Selling On Cape Cod

November Review: The seasonal slowdown was in full swing in November. When considering the past three months (Sept-Nov) we see a normal decline in Median Sales Price as well as Inventory. We also see the related increase in Average Days on Market since buyers and sellers are now caught up in the holiday season and some homes take a bit longer to find a buyer. When comparing year-over-year single family homes we are seeing closed sales, inventory and new listings all down

In October Barnstable County saw more of the fall slowdown with a significant reduction in new listings compared to this time last year. Additionally new listings are down 5% year-to-date continuing the trend of historically low numbers of homes for sale. Despite this the October market largely kept pace finishing with 5.7 months supply of inventory available. Remember that 6 months is the magic number for a sustainable market between buyers and sellers. Single family h

September Review: The fall market is looking lackluster now that the September numbers are in. With new listings, closings, and inventory down we did not see as significant an amount of activity in the market as this time last year. With inventory countywide at a 6 month month level, neither buyers nor sellers see a great advantage currently. Not all markets are seeing this balance though so don't hesitate to check in if you are curious about a certain subset of the mar

The Cape Cod real estate market has heated back up this fall as many second home owners list their homes after the beach season. Here is our list of 5 things to do before you list your home. Fix Those Long Overdue Punch-list Items We always come back to this because it can't be emphasized enough. Little repairs go a long way. Replace sprung window sashes, plane doors that are sticking, fix locks that don't quite work correctly (here is a lock mid-adjustment in a settling

August Review: The trends in the Cape Cod market this year seem to be delayed approximately a month compared to last year. In other words, August this year compares more closely with July last year. We felt this in the Spring and now again in the late Summer as the August data seemingly reflects what is typically the July slowdown (whereas July was as busy as June the year before). We see this normal seasonal slowdown reflected in the chart at right in that closed sales

May Review: Year over year the inventory is up 6.1% and has also been steadily increasing since January. With new listings down from last year and flat compared to last month we will be keeping an eye on how this will affect inventory going forward though. What will also be influencing the market for the foreseeable future is the incredibly low mortgage rate. At the time of writing Cape Cod Five and the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod both have their 30 year fixed mortgage

For this blog we delve into the wealth of knowledge accumulated by Ed over his (undisclosed) years spent working in the yard on Cape Cod. With the cold wetness this spring in particular we wanted to share some pro-tips to keep lichens from taking over your roof and improve the curb appeal of your home. Lichens and mosses hold water on your roof shortening its lifespan, lichens slowly dissolve the asphalt and other components in your roof shingles and tiles, and a roof that l

March Review: We'll go ahead and say it now, "this was a decent winter for weather." Why does this matter for the real estate market on Cape Cod? With the seasonality of sales here an easy winter sets up sellers to get their properties on the market earlier in the year: i.e. February and March instead of March and April. Last month inventory was up 10% from 2018 and this month it is up 15%. This leaves us with 5.3 months of inventory in Barnstable County which, while still

It's that time again, Spring. The daffodils are starting to poke up through the ground, afternoons are getting warmer, and homeowners are starting to take a long hard look at the shambles of their yards and homes after the winter. We decided to take a bit of time for another installment of "Ask Agnes" and focus on home improvements and how much value they add to a home. "Hi Agnes! It's been a while since we've had a chance to do this and we are excited to be back." "Me too

February Review: February saw the beginning of the Spring market on Cape Cod and the numbers tell an interesting tale. We notice that average days on market has been steadily increasing while average percent of original price received has been declining. It seems that buyers in the market are responding to overpriced houses by waiting longer to make offers and ultimately offering less. We see this time and time again in smaller markets too, take an analysis we did for a cl

October Review: Median Sales prices continue to climb in both the single family and condominium markets and, as a result, we saw a considerable drop in the affordability index for Barnstable County in October. The inventory of homes dropped less than 2% since September and the current months of inventory, 6.6, is considered a healthy amount in a residential market. Additionally average days on market increased and percent of original sales price decreased, indicating a bet

Photos! Photos! Photos! Are crucial to attracting buyers to your home and getting them in the door. Since all of our listings are syndicated to numerous websites it is essential that your first showing (your online photos) are done right the first time. Here are some tips for sellers to prepare your home for an excellent photography appointment. ~ Stay out of the shots, and Fido too ~ Family photos on the fridge, stairwell and mantlepiece are necessary to making your hou

August Review: The big news here is that inventory continues to grow. We currently have 6.4 months of single family home inventory in Barnstable County as well as increasing number of homes for sale (labeled as inventory in the table below). Generally a market with around 5 and 6 months of inventory is considered healthy so we are relieved to see these numbers up again. We also tend to see a spike in listings this time of year simply because people are done using their su

We have four excellent open houses this weekend. If you are interested in any of these homes or to learn more about any other open houses on the Cape, contact us today. Saturday 10-12 | 9 River Road, West Dennis Bring your beach balls...This Cape Cod year-round getaway with proven rental history is turnkey ready for fun with plenty of room for outdoor games. It is being sold furnished along with the booked rentals. It is nestled on a cul-de-sac and features wood floors, thre

In this series we examine the process of selling on Cape Cod - and don't worry, we'll get to the buying soon. This installment includes getting from negotiation to closing. "Hey Agnes, I finally have a good offer? What now?" "Congratulations! You have been putting up with the inconveniences of showings and open houses and it has finally paid off (for an idea of the process up to this point, check out part 1 and part 2). Now is when we work with both parties to agree on a

In this series we examine the process of selling on Cape Cod - and don't worry, we'll get to the buying soon. This installment includes choosing an agent and living with a listed property. "OK Agnes, I am ready to choose an agent...what should I consider?" "Well, a great place to start is with interview questions to ask your agent. Consider some points in this article on nerdwallet.com and create your questions with the goal of choosing a professional. We suggest aski

We're back for another installment of 'Ask Agnes'. Recently we have had a lot of interest regarding the process of selling your home on Cape Cod. We'll start this series with the process of selling and be sure to hit relevant points to consider when listing your property including when, with whom, and why. "Hey Agnes, should I sell my home and when should I put it on the market?" "'Should I sell' is probably the most important question to consider for any potential sell

Our goal in this series is it to help you understand how we interpret markets on the Cape and how this informs our recommendations when developing pricing strategies. For our final installment we will evaluate the Cape Cod market for the past 3 years (starting in October 2014). First the inventory of single family homes has been dropping over the past few years. This factor coupled with rising median sales prices and fewer days on market indicate an accelerating marke

Our goal in this series it to help you understand how we interpret markets on the Cape and how this informs our recommendations when developing pricing strategies. In this installment we will be evaluating a specific market - homes in Brewster between $300k and $500k. We chose this market because it includes the current median sales price in Barnstable County of $380,000. From August 1, 2017 until October 26th (when we ran the numbers) only 25 homes have sold in this

We always try to understand the real estate market on Cape Cod in a variety of ways and to explain our understanding to our clients. For the first installment of this series we will be looking at Barnstable County as a whole and explaining an interesting trend that carries over into many markets on Cape Cod. Our goal is to help you understand how we interpret the market here on the Cape and how it informs our decisions when developing pricing strategies. To begin we fou