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Bill Lanciloti Meets With Congressman Barney Frank

August 15, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
newton ma real estate appraiser

Bill meets Congressman Frank

On Monday, August 8th, representatives of the MBREA (Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers) met with Congressman Barney Frank at his district office in Newton, MA.

Our meeting with the Congressman Frank was scheduled to provide feedback to the Congressman on how recent changes in real estate appraisal regulations have been implemented in our industry. The Congressman appreciated the ‘real world” feedback and agreed to take our suggestions for improvements back to Washington.

Bill’s work with the MBREA enables him to keep current on changes and trends in the real estate appraisal industry and to apply that knowledge to our work for clients at Suburban Appraisal Services.

Filed Under: Legislation

2011 Single Family Pending Sales, Newton, MA

August 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A market update from Suburban Appraisal Services, your experienced Boston real estate appraiser.

Fifty-nine homes are under agreement for sale. Median asking price was $925,000 and Average Days on Market was seventy-nine. This data suggests an oversupply in all price segments.

2011 Single Family Pending Sales, Newton, MA

$0-$999,99936$687,45072
$1,000,000-$1,499,99910$1,149,50046
$1,500,000-$1,999,9994$1,747,000141
$2,000,000+9$2,250,000116
Total/Averages59$925,00079
Filed Under: Market Trends

2011 Single Family Active Listings, Newton, MA

August 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A market update from Suburban Appraisal Services, your experienced Boston real estate appraiser.

At present, there exist 197 active offerings. Eighty-two of these listings are priced in excess of $1,000,000 of which forty-three are priced above $1,500,000. Thirty-two listings have accepted offers, but remain active pending signing of Purchase and Sale Agreements. Columns are price range, # of listings, median asking price, days on market.

*Thirty two (32) of these listings have accepted offers but remain active pending signed P&S agreements.*

2011 Single Family Active Listings, Newton, MA

$0-$999,999115$685,00084
$1,000,000-$1,499,99939$1,249,000115
$1,500,000-$1,999,99919$1,695,000150
$2,000,000+24$2,675,000149
Total/Averages197$899,000104
Filed Under: Market Trends

Q1 2011 versus Q1 2010-Newton, MA Single Family Sales and Prices Increase

August 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A market update from Suburban Appraisal Services, your experienced Boston real estate appraiser.

MLS reported seventy-four sales in Q1 of 2011 as compared with seventy-three in Q1 of 2010. Median sales price, quarter to quarter, increased significantly from $705,000 in Q1 of 2010 to $837,000 in 2011. Average days on market increased from seventy-five days to 113 days. Columns are year, price range, # sales, median price, days on market. Each year has a totals row which shows total number of sales, median price and average # of days on market.

Single Family Sales, Q1 2011 versus Q1 2010

Q1 2011$0-$999,99947$580,10098
Q1 2011$1,000,000-$1,499,99913$1,200,000118
Q1 2011$1,500,000-$1,999,9998$1,694,250187
Q1 2011$2,000,000+6$2,524,000127
Q1 2011 Total/Averages74$837,000113
Q1 2010$0-$999,99959$610,00063
Q1 2010$1,000,000-$1,499,99910$1,202,500126
Q1 2010$1,500,000-$1,999,9991$1,600,000317
Q1 2010$2,000,000+3$3,049,81860
Q1 2010 Total/Averages73$705,00075
Filed Under: Market Trends

2011 Q1 Market Update for New Homes, Newton, MA

August 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A market update from Suburban Appraisal Services, your experienced Boston real estate appraiser.

Eight new homes have sold during 2011 with a median sales price of $1,610,000. Average marketing time was 156 days. Columns are quarter,  # of sales, median price, days on market.

New Home Sales Q1 2011

Q1 20118$1,610,000156

At present, there are eleven (11) new homes listed for sale and there are five pending sales. Median list price for the active offerings is $1,537,000 and the median list price of the pending sales is $2,195,000. The below table illustrates the active offerings. Columns are price range, # of listings, median asking price, days on market.

2011 Single Family New Homes Current Listings, by Price Range

$0-$999,9992$943,45075
$1,000,000-$1,499,9993$1,399,000134
$1,500,000-$1,999,9992$1,537,000261
$2,000,000+4$2,222,000130
Filed Under: Market Trends

Newton, MA Single Family Home Sales- Market Stability Continues from 2009 to 2010

August 17, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A market update from Suburban Appraisal Services, your experienced Boston real estate appraiser.

This is the first in a series of posts on the current real estate market conditions in Newton, MA.

Contrary to the news in much of the rest of the country, the Newton, MA real estate market remained strong/stable in 2010 as compared to the prior year (2009). Total number of single family sales increased slightly from 511 in 2009 to 518 in 2010. Median selling price rose modestly from $731,500 to $744,150. Average marketing time was virtually unchanged from eighty-four days in 2009 to eighty-seven days last year. See the below chart for the comparison. Columns are year, # of sales, median price, days on market.

Newton Single Family Sales 2009-2010

2009511$731,50084
2010518$744,15087
Single Family Sales in Newton, MA 2009 and 2010


Seventeen new homes sold in 2010 with a median selling price of $1,790,000. This represents a decline in volume as compared with twenty-four sales of new homes in 2009.  Median price increased approximately 25% from 2009 which had a median selling price for new construction of $1,433,750. Average days on market declined slightly from 163 days in 2009 to 156 in 2010. See the below chart for the comparison. Columns are year, # of sales, median price, days on market.

