This blog provides both current and prospective Cape Cod homeowners with essential information about the real estate market on Cape Cod with particular emphasis on the upper Cape towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich.
Wow! Today is Saturday, and I didn't have any Open Houses planned, because my team was happily occupied with buyer clients all day. All of us remarked at the traffic of buyers coming in and out of homes...and they were appointments, not Open Houses. Tomorrow we have three advertised Open Houses, but because of the number of people looking, we are tempted to open one of our latest properties which is located in a prime neighborhood. Do you think the mild winter has brought about an early spring real estate market? We think so.
So, what does this mean for you? If you are a buyer, you might want to schedule your spring buying trip now. We still have lots of inventory, market-adjusted prices, and mortgage providers offering reasonable rates. If you are a seller, though, you might have to kick your gears into overdrive. It might still be too cold to do any exterior painting, but you may want to consider clearing the closets, sprucing up the hardwood floors, and de-cluttering, de-personalizing, and staging your home for sale. Bright and immaculate kitchens and baths sell homes more quickly. Not sure just what to improve? Call us and we'll do our best to help.
You might want to check out this page of home preparation tips for sellers:
Tags:
Spring real estate market , real estate , Cape Cod real estate , Falmouth , MA homes , Cape Cod homes for sale , buyers , sellers , the real estate market Leave a comment
If you are around Falmouth the next two weekends (Think...Valentine's Day) then Highfield Theater, located at 58 Highfield Drive in Falmouth, should be a stop on your list! The Falmouth Theatre Guild's production of the long-running musical The Fantasticks is scheduled for the weekends of Feb. 3-5 and Feb. 10-12.
Here's the synopsis:
The Fantasticks is a riff on the Romeo and Juliet story, with a musical twist. The show is narrated by the character of El Gallo, who steps in and out of the story itself. Two Fathers who live next door to one another have agreed that their children should marry. Knowing their children would never agree to a pre-arranged engagement, though, the fathers have pretended to feud with each other. They've even built a "wall" (played by "The Mute," a dancer) to indicate that their children are never to meet. Naturally, The Boy and The Girl fall in love and plan to elope. To seal the deal, the two fathers hire a seedy acting troupe to pretend to kidnap the Girl. A very silly "abduction" ends with the Boy apparently rescuing the Girl. The two embrace under a perfect moon. Act 1 ends. As Act 2 begins, the characters begin to notice that all is not as perfect during the day as under the moon. The Fathers squabble, and the Boy and Girl begin to wonder whether they are really ready for marriage. The Boy takes off to seek his fortune, while the Girl daydreams about the handsome El Gallo. El Gallo shows The Girl what the real world is like, and offers her a life of dissipation.
In the end, the Boy and the Girl recognize that their love for one another is most important, and they reunite.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means it is time to kick off the Christmas season! This weekend in Falmouth, there are plenty of activities and events to help get you in the holiday spirit.
The 2011 Falmouth Holidays by the Sea Weekend will keep you busy, but there are also other events around town that we highly recommend.
Falmouth Holidays by the Sea Weekend Events:
Friday, December 2nd
5:30 PM
Holiday Carol Sing at Nobska Lighthouse
Festive seasonal singing followed by hot chocolate and cookies.
Saturday, December 3rd
8:00-9:30 AM
Family Pancake Breakfast and Parade Raffle
Takes place at Morse Pond School on Jones Road. Enjoy face painting, a pancake breakfast and
family raffle with chances to win great prizes!
11:00 AM
Seafaring Santa Sails into Falmouth
Immediately following breakfast, head to Falmouth Inner Harbor behind the Flying Bridge Restaurant
and welcome Seafaring Santa into town! The Falmouth High School Choir will regale you with carols.
9:30-11:30 AM
Nobska Lighthouse Public Viewing
Santa will be arriving at Noon!
7:00 PM
Annual Lighting of the Falmouth Village Green
The Falmouth Brass Choir will lead the caroling before a special visit from Santa!
