Here’s your Milton market update for the first six months of 2021.

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Let’s be honest: The past six months were a bloodbath for buyers who were trying to find a property in the suburbs. That was due to the exceedingly low mortgage rates, extremely low inventory, and so many buyers escaping the city and wanting more space. We were receiving a slew of offers for well above list price.

I did a quick analysis of the halftime report (as I like to call it), or the numbers from the first half of 2021. Over 150 single-family homes were sold, the average list price was $924,000, and the average sales price was $973,000, which is a $49,000 difference. I don’t think we’ll ever experience a real estate market like that again, where the list-to-sales price ratio is that high.

Then I broke the data down further and compared the numbers to those in 2020, right around when the pandemic was at its peak from March to May. Only 94 single-family homes were sold, the average list price was $1,000,018, and the average sales price was $986,000, which was below the list price. However, those numbers are slightly skewed because of a huge, $8 million property that sold during that time.

Then I was very interested, so I also compared our 2021 numbers to those in 2019. 104 single-family homes sold, the average list price was $853,000, and the average sales price was $845,000, again below the list price. So the difference in average sales price between 2019 and 2021 is $128,000, so your Milton house is worth that much more now.

My prediction for the autumn market is that everything will be based on motivation. If we continue to have low inventory and rates, we’ll still be very active, but we won’t experience anywhere near the bloodbath we had the first six months of the year. If the home is priced right, in good condition, and in a great neighborhood, it’ll sell quickly. However, if sellers overprice their properties, they’ll simply sit on the market, and we’ve already started to see that this summer.

If you have any questions about the market or know someone interested in buying or selling, please reach out via phone or email. I’d love to help you.

I compare the state of the Boston market to last year at this time.

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How is the Boston market doing? Today I'm going to compare the state of the Boston market to what we saw last year at this time. In April 2020, we were in the midst of a major pandemic. From March to June, the market hardly even existed. A lot of young families were leaving this city, and we didn't see that push that we're seeing right now.

The good news is that everybody's getting vaccinated, so we're starting to see a lot of empty nesters move back into the city. We're also seeing parents buy condos again for their kids who are either in grad school or starting college. We didn't see these positive signs last year. We also didn't see many international buyers, but we're starting to see more and more. Honestly, it's making the Boston market really hot.

Inventory is still pretty low in the city. In some neighborhoods to the south end and southeast, we’re floating at around 125 listings. Last fall, there were almost 300 condos on the market. There’s a huge supply and demand difference in this market.

If a property is priced right, it will sell very quickly, especially if it's in a great neighborhood. If you’re a seller who’s on the fence and you're thinking about whether to sell now or wait, I would recommend listing as soon as possible. Right now, rates are still around 3%. They did dip again, so that's great for buyers.

Inventory is still low in Boston and we have a lot of buyers. We have a lot of families upgrading to bigger places with more outdoor space. These are the trends we saw in 2019 that we're starting to see again.

If you have any other questions about the local market in Boston or a specific neighborhood, please reach out to me. I’d love to help you. If you know anybody that's thinking about buying or selling, reach out to me. I'd love to help them, too.

Here’s what you need to know about our market’s first-quarter numbers.

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Winter is over and we’re well into the second quarter of 2021. Hopefully we’ll all be together at Fenway soon, but until then, let’s talk about how the first quarter ended up for our Milton real estate market.

There were 48 transactions completed in the first quarter, making it one of the busiest first quarters ever in this area. Buyers are still having a tough time because inventory is so low and demand is so high, so congratulations if you hung in there and got the property!

The average living area of these homes was 2,400 square feet, the average list price was $911,000, and the average sale price was $930,000. Netting more than your list price is a great spot to be in as a seller.

If you did buy a home and feel like you overpaid, remember this: It’s not what you paid for it—it’s what you sell it for. If you hold the property for the next 10 to 15 years, you’ll be laughing at what you paid for it back then and will see a pretty nice return on your investment when you do sell.

Interest rates are anywhere from 3.25% to 3.5% right now. They’re a bit higher than they were earlier this year. I don’t think sellers are going to get quite as much for their homes as they did in the first quarter because of this, even though this quarter may be even busier if inventory starts to increase.

If you have any questions for me about the Milton market or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

If you’re a seller concerned with where you’d live if you sold your home, you have options.

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How would you like to make an extra $50,000, $100,000, or even $200,000 on your own terms? Right now, we only have seven homes for sale on the market, which is crazy—I’ve never seen inventory this low before. When I speak to the sellers I’m working with, the most common question they ask me is, “Where would I go if I sold my home?”

Luckily, you have options. Say we listed your home on March 1. You wouldn’t close on your house until at least June 1, and given your terms and the number of offers you’d receive, you could pretty much base any term you want. You could delay the closing a few extra months, do a rent-back, or a leaseback. Additionally, there are tons of rental opportunities available throughout Boston right now. Yes, renting is a short-term solution, but you get to capitalize on the market when it’s hot and take that extra $100,000 to $200,000 in your pocket. Maybe you could use that to buy a second home in Maine or in the Cape.

If you or someone you know is looking to take advantage of this fast-paced, low inventory market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Here’s how I market your home to ensure you get the best price and terms.

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Today I’m sharing what I do before listing your home and after the first week it goes live to fully maximize both price and exposure.

Once we sign the contract to list your house, I begin promoting it with “coming soon” campaigns. This stage is like flirting: I start posting on social media channels and advertise with “hot property,” “who do you know who wants to move to this neighborhood,” and more. Then I call all the top real estate agents in the area to see if they have an interested buyer. I don’t discriminate—I’ll do what’s best for my seller. My goal is to build the momentum to get the best price and plenty of activity.

