People looking to buy a house near Boston often pick one of the bustling communities near the town center. Milton MA is an established nautical suburb offering homeowners posh living within easy reach of premium amenities and urban benefits. Niche gives the city an A rating saying the community is vibrant, diverse, and rates the schools with the highest ranking. Visitors and residents often enjoy the rich history, culture, fine dining, exquisite artwork, and a multitude of events while in the area.

General Information about the Massachusetts Town

This upscale suburb sits in Norfolk County. The population is around 25,000 residents according to the 2010 Census. The city holds just over 13.3 square miles with just about all of it being land. The town is in the middle of the Blue Hills and the Neponset River. Affluent neighborhoods flank the city with Quincy on the south and eastern borders, Mattapan and Dorchester to the north, and the infamous Hyde Park area to the west. At one time, the city was part of Dorchester.

As an agricultural community, this town brings forth a rich culture and history. The area was a first for creating several mills offering unique goods for travelers along with fresh vegetables, grains, and fruits. One of the most fascinating facts about this area is...

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What happened during September of 2019 in Massachusetts....

And What it means to local Real Estate Prices.

The real estate market in the month of August provided for many shifts in the market place when comparing the local markets year over year. 

For much of the year the story has been increasing inventory and decreased sales. August had some major pullbacks that could shift the market dynamic as we look to close out 2019. 

• Inventory throughout Massachusetts shifted rather dramatically in both the Condo and Single Family markets.
• The two largest cities in Massachusetts (Boston & Worcester) continue perform on opposite sides of the spectrum.
• Spot checking markets throughout the state, we see some markets actually depreciating.
• Different towns throughout Massachusetts are performing at different levels. Even neighboring towns will have major swings making real estate more hyper local then ever before. 

If you would like to learn more about the current market conditions whether buying or selling a home throughout Massachusetts, reply to this email, give us a call at 617-480-2600 or visit us online.

We look forward to being your real estate resource. 

Do You Leave a Voicemail?

Are you making the most out of your prospecting time with leaving the right voicemail?

Hi, I am Jeff Chubb and I wanted to share with you the proper technique as well as a successful script when leaving a voicemail to increase your conversation rates.

If you are leaving a voicemail and trying to sell yourself in the voicemal, then you are wasting your time.

A prospect will not all you back from a message where you are talking all about you or some special offer.

So what’s on a selling yourself email? What does it sound like? It would sound something like, “Hi, I am Jeff Chubb with eXp Realty. We have a proven and repeatable system that has been proven to get seller’s more money…BLAH BLAH BLAH

People do not want to be sold. They have deleted the message by the word “proven”. Don’t sell yourself. None of this is about you!

What is the intention of leaving a voicemail? It’s to get them to call you back! So think like a consumer.

So what should you do when leaving a voicemail?

You want to remove your title and leave a lot of curiosity in the message.

So what does that sound like? “Hi, this is Jeff 617-480-2600, I sent you an email. Give me a call when you have a couple minutes. 617-480-2600”

Notice I am not saying a title or anything about eXp Realty or the Chubb Realty Group.

So what are we doing here? We are putting curiousity in the air in regards to “what email?”.

It is EXTREMELY important to not leave anything else other than your phone number. No brokerage information, no website, no details about the services… Nothing.

The only point of this is to get them to call you back so you can do the selling on the phone. You will never...

I Love this home, now what?

Hi, I am Jeff Chubb with eXp Realty and I wanted to share with you today the next steps once you have found that dream home.

You have walked through the front door and have been swept off of your feet.

The home checks nearly all the boxes and you can see your future you and the Thanksgiving Turkey coming out of the oven and to the Dining Room table.

There are enough beds and baths and the size of the home meets your needs today as well as the needs of your near future.

So now what? What’s the next step in the process?

If this is the house for you, then it is time to start gathering some information.

The information gathering step is one that you will not want to drag your feet on as waiting too long can allow other buyers to swoop in and steal your dream home out from under you or put you in a position to have to pay more!

So what type of information?

At this point, you should already have your pre-approval.

We will need to make sure the pre-approval is still up to date and that the amount is in line with the price of the home.

In some cases we may need a couple pre-approval letters with different prices depending on the offer strategy that we ultimately choose.

If you are paying cash, then we will need some sort of proof of funds.

These proof of funds can be a bank statement or statements or a letter from your banker verifying funds.

We will also want to look at the comparables… aka “comps” on the property. Is the price of this home in line with the neighboring properties that are close in size and condition? Or is the price higher or lower than what the area supports?

We have the pre-approval or proof of funds, we have an idea of what the home is worth and what...

Online Leads Suck?

I wanted to share takj to you about the myth that all online leads are bad.

This is something I hear all the time. I also see it in facebook forum after facebook forum how bad they are.

If you are one of my competitors, then yes… Online leads suck. You are definitely wasting your money.

For everyone else, online leads when handled properly can make you a small fortune.

Consider this, yesterday I showed an $11.3 million dollar house… From an online lead! Now it wasn’t an $11.3 million dollar inquiry, we started working together about a year ago when he came in on a crappy $4m house.

Here is the crazy thing, this lead actually passed through all of our buyer agents in our lead distribution system. After no one accepted it, it was assigned to me as the systems failsafe. Because seconds matter when it comes to lead conversion… I called and set the appointment. I don’t compete with my agents, but every once in awhile will take a lead when no other agents want to work the opportunity…

When working online leads you must keep in mind that speed to lead is an absolute must. Realtor.com has done a study and found the optimal response time is within 38 seconds after the lead is generated.

