Chris Head, Realtor-Marketing Specialist Norwell,Marshfield,Scituate Real Estate

Marshfield Massachusetts housing statistics courtesy of William Raveis Real Estate with data from MLSPIN. Interested in what's happening in your neighborhood? See what active properties are for sale, what your neighbor's home sold for, and trends in your Marshfield neighborhood. Download your FREE Market Snapshot.

Sales Unit sales in October were 33. This is up 32.0% from 25 in October of 2009. Sales/list price ratio in October moved down to 95.9% from 96.0% in September.

Prices Median price of $355,000 in October was down 16.5% from $425,000 in September and down 6.6% from $380,000 in October of 2009. 3-month average sale price of $425,365 in October was very slightly up from $414,337 in September and up moderately from $381,116 in October of 2009.

Inventory Inventory of 212 in October was down 3.6% from 220 in September but up 27.7% from 166 in October of 2009. New listings in October moved down to 37 from 41 in September.

Market Time Days on market of 134 in October was up considerably from 96 in September and up substantially from 92 in October of 2009. Months of supply of 10.9 in October was down moderately from 11.7 in September but up a bit from 10.4 in October of 2009.

Here's some great news for Marshfield residents, beach goers, real estate values, and potential business development! You may eventually be able to exit a businesses on Route 139 and not be forced to take a left to avoid taking your life in your hands trying to cross oncoming traffic! The Patriot Ledger reports that the state has funding to widen route 139 from 2 lanes to 4 lanes from School St. to Furnace St. Construction is scheduled to start next summer, 2011. Not soon enough!

This will provide a great benefit to real estate and home values by reducing commuting times for those who have no other route in and out of town. It will also make Enterprise Drive an attractive location for businesses because of the easy access (finally) to route 3.

Are you wondering how the market in your Marshfield neighborhood is trending? Would you like to know how much your neighbor's home sold for? Download a Market Snapshot with all the latest MLS data at www.MarshfieldRealEstateValues.com.

Yesterday, the President declared most of eastern Massachusetts a disaster including Plymouth and Norfolk counties. This means federal funds will be available to supplement state and local efforts for storms beginning on March 12 continuing through the current event.

The assistance can be grants for home repairs, temporary housing, or low cost loans to help homeowners and business owners recover. Here, from the FEMA site are some of the benefits available to homeowners:

Assistance for Affected Individuals and Families Can Include as Required:

• Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable. Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one month for renters. Assistance may be extended if requested after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements. (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)
• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional. (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)
• Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs. (Source: FEMA funded at 75 percent of total eligible costs; 25 percent funded by the state.)
• Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals. (Source: FEMA funded; state administered.)
• Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)
• Loans up to $2 million for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster's adverse economic impact. This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed a total of $2 million. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)
• Loans up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence. (Source: Farm Service Agency, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.)
• Other relief programs: Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; advisory assistance for legal, veterans benefits and social security matters.

How to Apply for Assistance:

If you reside in Plymouth or Norfolk county (or any other county in the declaration) you can register on line at www.DisasterAssistance.govor call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) from 7am-10PM EDT.