Falmouth, MA

We recently had the sale of a condo at Sea Oaks in Mashpee, MA fall apart over the condo associations refusal to answer four questions that required an opinion or judgement.

The mortgage provider had sent a form to the association's management company, American Properties Team of Woburn, MA. American Properties provided a comprehensive form that failed to answer four questions. Neither the lender or APT would budge.

There are several questions that I am attempting to get answered:

1. Can a condo be purchased with an FHA backed loan at a property managed by APT or any association whose attorneys refuse to allow them to answer questions requiring an opinion? (i.e. is the maintenance reserve adequate?)

2. Do all lenders use the same form?

3. Which lenders will accept the pre-prepared form provided by the association?

I will keep you updated.

An Overview of the 2009 Falmouth Condo Market (Through May 15)

December 31, 2008 May 15, 2009

• Units on the market 56 76
• Average sales per month 4.5 3
• Our absorption rate* 12.4 Months 25.3 Months

*Absorption Rate: The number of months that it would take for all condos presently on the market to be sold. A balanced market is around 5 months.

• Sales % of original list price 85.3% 85.2%
• Sales % of list price (at time of sale) 92.7% 94.57%
• Median Sales Price $339,950* $278,750*

*The median sales price for the first 4.5 months of 2009 is down 18%

Here are some statistics by price range:

0-299,000 300,000-399,000 400,000-499,000 500,000+

Listings 18 22 21 13

Sold (6 mo) 10 3 1 4

Pending 0 2 2 2

Average Days on Market (sold)

246 195 13 470

Conclusion: Since there have been more condos coming on the market than have been sold, there is still downward pressure on prices and the inventory remains high. Buyers are clearly in control and will stay in control until there are three consecutive months with more residences being sold than come on the market.

The key to selling in this market is to price the property correctly.

I showed a nice colonial today to a great couple! They liked it and now their current home needs a buyer. Anyone looking for a great 3 bedroom 2 bath Cape on Cape Cod?! $319000, pics on my web site.

Then I drove down to see the end of the Coast Guard's annual water rescue in Nantucket Sound. They had just ended when I got there but here is a picture of the beach on Surf Drive in Falmouth, MA. Come and go for a swim!

It is a breezy and cool morning. The tourists are starting to visit. Shops are open, the food is good, and the sun is shining!

Happy real estate-ing!

I couldn't believe there were so many swans behind my house yesterday. I counted over 40! They looked like a flock of snow geese at first.

As I approached, they all craned their necks and I thought I'd get attacked, but they turned out to be more afraid of me than I was of their herd.

It's a beautiful Day On Cape Cod!

There are five candidates for selectmen in Falmouth MA. The election is May 19th. None of the candidates is running for re-election.

Outlines of their positions can be found on the local paper's web site. (Falmouth Enterprise). The league of Women Voters had a question and answer session. Here are their responses to the question: What is your signature issue.

John Flannagan (ex Professor Mass Maritime): Good Government with accountability

Melissa Freitag (Teacher Cape Cod Community College, politics): Good Government

Sheryl Kozens-Long (Small business owner): Accountability

David Moriarty (General Contractor): Sewers and Water Quality

Robert Volosevich (Small business owner): Increasing public involvement on Town Committees, volunteerism.

Study their ideas and vote.