Falmouth, MA

A sure sign that summer is coming is when the community calendar on the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce's website starts to fill up. In addition to the fact that Falmouth has more miles of shoreline than any other town on Cape Cod, the wide variety of daily activities and special events make it an incredible place to vacation or own property.

Check the following link to see the schedule as it stands today:

http://www.falmouthchamber.com/more/calendar/local

It won't be long before this pastoral scene at Old Silver Beach in North Falmouth is once again playing host to people from far and wide who come to enjoy Falmouth's beautiful sandy beaches.

• There are 60 units on the market today (May 12, 2008).
• We have been averaging 3.3 sales per month for the past six months.
• Our absorption rate (the amount of time that it would take for all condos presently on the market to be sold) is now at 18 months. Since a balanced market is around 5 months, this strongly favors buyers.
• Condominiums are selling for 86.7% of their original list price.
• Condominiums are selling for 92.14% of the list price at the time of sale.
• Buyers are more demanding the longer a unit is on the market.

Here are some statistics by price range:

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

Listings 19 18 10 11

Sold (6 mo) 9 1 4 6

Pending 1 5 4 4

Avg Days on Mkt (sold) 184 605 176 306

What is selling?

•· New or significantly renovated units.

•· Units with garages.

•· Units with first floor masters.

•· Units with washer and dryer in the first floor.

•· Walking distance to shopping and restaurants is popular (gas prices?)

•· Units that are priced appropriately according to the reality of the current market.

Conclusion: The condo market is slow and strongly favors buyers. Sellers need to be aggressive in their pricing, especially if their condo does not have some of the amenities listed above. Sellers need to be realistic about the current market or decide to stay in their current unit until the market turns.

There are just over 1900 properties in the pre-foreclosure stages on Cape Cod on May 6, 2008. This is only a small fraction of real estate on Cape Cod. There are some 140,000 homes on the Cape. Less than half of those homes are second homes. Some communities have more than 50% vacation home or investment status, but when averaged, most homes on Cape Cod are owner occupied.

Falmouth is the second largest town on Cape Cod. Falmouth's year round economy and miles of shoreline provide both year-round and summer usability. There are many year round restaurants, hotels, and coastal entertainments, and there are year round businesses whether you are a "Hole-ie" in Woods Hole doing scientific research or fishing in Nantucket Sound for sport or income. Falmouth has many "villages": Falmouth, North Falmouth, West Falmouth, East Falmouth, Sippewisset, Quisset, Woods Hole, Waquoit, Teaticket, Hatchville, and other locally known areas.

Here are the breakdowns for Falmouth real estatethat I have found. Keep in mind these are PRE-foreclosures (as of 5/6/08) and many may not go to complete foreclosure.

Falmouth
Falmouth 29
North Falmouth 15
East Falmouth 164
Teaticket 33

Tomorrow: Mashpee real estate

Yesterday: Barnstable real estate

I am lurnen to tawk like dthe people heeyah ahn cape cahd, aftah almost twenee yeyahs. I had an agent ask me recently, "Howmanypichyus?" It was all run together and said so fast that I had to pause to play it back in my memory. I asked, "What was that? I don't hear as fast as you speak."

The response was the same, "Howmanypichyus?" I had to confess that I didn't understand what was being said. Then the response was as if I was the one with the poor communication skills, " How.....many......pichyahs?"

"OOOOOooooo! Are you asking me how many pictures I have of the property?" I querried. "Yeah"

"Well we always put more than one in the listing, and there are more on our website if you need more." "Oh, yeah, I dint (spelled as pronounced) see dthose. Sahree," and then they hung up.

When people find out I am from Texas, living in MA, they often say, "You don't sound like you're from Texas." And I reply, "Dat i-soh people wol unerstan whahm sayin."

....And they say people in the south are funny to listen to.

LOL

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