median sale price during February were higher in Sudbury than in previous years. Year to date (as of 2/28) there have been 25 closed sales for single-family homes in Sudbury - a 47.1% increase over the same period last year.

Current 4/2/13 - The number of homes for sale has dropped by 40% since last year - there are 84 single-family homes for sale and of those, 18 already have accepted offers. Last year on 4/2 there

were 141 for sale. Current list prices range from $269,900 to $3,495,000.The median list price is $889,000 compared with $769,000 last year.

Overall, there is a 4 month supply of single-family homes for sale compared with 8 months last year. Supply varies by price. Luxury property buyers still have many excellent options in Sudbury. There are currently 23 estate homes for sale between $1,000,000 and $1,499,999 and only 2 have - this is an almost 9 month supply. There are 8 listings between 1.5 million and $999,999.

Condominiums (townhouse and garden apartment style) - Contrary to the single-family market, the supply of condominiums has increased by 100% - there are 32 for sale compared with 16 last year, however, of the 32, 14 already have accepted offers. The increase is mostly due to the new construction townhouses at Landham Crossing, Mahoney Farms, and Grouse Hill. There are also 3 resale townhouses at Springhouse Pond, 2 of which have accepted offers and are being shown for backup. List prices for condos in Sudbury range from $230,000 for an apartment-style at Northwoods, to $825,000. The median price is $687,450.

While condo living is easier and really tempting after all the snow this winter, it is different than owning your own single-family home. There are many things to consider. If you are considering a condo, including new construction, know that you are entitled to have your own buyer agent /broker represent you. If you want someone on your side, and who wouldn't, contact me before you visit the site; visiting the site first could cost you.

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Get the latest market reports for Wayland, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow and Acton MA at www.marilynmessenger.com or call 508-596-3501 if you are looking for a knowledgeable, experienced, educated and caring real estate broker and buyer agent to help you buy or sell a home.

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