6:00-8:00 PM
Main Street/Queen's Buyway Stroll
With the lighting of the Village Green taking place, many of the shops on Main Street will be open
until 8 PM. Stroll the street and enjoy the festively decorated shop windows, holiday refreshments,
and caroling.
Sunday, December 4th
12:00 Noon
48th Annual Falmouth Christmas Parade
Parade starts at noon at the Falmouth Mall and proceeds down Main Street to the Village Green.
This is the largest holiday parade in Southeastern Massachusetts with decorated floats, marching bands, live animals, costumed characters and Santa Claus!
What? There's More?
There are also events taking place not associated with the Falmouth Holiday by the Sea Weekend
that we encourage you to check out below!
Cape Cod's Largest Winter Book Sale at the Falmouth Public Library
Thursday and Friday, December 1st and 2nd from 10 AM to 5 PM and
Saturday, December 3rd from 10 AM to 2 PM
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Falmouth Theatre Guild
Friday, December 2nd at 7:30 PM
A great stage production with a great message using some laughs along the way.
All ages will enjoy!
FHS Ceramics Exhibit at Falmouth Museum on the Green
Friday, December 2nd, from 3-5 PM
Ceramic visualizations of the stanzas of America the Beautiful
Come join in the fun! If you don't live in Falmouth, come see what living here is all about.
Tags:
Falmouth , Falmouth Christmas parade , family events on Cape Cod , Cape Cod real estate blog , holiday events Leave a comment
Should you keep your house on the market during December and January?
There is no doubt that the holidays and harsh winter weather dominate the minds of buyers and sellers from late November through January, and that buying or selling a home often takes a back burner, but statistics show that home sellers have over a 3% better chance to sell in December than in May.
The following stats from the Cape and Islands MLS compare active and sold single-family homes listed for sale in Falmouth in December and May of the past year.
December 2010May 2011
Active Single-family Listings305457
Sold3638
% Sold11.8%8.3%
The answer to that question is: "It depends."
If you (the sellers) have determined that you want to move in the shortest time period possible, then it actually makes statistical sense to keep your house on the market while there is less competition for your home. Showcasing your home during the holidays (think about glittering lights and compelling scents) might be really advantageous for you.
If you have no real time constraints, however, then taking the house off the market and waiting for the active spring market could be the way to go. Your reasons? You may choose to forego the constant upkeep necessary to present your home favorably to a smaller supply of buyers (who might be tracking in snow)during the hectic days of the holiday season; your home might be a summer home that you would like to winterize and secure to save energy and money; your home might have exquisite landscaping that you know will set your home apart from other similarly-priced homes in the inventory when the trees begin to bud in the spring.
Consider your market, your home, and your own personal time-frame for moving! A discussion with your Realtor might help you to weigh these pros and cons and help to set up a great marketing plan as you move into 2012!
Tags:
Cape Cod real estate , Real Estate , Cape Cod , Falmouth , MA condos , Falmouth , MA real estate , waterfront condo communities , waterfront condos , waterfront condominium Leave a comment
The condo market on Cape Cod has been very slow, but there is clear evidence that if a unit is in good condition and is priced right, it will sell.
A case in point is a closing that took place yesterday. When I was meeting with the seller about listing her beautiful condo, the seller had a price in mind that was considerably above the fair market value that I had determined. I suggested that she have an appraisal done so that we would have an independent third party view of the property value. Another good reason to have an appraisal done is that there will be a day of reckoning when the bank appraisal is conducted after the home is under contract. No matter how much the prospective buyer loves the home, if the home does not "appraise," there is no sale.
After the appraisal came in, the seller listed the home and priced it accordingly. The condo sold in 65 days at the appraised value to a couple who had been scouting the market for over two years. They knew that the home was priced right and was a good value in this market.
Tags:
Cape Cod , Condominium , condos , cottage , empty nesters , Falmouth , first-time buyers , first-time homebuyers , homes , NAR , National Association of Realtors , real estate , second homes , statistics , vacation , vacation homes Leave a comment
Property Search
Helpful Links
