Archive for the 'Luxury Marthas Vineyard Real Estate' category

Tuesday night Edgartown voters approved an expenditure to build a new library just outside of town.  After voting in favor of the new library, voters agreed to the sale of The Captain Warren House.  That property had been purchased in 2004 with plans to expand the current location.  The purchase price was $3.5M and current assessment is $3,693,000.  I have heard a figure being bounced around of $4 million.

At some price a good opportunity for an intown project.  Perhaps a major project.

If you are either buying or selling a home in today’s market, you need a real estate expert. However, we must realize what the term ‘expert’ actually means. An expert in any area cannot give perfect advice as no one can predict the future. But they can give excellent advice based on their insight into their field.

If you go to an attorney with a legal challenge, he/she will look over your case and give you your options. They realize they cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the options. Still, they give the best advice possible and allow you to decide the option with which you feel most comfortable. They then will put together a strategy which hopefully will bring about the most favorable conclusion.

If you go to a doctor with a serious ailment, he/she will give you your options and work with you to develop the best treatment program. They cannot guarantee any program’s success. They will, however, monitor your progress and adjust your treatments or medications. They will stand next to you until the best result is achieved.

Real estate is no different. A true real estate professional will understand your options and simply and effectively explain them to you and your family. Once you chose an option, they will strategize a plan to help you accomplish your goals. They will standby you as the process evolves and will help you make the necessary adjustments if necessary.

They cannot see the future any better than doctors or attorneys and thus their advice will never be perfect. However, just like those other professionals, an expert agent will give you excellent advice that will bring about the best possible outcome.

Article printed from The KCM Blog: http://www.kcmblog.com

URL to article: http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/04/09/what-it-means-to-be-an-expert-in-real-estate/

A simple measure of tightness in a market for owner-occupied housing is the homeowner vacancy rate (number of homes for sale divided by the number either for sale or owner-occupied). Builders are often interested in markets that are tight by this measure, because it indicates prospective buyers will have difficulty finding a suitable home among the available existing units.

Several federal government surveys provide homeowner vacancy rates, but the one with the greatest geographic detail by far is the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). In a recent study, NAHB tabulated the most recent (2010) ACS this data for all metropolitan areas in the country.

Overall, the tightest markets tend to be relatively small: Corvallis, Ore. (with a homeowner vacancy rate of 0.23 percent ), Lebanon, Pa. (0.49 percent), Billings, Mont. (0.54 percent), San Angelo, Texas (0.61 percent), and Eau Claire, Wis. (also 0.61 percent).

The two tightest large markets in 2010—Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.—were also the two tightest large markets the last time NAHB looked at the ACS data in 2008.

The NAHB study provides a rundown of the top-10 metros according to nine key measures, including: owner-occupied housing units; homeownership rate; home owner vacancy rate; share of single-family detached homes; value of homes owned; home owner incomes; growth in stock of single-family detached homes; and share of homes built recently. It also has a spreadsheet that shows how more than 350 other metro areas stack up in each category.

Read the original article at the National Association of Home Builder blog, Eye on Housing.

It's a tool used by house flippers all across the nation. Stagers know its power. Real estate agents push its importance. What is this not-so-well-kept secret o freal estate? A kitchen can sell a house.

A kitchen is the heart of a home. This is true all across the globe. The old saying that the "stomach is the way to the heart" carries a lot of truth. Kitchens are where we spend much of our time and most of that is with our families. It's the room where we nourish our bodies and our spirits.

Kitchens are integral to entertaining and in today's age of open floor plans, they're a focal piece of many family rooms. It's because of this that kitchens play such an important role in the buying and selling process.

This one room is the showpiece of the house. You'll see it every day and your guests will see it during most visits. This means buyers want homes with up-to-date kitchens.

Kitchens, however, can be one of the most expensive rooms to renovate. These projects can also be the most labor and time intensive of all home renovations. It's not just a new layer of paint.

Instead you find a complicated array of flooring, tiling, cabinets, and counters. This means buyers may want a home with an up-to-date kitchen but they aren't willing to tackle this problem themselves. Most buyers want a kitchen that is ready to use the day they move in.

What do buyers look for in up-to-date kitchens? A lot of this depends on what price range your home is in.

The main thing to remember as a seller is to not price yourself out of your market. If homes in your neighborhood are selling for $100,000 with tidy, but not luxury kitchens, then this is no time to upgrade to granite, travertine, and marble at the price tag of $40,000+. You simply won't find a buyer.

Scope out the competition. Use open houses in your area or MLS listings to find out what your competitions' kitchens look like.

Do area homes have new solid wood cabinets and granite counters in today's designer colors? You'll be wise to consider making the same move. Are they including new stainless steel appliances and add-ons like dishwashers, wine-coolers, and trash compactors?

Are you in a higher-end neighborhood? It's time to think high-end. Your older home may have a highly functional kitchen, but a buyer will take one look at your formica counters and white appliances and become lost in the stress of how much money and time it would take to remodel. If you don't want to put in the time yourself to make upgrades then you'll have to make concessions in the price.

Don't become overwhelmed, though. Sometimes a kitchen update can mean doing just a few minor changes. Change the paint color to a warm, neutral tone. Get rid of any clutter. Update your appliances, paint your cabinets, change the pulls, or get a high-end looking counter for a fraction of the cost (faux-granite or lower end granite). You might even save a bundle by doing much of the work yourself.

The bottom line is a kitchen can sell a home. Do a little research and find out what your kitchen needs to make it competitive with area listings.

by Carla Hill

RealtyTimes

Published: January 24, 2012

To some, they’re a boon to the construction industry; to others, a blight on the landscape. When talk turns to whether the Martha’s Vineyard Commission should regulate so-called mega-mansions on the Island, there’s rarely middle ground, and there’s usually a crowd.   On Monday the commission land use planning committee met to discuss possible changes to the DRI checklist, the process that determines what projects are sent to the commission for review as developments of regional impact. The Vineyard Conservation Society, an outspoken opponent to the proliferation of what it sees as out-of-scale trophy houses, and the West Tisbury planning board asked the commission to consider adding the construction of large houses to that checklist. The meeting wasn’t a public hearing, but it attracted representatives from both the Island construction and conservation communities, and prompted both sides to speak out.  Read more...

Blue Heron Farm, the Chilmark estate that President Obama and his family have rented for the past three summers for their August vacations, was sold last week for $21.925 million...Read more.

As another summer season ends and the market picks up, at least seasonally, I am surprised not by what has sold nor the rate of sales but rather those homes that have not sold (and are ripe for offers). The properties featured this month all have a good relationship to water, are in the prime range of $750,000 to $1,750,000, and those that need renovation are priced appropriately. I realize we have come through a very weak market yet these stand out because other waterfront and water view properties have continued to sell well. For more information about these properties click November RealtyTimes.

The past few weeks have showcased numerous signals that the real estate market is on the rise. Recently, we have reported statistics pointing to an industry turnaround, including a 15 percent rise in housing starts in September; a surge in builder confidence  in October, an increase in mortgage applications  and a slew of regional market improvements across the country. Read More  from RISMedia