I prefer to list on Mondays because it takes about 24 to 48 hours for all the websites to synch, so the information is out there by Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, if it’s a hot property that I know will sell quickly, I delay showings until Wednesday or Thursday and do a virtual open house. Next, I call all the neighbors to ask if they know anyone who they’d like to be their neighbor.

Just this past Friday I closed a home because a neighbor had a friend in mind to purchase the house. I was tipped off that they wanted to move into this specific neighborhood and had been waiting for something to come onto the market. It was excellent news for the buyer, seller, and neighbor.

I believe the days of agents simply placing a sign in the yard, putting the property on the MLS, and waiting for it to sell are gone. You need to hire an agent that will truly put the work in and be aggressive to get you the best price and terms.

If you have any questions concerning the real estate market, your home, its value, or what the market will do in 2021, feel free to reach out to me via phone or email. I would love to help you.

Here are six excellent tips that will help you prepare your house for sale.

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Most people want to get the most amount of money for their home when they sell. In fact, I recently listed my own house for sale, so I just went through the home preparation process. Today I have a few tips for how to get the most money and best terms from your sale.

1. Identify the target buyer. Will they likely be a single person, a couple, or a family? This helps you know how to best prep your property for incoming buyers.

2. Declutter. Either throw away or donate unneeded items. Create as much space as possible, so get rid of anything you aren’t currently using to maximize the space.

3. Paint. Paint goes a long way. You can do minor touch-ups or an extensive paint job to match current trends.

4. Fresh flowers. If you’re selling a single-family home, plant fresh flowers around the exterior of the house. You can hire a landscaper or do it yourself. Turn the flowerbeds over or get fresh mulch and rake the leaves. Everyone loves flowers, so give buyers a great first impression of your property.

5. Clean windows. This is one of my personal pet peeves; dirty windows give a negative impression. Clean all windows both inside and outside.

6. Deep clean. Right before you hire a photographer or list the home, deep clean the entire house. You can do this yourself or hire a cleaner.

Bonus Tip: Make sure your toilet seats are down in the bathrooms. Again, neglecting this gives an unfavorable impression to buyers.

These tips will help you get multiple offers for your property. If you have any questions about the market or selling your home, please reach out to me via phone or email. I would love to help you.

The average sale price in Milton has gone up nearly $200,000 this year.

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The city of Boston’s real estate market has a direct correlation to the suburb markets, so today we’re taking a quick look at Milton’s latest numbers. The average sale price here in August has been $937,00, which is up from $753,000 last year. There are just 27 active listings in the area so if you’re a home seller in Milton, there has been no better time in the last few years to sell.

If you have any questions about this topic or anything else real estate related, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

I’m sharing the latest market stats for South Boston and South End.

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As a real estate agent, I work in both South Boston and the Sound End. Today I’m providing a market update for both areas to keep you in the know for your real estate goals:

South Boston:

• 197 condos on the market
• 76 of them are trading over $1 million
• 144 are under agreement
• Average list price for those under agreement is $780,000
• 19 listings have gone under contract in the last five days
• This market is active 

I’ve never seen inventory this high.

South End:

• 192 condos on the market
• 36 trading over $2 million
• 110 are under agreement
• Average list price for those under agreement is $1.2 million
• 18 listings have gone under contract in the last five days
• The market is very active

 I’ve been selling real estate for the past 17 years, and I’ve never seen inventory this high. I believe it’s a combination of sellers delaying listing their properties until spring and summer, and the pandemic making young families want to move to the suburbs. The entire city’s real estate market is very active, and rates are still below 3%.

If you have questions about a specific neighborhood or property or our market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Activity is high in our Boston market as we head into summer.

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I don’t think there’s been a more appropriate time in our lives to realize how important our homes are. It’s where we do everything: eat, sleep, homeschool our kids, work, work out, etc.

In short, home is everything, which is also why it’s important to know what’s happening right now in our Boston market.

"I believe this active market will get us through this economic funk."

Our spring market hit its peak late in the season, and as we head into summer, activity is very high. Inventory is low, and we’re seeing bidding wars across the board. Many offers that are being presented are done so with waived contingencies.

With interest rates hovering around 3% (as opposed to the 4.25% range they were at this time last year), I believe this active market will get us through this economic funk.

If you have questions about our market or thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help.

In our softening market, there is a tactic sellers can use to nudge hesitant buyers to make a decision.

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Our market’s inventory is slowly starting to rise along with our interest rates, meaning that it’s softening a little. Given this, if you’re looking to sell your property quick, we have a great tactic to try called the reverse offer.

So, what is a reverse offer, exactly?

A reverse offer is done when a proactive agent (like myself) meets with a seller and presents an offer to any potential buyer who has shown strong interest in the property.

"The reverse offer is a way to gently guide the buyer off the fence and fuel them to make a decision quicker."

This tactic is used when a buyer has scheduled either multiple showings or they’ve spent a long time previewing the property—if they’re interested in your property but are hesitant to make an offer, the seller can make the first move and present an offer to them. The reverse offer is a way to gently guide the buyer off the fence and fuel them to make a decision quicker.

If the buyer refuses the reverse offer, then that means they weren’t very interested in your property to begin with. If they accept, then you’ve achieved your goal of selling your property.

Additionally, a well-timed reverse offer could prevent your property from sitting stagnant on the market for longer than 60 days.

If you have any questions about reverse offers or real estate in general, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you soon.