Looking for somewhere new to dine in Cape Cod?

Come aboard the S.S. Lobster Roll. The boat departs daily from Sesuit Harbor offering lunch, dinner and sunset dinner cruises. They serve lobster rolls like no other. They offer a children’s menu for kids 10 and under. It is a lot of fun. Reservations are recommended but walk-ons are always welcome. Try something new, experience Cape Cod Bay from the water. The boat is also available for private charters. Check them out www.lobsterrollcruises.com

MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Pending home sales up for the 10th straight month in April as buyers pushed to take advantage of the expiring homebuyer tax credit

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported May 4 that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in April was up 25 percent over the same time last year, while condominiums were up 22 percent. April is the tenth straight month that the number of both single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement had increased over the year before.

“With the tax credit expiring at the end of the month, we were not surprised to see a big increase in the number of homes put under agreement in April,” said 2010 MAR President Kevin Sears, broker/co-owner of Sears Real Estate in Springfield. “Pending sales activity in the next few months will give us a good indication of how stable the market is post tax credit.”

Single Family Homes Sales in Massachusetts

The number of single-family homes put under agreement in April was up 25 percent compared to the same time last year (4,480 homes in 2009 to 5,580 homes in 2010). On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were up 16.1 percent from 4,808 homes in March.

The number of condos put under agreement in April was up 22 percent compared to April 2009 (1,878 units in 2009 to 2,292 units in 2010). On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement were up 8.0 percent from 2,122 units in February.

About Pending Sales:

The tracking of signed purchase and sales agreements (also called “pending sales”) provide reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months.

A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” is when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such. MAR is the only organization which compiles this statewide information from Multiple Listing Services each month.

About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:

Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 20,000 members. The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.

Great news! Katie Clancy has won the first quarter contest and will be celebrating in Newport! way to go Katie

On April 10th Bayside held it first art exhibit and sale. Guild of Harwich artist member, and past president Odin Smith, was the featured artist. This was the first time she had a show of over 40 original art works. The event was catered by Barbara Wright with over 200 people in attendance. A portion of the proceeds has been donated to the nonprofit organization WE CAN in Harwichport with the entire event sponsored by Bayside. This came about after a collaboration of two childhood friends, namely Kim Clark and Odin Smith (both grew up in Brewster). Look for news regarding our next event! www.odinksmith.com

So you’ve decided to sell your home and have a fairly good idea of what you think it is worth. Now you move on towards choosing a Realtor. So you pick up the phone/email and make appointment to meet with three agents that work your area…or better yet you are referred to an agent. The realtors then show up with a list of comps to show you along with a recommended price.
Amazingly, a couple of the Realtors have come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back up their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain convinced “My House” is worth more. When you interview the third agent’s figures, they are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or maybe even higher. Suddenly, you are a happy and excited home seller, already counting the money.

But which Realtor do you choose?

If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor number three. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right? After all, everyone else does it!

The truth is that you may have just listed with someone that has no experience or an agent that commonly “buys” listings. This means that the agent goes into your home knowing what it would sell for but gives you a higher price counting on the fact that you will either drop the price or do an addition….to bring your home in line with current prices. Agents do not set the prices of homes consumers do. Why do agents do this? Basically there are two reasons. Agent one may not want to hurt your feelings and thinks it’s worth a shot while agent two may do this over and over looking to get your home reduced to the point where it sells.

Whichever the case, if you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of “behind the scenes” action taking place that you don’t know about.
Almost 98% of listings are sold though a co-broke. This means that the seller had a selling agent and the buyer has a buyer’s agent. Most listing agents do not sell your home. They are marketing and promoting your home to tons of local realtors who do work with buyers. During the first couple of weeks your home should be very busy with activity. Agents coming to preview your home for clients and MLS tours.

If the price is right.

If your home is overpriced…… fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically. When you do finally lower your asking price the listing will be stale… your house is “old news.” You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Your house could take longer to sell.

Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer most likely will need a mortgage. In order to obtain a mortgage lenders require an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise. You deal falls apart. Of course, you can always attempt to renegotiate the price, but only if the buyer is willing to listen. Your house could go “back on the market.” Once your home has fallen out of escrow or sits on the market awhile, it is harder to get a good offer. Potential buyers will think you might be getting desperate, so they will make lower offers. By overpricing your home in the beginning, you could actually end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally received.

Remember those two conscientious agents who informed you that the price should be lower? Well they will be going back to their offices and sharing the fact that your listing is overpriced. If your listing agent routinely engages in “buying” listings, he has probably aced out scores of other agents in the same way. Realtors talk to each other. If they don’t like “your” listing agent, not as many of them will be showing your home.

In short, you may have ended up with an agent who was good at selling you but not good at selling your house. And then you will turn around and them a commission for it. It is human nature for you to want the highest price for your home. However, when you choose the agent who is telling you what you want to hear, and not backing it up with any data, it often leads to stress and frustration. It will take you longer to sell your home and possibly, you will end up selling at a lower price instead. Or maybe after reading this article, you will choose one of the “good” Realtors in the first place.

Brokers and Realtors are expecting the spring real estate market to start earlier due to the extended tax credit for first-time home buyers and the new move-up buyer credit. A typical closing can take about 6-8 weeks, possibly longer for purchases of a bank owned home or short sale (pre-foreclosure) home. The process of finding the right home and the transaction can take a while. Consumers have realized what a great opportunity the tax credits have created and they don’t want to miss out. The tax credit can be used for a number of things such as updates to the new home, paying off debt or even the down payment. In my experience I have already had calls from clients that have been on the fence and have decided to buy now in order to take advantage of the tax credits. They are doing the right thing starting early so they are not rushing to deadline worrying that they might miss out on the $8,000.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. The tax credit now applies to sales occurring before April 20, 2010. The income limit has also been increased to income limits of $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for married couples filing joint returns.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has established a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified move-up/repeat home buyers (existing home owners) purchasing a principal residence before April 30, 2010

Welcome to Bayside Realty Consultant’s brand new website! We are very excited to start a new year with a new site!  As you browse through our pages we hope you find our site both user-friendly and helpful.  If you have any questions about the site or anything you see on it please feel free to use our live chat where you can instantly chat with a Bayside Realtor.  If you rather speak with someone give us a call at 508-385-7777.  You can also email anyone of our associates any time, simply click HERE for a directory of our team.