DebOnTheWeb AKA Deb Agliano - Medford, MA Real Estate

The city of Melrose is a wonderful bedroom community with both the Oak Grove MBTA stop and commuter rail options for car-free commuting. It has a lovely center with a Victorian flair.

Here’s the latest on what’s happening in the market. (The sold statistics are for the last 6 months.)

What this information shows us is that the single family market is doing well, however the condo market is continuing to struggle in the city. If we look at the average Days on Market for all sold properties, we see more confirmation:

Single Family Homes - 77 Average Days on Market
Condos - 159 Average Days on Market
Multi Family Homes - 137 Average Days on Market

Would you like more information about buying or selling a home in Melrose? Just ask - it’s what I’m here for!

Business Week magazine just put out their list of the Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2009. The magazine was looking for the best affordable cities to raise kids. They picked one city in each state and were looking for cities with a population of at least 50,000 and median household incomes of between $40,000 to $100,000. The very short article on Malden cited the city's racial diversity and easy commute as some of the reasons why it was picked. Ready for the kicker. . . Cambridge was one of the runners up, so if Malden cannot fulfill its duties during the year, Cambridge can step in and take over the crown :)

Somerville is a wonderful city where each square has its own feel. Although no city in my market area has been totally immune to the effects of this market, Somerville is remaining an active market.

As you can see from the chart above, absorption rates are quite low for the city. Only the multi family market is out of equilibrium. This is due primarily to the fact that during the height of the market, so many contractors came into the city and bought up as many 2 and 3 family homes as they could. Somerville has a condo review board and the approval process slowed down the number of apartments converted to condos in the city. But these investors could make so much money selling each apartment individually that they bid up the price of multi family homes to a point where these homes no longer made financial sense to the typical multi family buyer - the first time buyer or small investor looking for rental income.

The average sale price over the last 6 months of multi family homes has come down to a much more realistic $471,296, so the “normal” multi family buyers are starting to come back to the market.

One of my clients just told me about Petfinder, an online animal adoption site. This website has photos and videos of animals waiting for adoption from over 12,000 adoption groups. You can search for dogs, cats, birds as well as rabbits and reptiles. There’s even a “small & furry” category where you can find animals like hamsters, gerbils and ferrets. If you have the space, there are barnyard animals, horses and pigs looking for new homes, too.

You can specify the breed, age, size and gender of the animal as well and then do a search to find what animals are available at shelters near you.

I just love seeing wonderful uses of the Internet like this. Thanks Lisa for spreading the word.

JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America have recently both pledged more money to expand their programs to help homeowners that are behind on their mortgage payments. Both banks are looking to help approximately 400,000 homeowners by modifying their loans. Some of the options include reducing the interest rate or changing the terms of the loan.

Obviously this is a win/win situation - the homeowners get to stay in their homes and the banks don’t have to go through the expense of foreclosure.

What does this mean to you if you’re currently looking to buy a home? First, let me give you a definition and then we’ll talk more below.

Definition of a Short Sale: A situation where the seller owes more on their mortgage than their house is currently worth. The only way to avoid foreclosure is to sell the house with the bank’s agreement that they’ll accept less than the amount that they are owed on the mortgage.

Right now most banks are taking 3 weeks and up to 3 months to make a decision on accepting a short sale. If you currently have an offer in on a short sale property, or are looking at homes that are short sales, know that the additional funds pledged to help struggling homeowners might mean that the owner of the home you’re trying to buy can find a way out of their situation. We’ve already seen a few properties taken off the market because the homeowners have now been able to modify their loan so it’s more manageable. So, if you are a buyer looking at short sale properties, be prepared that there’s a chance that the seller might be able to come to terms with their bank and be able to keep their house. There are plenty of other houses out there from owners that do want to sell.

If you’re a seller having trouble with your mortgage payments - contact your bank right away. Even if you’ve talked to them in the past and didn’t get any results, these additional funds just might help you out of your situation.