Check out Coleman Group Market Scoops to get the latest intel on what is happening in the real estate market and what we are seeing every week! 

Gloria

We continued to see more inventory come on last week, but top quality homes are still difficult to find at every price level. With demand continuing to significantly outweigh supply, competition is extremely tight and to win, buyers are having to pay well over asking prices and drop all contingencies. On the upside, rates ticked slightly downwards with some banks offering under 6% for a 30 year fixed. One of the best quotes we heard from clients was a 5.875% on a 30 year fixed from Movement Mortgage.

Kenda

Inventory ticked up again this week and I think I saw about 15 houses for clients. I had a client interested in Farmcrest Rd. in Lexington, which got 11 offers. My buyers did not want to overpay and bowed out of the race, which I heard exceeded asking by quite a large sum. Whenever we are listing a property, distribution of offers is always interesting to see as there is usually a smattering coming in at ask, a few a touch over, the majority in a certain range and then one or two front runners. 

Jess

Another crazy week showing what happens when buyer demand exceeds supply! My buyer was competing with 19 other offers (!!)  for a home in Ayer. Of these offers, 16 of them were above asking price and 2 were all cash with no contingencies. We ultimately lost out but my buyer remains hopeful to see what comes on this week. Met with a seller today to begin preparing her Woburn condo for sale in a couple of weeks. 

Tory

Inventory has continued to be sparse in many towns (Melrose, Reading, Winchester, Arlington, Concord, Belmont, etc).

This week one of my clients pursued a 2 bedroom home in Melrose that was very competitive!  We were a little surprised by the level of competitiveness for a 2 bedroom home, but it is beautiful with a gorgeous addition and nice yard.  Luckily the stars aligned and she was able to beat out the competition.

Another client is purchasing a beautiful Concord home that is in a picture perfect neighborhood.  They had been focusing on new construction, but the locations of a lot of new construction isn’t optimal.  After helping them recognize that certain locations weren’t desirable, they settled on a gorgeous early 2000s home that has classic finishes in a neighborhood that can’t be beat.  

This week I’ve spent a lot of time talking about garages.  If you are considering buying a house that doesn’t have a garage in hopes of one day adding one, it might not be as easy as you think.  Many houses in the Boston suburbs have garages built closely abutting the property line.  While it was permissible to do this historically, nowadays most towns have set back rules that prevent homeowners from building garages close to the property line.  For smaller lots, these set back requirements might stand in the way of your dreams of building a garage.  Try talking to the town’s building department to see if a variance might be possible – that might be a way to get permission to build a garage on a tight lot!

Peter

I’m in full prep mode to bring a beautiful, 4 bedroom, contemporary home on the market in a few weeks. The house sits amongst cranberry bogs in Marstons Mills on beautiful Cape Cod and is just waiting for new owners to enjoy the 2023 summer season. Lots of vendors are lined up to put the finishing touches on this beauty – so watch the listings!