Newton, MA New Home Sales 2009 to 2010

200924$1,433,750163
201017$1,790,000156
Sales volume was down in 2010 versus 2009 but median prices were up 25%.

Filed Under: Market Trends

Appraisal Boston – Experience Is A Must In This New Real Estate Environment

August 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Back in the good old days, before our current recession, getting a fair and equitable real estate appraisal in Boston was much easier. The market was red hot, prices were soaring, and there were hordes of great comparable properties to research, making a fairly accurate real estate appraisal within the reach of even the greenest appraiser.

boston appraisal

How Do You Know What Your Property Is Worth?

Nowadays, it’s a whole new ballgame. Foreclosures and short sales are the name of the game and many would be sellers on sitting on the side lines, which could mean no good comparable properties sold within 6 to 18 months of a property’s listing date. Pricing properties in this environment can become a murky prospect.

That’s why hiring an experienced Boston appraiser who’s seen up and down markets is essential.

Hiring someone with their finger on the pulse of the Boston market will mean the difference between a fair and a skewed appraisal. And, an appraisal figure that is not accurate can kill deals, cheat people out of fair outcomes, and endanger the entire real estate transaction process.

Look for someone who’s been around the block, someone who has been in Boston for a good number of years, someone professional, someone who will provide a very detailed report and who stands behind their assessment. Not all the appraisers in our marketplace have these credentials, not by a long shot.

Go the extra mile, ask a few questions, and kick the tires before moving forward and you could very well save the day.
A sound, fair appraisal in the Boston area, requires local expertise and experience. Don’t balk on price or hire someone based solely on hearsay, or you could very well regret it.

Filed Under: Appraisal Tips Tagged With: home appraisal boston

Real Estate Appraiser In Boston – A Critical But Often Overlooked Player In The Process

August 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

When looking to hire a real estate appraiser in Boston the first thing to remember is that appraisers are not a commodity.

boston real estate appraiser

We Know The Real Value In Real Estate

There are good appraisers and there are not so good appraisers, never assume that they all know what they’re doing. That mentality could very well cost you a loan, a home refinancement, or thousands on the sale of a property.

Don’t cut corners in this area of the real estate process. A mediocre appraiser will not know the local market and will not know how to select the right comparable properties when assessing the value of a property. A professional, local appraiser needs experience in the Boston market and more especially experience in appraising a wide variety of property types, such as foreclosures, vacant land, investment properties, condos, single family homes, or townhomes.

A sub-par appraiser will often overlook critical details like the exact square footage of a property, high end amenities in a condo building, fireplaces, decks, exact location (on a busy street, or within a certain desirable neighborhood), parking, upgrades and finishes on the kitchens and bathrooms and so on.

All of these factors can sway the final appraisal figure by tens of thousands of dollars in either direction; costing a buyer a loan, a home owner refinancement, and a seller a fair price for their property.

Look for experienced appraisal services local to Massachusetts and the greater Boston area.
Remember hiring the right real estate appraiser in Boston is a critical step in the real estate transaction, one that is sadly and often overlooked.

Filed Under: Appraisal Tips Tagged With: appraisal services

Census Bureau Releases June 2010 sales figures

August 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Sales of new single-family houses in June 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 23.6 percent (±15.3%) above the revised May rate of 267,000, but is 16.7 percent (±10.9%) below the June 2009 estimate of 396,000.

home appraisal boston

Real Estate, Like Any Market, Is Cyclical

The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2010 was $213,400; the average sales price was $242,900.  The
seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 210,000.  This represents a supply of 7.6
months at the current sales rate.

Follow the link here for the detailed report.

Filed Under: Market Trends

Estate Appraisals

August 5, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

The settling of an estate can be a stressful experience. It is often a difficult time for the executor of the estate and for other parties involved, so the estate appraisal is a very important matter, and one that needs to be handled professionally and delicately. Executors have the responsibility of carrying out the wishes of their deceased loved ones and need to know that the estate appraisal is in the best hands possible. There are a lot of factors to consider when appraising a property and it is not something which you need to go through alone.

estate appraisal ma

The Family Homestead

An estate appraisal is one of the most important services you will ever use. Don’t take it on all by yourself. There are many trusted estate appraisers. Our firm in Boston has qualified, trained appraisers who can determine the fair market value of your property. Trying to decide on this figure alone may mean that you under-appraise the property and sell the estate for less than it is worth. When there are assets which need dividing this is something you won’t want to risk on your own It can be an emotional time for you as an executer, so you need to chose a qualified appraiser that you can trust to do the job properly.

A professional estate appraisal is needed to in order to determine the proper market value of your property. This becomes especially important when a property needs to be divided between several different parties. It is possible to do a rough estimate yourself, but for a thorough and professional assessment is it best to call in a qualified appraisal expert to determine the correct market value.

Executors are trusted to do the right thing with an inherited estate. The settling of the deceased’s estate is a way to find closure and to make true the deceased’s wishes. When there are several children or parties to divide the state between, the burden on the executor is even greater. This is a procedure which needs to be handled delicately and which can usually benefit from a professional, unbiased judgement. We know that you want to do the right thing for everyone concerned. That’s why we can help you to settle the property in a timely and professional manner as one of the top providers of estate appraisal, Boston. Friendly, understanding service which takes care of your wishes is our top priority. We can help you to decide on the market price of your property and take away some of the stress of estate appraisal for you..

Filed Under: Estate Appraisals Tagged With: estate appraisals
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