Needham, MA

My market report for Needham compares this same time period to last year.

4/5/09 to 5/5/09 as it compares with 4/5/08 with 5/5/08

There were 20 properties that sold this year versus last year 15 were sold.

The average days on market this past month and year was 127 but the year before was 77

The average sale price this time period was $594,950

While last year same time period was $748,707

The median price this year is $564,500

While last year it ws $665,000

The average price this year for 4/5/2009 to 5/5/2009 was $594,950

While last year the average price was $748,707

The Total Market Volume this year $11,899,000

While last year it was $11,250,000

The average sales price this year was $594,950

While las year the average sales price was $777,113

The sales are as follows for this past month:

1 at $345,000 at 99% of list price and 93% of Original price

2 sold in the $361,000 and $392,000 at 91% of list price and 87% of original price

2 sold at $439,000 and 1 at $430,000 at 98% of list price and 95% of original price

2 sold at $460,000 and the other at $465,000 at 98% of asking price and 95% of original price

4 properties sold in the 500k market at $550,000, $520,000, $595,000, and $579,000

--the average list price came at 97% of the list price and 95 % of the original price

5 properties sold in the 600K market at $683,000, $666,500, $633,500 and $675,000, $604,000

--the average list price came at 97% of the list price and 95% of the original price

1 sold at $735,000 and that was 90% of list price and 74% of the original price 580 days***

1 sold at $947,000 and that was 96% of list price while 81% of original price

1 sold at $1,380,000 which was 99% of list price and 100% of original price - 167 days and started at $1,375, and was changed to $1,399,000

Overall the properties sold at 97% of the list price and 93% original. It was scewed by the 7% at the property that sold for $735,00 which started at $995,000. The price was clearly off at the beginning of the marketing of the property. What still remains a constant in this real estate market is to be priced right in the beginning to save the ultimate agony of what happened in the case of this property.

The strongest part of this market are the properties from $500,000 to $699,999 price range

There are 122 properties on the market today. The properties seem to move in the $500k to $700k range. The $8000 tax credit and the historically low interest rates have brought many into the market. There are some great homes in Needham for every price range.

The breakdown of price as follows:

1 property at $289,000

2 between $350,000 and $399,999

5 between $400,000 and $449,999

7 between $450,000 and $499,999

14 between $500,000 and $599,999

13 between $600,000 and $699,999

10 between $700,000 and $799,999

5 between $900,000 and $999,999

39 between $1,000,000 and $1,499,999

11 between $1,500,000 and $1,999,999

2 between $2,000,000 and $2,499,999

3 between $2,499,999 and $2,999,999

2 between $3,000,000 and $3,999,999

The average days on market are at 97 days

Median Price $939,000

Average Price $1,067,941

There are 27 properties pending with the highest concentration of the market at two price points

7 pending salesbetween $500,000 and $599,999 and 8 between $1,000,000 and $1,499,999.

There were 42 price changes and 16 of those were between $1,000,000 and $1,499,999

With the overall price changes coming to 3.88%

Pat Baker, REALTOR(R), ABR(R), GREEN(R) Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Needham, MA - Serving my clients primarily in Needham, Wellesley, Dover but extending to the MetroWest Boston areas. 617-435-3471 http://budurl.com/GreenHomeTips

With less than a 5% pay increase over the previous year, Neeham’s Town Manager heads up the Top 100 Official Salaries List for Needham, on Boston.com…

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It is so nice to now be called a college town as Wellesley and other communities surrounding my metro area. This fairly new college of engineering Olin has a terrific summer campus for pre-school to High School kids. I have provided some info below and a link to more on their website alongwith another link to "mysummercamps.com"

Green Apple Campus is a creative andchallenging program for kids preschool through High School. These programs proved inspire imagination and invention. The programs are rich in science, technology, engineering, architecture, design, robotics, and math. They incorproated hundreds of activities utilizing LEGO(R), Robotics, K'NEX(R), and more!

GreenApple is going Green! See their GreenMachines program. Check out the new Academy programs coming in 2009. Challenging progams for hgh school participants.

Their goal is to provide the highest quality creative building andenrichment programs for kids with an emphasis on participation, skills development and fun.

Summer School and After School programming too.

Olin College of Engineering is located on Olin Way, Needham, MA It is an absolutely amazing campus.

There are other campuses in Illinois.

Check out the summer programs:

http://www.greenapplecamps.com/

http://www.mysummercamps.com/camps/Detailed/GreenApple_Campus_L30805.html

Pat Baker, REALTOR(R), ABR(R), GREEN(R) Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Needham, MA - Serving my clients primarily in Needham, Wellesley, Dover but extending to the MetroWest Boston areas. 617-435-3471 www.patannbaker.com/propertysearch/

As of April 30, 2009, there were 125 single family listings in Needham and Needham Heights on the Multiple Listing Service (MLSPin). During April, 41 new single family listings were added to our MLSPin and an additional 2 single family homes were relisted for sale on the MLS, with an average list price of $956,849. Market absorption rates have normalized in Needham; meaning that it is neither a buyers nor a seller's market, in general. However, as with many communities in the Metrowest area, inventories of "luxury homes" are increasing as buyers demonstrate their preference for smaller, more affordable homes. Inventory levels of these "luxury homes" are predicted to rise significantly as the second wave of short sales and foreclosures crashes through the higher end of the market because of falling market values caused by defaults fueled by owners' inability to refinance jumbo loans on properties financed with "interest only" and "option arm" products.

Based on the number of active single family listings versus the number of sales during the month, there is a market absorption rate of 6.25 months. That is to say, based on the volume of sales during the past month, it will take an estimated 188 days to sell all of the single family homes currently in inventory and sitting on the Needham market. Remember, this is for the market in general. Higher-end homes have a much larger absorption rate, whereas more affordable homes actually reflect absorption rates more akin to a "sellers market."

The average list price for a single family home is $1,063,857. The lowest price is $299,000 and the highest price is $3,499,900, with the largest concentration of homes (43.2%) priced in the $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 price range. Of note, the average list price for a single family home in April 2008 was $1,006,034.

The median price is $949,000 and the average days on market are 94 days. This compares to a median list price of $799,900 and average days on market of 131 days as of April 30, 2008.

There were 21 properties that went under agreement during the month of April (April 2008- 41 properties). 20 single family homes sold during the month, with the average sales price being $672,500 and the median was $599,500, with the average days on market being 153 days. Compare this to 14 properties sold during April 2008, with an average and median sales price of $758,008 and $682,500, respectively, and the average number of days on market being 83 days.

During April 2009:

33 properties experienced price changes averaging -4.04%

Sales price to original price was 92%

Sales price to (last) adjusted price was 96%

4 property listings expired with an average days on market of 88 days

Year to date market performance:		2009		2008
Average original list price		$842,385		$811,153
Average sales price		$760,090		$746,670
Median sales price		$636,750		$665,000
Average days on market		127		101
Total number of single family homes sold		60		55

Is now the right time to sell your home? Contact WEICHERT, REALTORS®-Synergy for a complimentary Price Trend Analysis that you can use to evaluate your options.

Looking for other options? Meet with a local Weichert neighborhood specialist to discuss how our expertise can provide you with a competitive edge in selling your property. Stop chasing the market. Let the market chase you! Contact us now at http://synergy-metrowest.com/cma.htm

http://www.synergy-metrowest.com

Red Line Commute

WBZ TV reports that it’s that time of year again at MIT…

The Red Line “car” on the MIT’s Great Dome- WBZ

MIT Hackers Put Red Line on Dome/WBZ

Hack: Red Line Stops at MIT Dome/Boston.com