38 seconds!

This is why if you are going to be investing in online leads and want to be successful then you must have the systems in place and the discipline for continuous follow up.

Keep these numbers in mind, last year a 100 million online leads were generated and there were 5 million sales throughout the United States. Online leads aren’t bad. They just take effort.

Like any other lead source, we have had online leads that have taken years to convert and others where we have written an offer on the first house they have...

Improvements to Make Before Selling your Massachusetts Home

One of the most asked questions is “Should I make improvements before selling my home”. The correct answer is maybe.

I wanted to share with you you today what improvements if any you should make when putting a Massachusetts house on the market.

The reason that the answer is ‘maybe’ is because each situation is different. For example, it most likely will not make any sense or return any value to refinish the hardwood floors for a house that will most likely be completely renovated.

So what should the golden rule be when it comes to making improvements before putting a home on the market in Massachusetts? You should only make an improvement if it will provide you a return over what you are investing or an improvement that will come up in a home inspection.

But even with possible Home Inspection Issues, I have to say that you must be careful. I can often times negotiate an amount less then what it would actually cost.

A recent example is a client of mine in Boston had a furnace that was at the end of its life and had asked if he should have it fixed. This process would end up costing my client in the $15k range and would not have offered any additional value to a buyer when the property is on the market. We were able to negotiate an amount of less than half and buying a home warranty.

The smaller stuff that you know about like broken window seals, loose cabinet doors or maybe plumbing or electrical issues are generally areas that you will want to address. Other areas that...

For the first-time home buyers, the world of real estate and its legal lingo may be overwhelming and confusing. There is a lot to take in and be aware of when it comes to buying your own house, from desired square footage, do you or will you have kids with you in the next few years, neighborhood, lending company, pricing, budgeting; it's no wonder that over thirty percent of homebuyers say that buying a house is one of the most stressful modern life changes.

These four tips and terms throw some clarity on the world of real estate and break it down into bite-sized pieces.

1. Get a Good Realtor

A good Realtor is the first starting point for anyone looking to buy or sell a home. Lending companies, loans, listing agents, the sellers; all those are second place to a good Realtor. Having an honest and dedicated agent advocating for you makes navigating the home process from the very start of touring houses, making an offer, signing papers, and moving in so much easier. Energy...

Items to think about when moving because of a growing family.

Hi, I am Jeff Chubb with the Chubb Realty Group and I wanted to introduce you Annie. Annie here is the new addition to our family that has helped me put a lid on the third child conversation… for now at least.

Whether you are moving because of a furry friend like Annie or because of kids, then here are some things to think about and how to start the process.

Step 1 – Determine Your Budget

First you need to figure out what you WANT to afford. Want? Yes, what is it that you want to spend. That you feel comfortable spending. There are few things worse than being house poor.

Remember that the monthly payment will need to cover insurance, taxes, a mortgage payment (if you are getting a mortgage) and condo fees (if you are purchasing a condo).

Do you currently own a home? Do you need to sell in order to buy? If so, do you have an estimate of what your net proceeds will be that you can carry with you to the next purchase?

Once you have figured out the above questions and determined your comfort level, then it is time to call a Mortgage Banker (We work with some great mortgage bankers so let us know if you need a recommendation!). A mortgage banker will review your finances and will advise on the different programs to help you find the best fit to help you maximize your affordability.

There are many Urban Myths when it comes to buying a home, but here are two of the biggest!

“I need 20% down in order to buy a new home” – FALSE - Government-backed programs offer home buyers plans with as little as 3.5% down while Veteran Programs offer programs for 0% down to active and past military.

“I need a FICO score of 750” – FALSE – FHA offers...

Are you looking to sell or buy a home? Keeping up with the property market can be frightening especially in such a crowded market space. For a buyer or seller, timing is decisive. It can be the difference between a great deal and an average transaction. Such timing is dependent on the quality of information someone has about the specific market.

Having the information is half the battle, harnessing the data into usable intelligence is the other half.

There are two reasons why you need to stay on top of the real estate trends

• You can make informed decisions

• You can create a sound investment strategy

Valuable information on the property market is available on the following platforms.

Annual Real Estate Reports

Some of the top websites and research organizations feature annual and quarterly industry reports. An avid investor can subscribe to such data. They can cost a small fortune sometimes. However, such companies invite media to sample the information. You can get valuable insight from news related to such industry reports.

If a company releases a new report, earlier reports become cheaper, and they have roughly the same content. However, be careful about outdated information. They should not serve as the primary source of investment information....

Whether you are buying your first house, or you are a seasoned property investor, contractors are one group of professionals you will contact at some point. Property owners call these experts for many things from new projects to expansions and upgrades. We talk about eight times when you know you can leave the job to a specialist to save you time, hassle, and maybe money in this post. 

Custom jobs from built-in shelves to new home builds

Adding a stunning feature can help a property investor sell a house quickly after buying to make it easy to flip. Custom shelves or an organizer for walk-in closets are small yet significant features in many buyer's opinions. When you have a busy schedule, hiring a specialty contractor is an affordable way to get quality work in your time frame. Contract firms can do small jobs like these, or they can oversee the construction of a new home or business. A project manager is the person who oversees the various specialists and organizes the team to complete the assignment efficiently. 

Maintenance when you observe safety concerns

Any problem you find around your house like bare wires need fixing right away. If you do not know how or do not want to do the work, then you have to...

Why You Should Buy a Fixer-Upper

While it might sound strange to those people who are trying to find a new place to live, not everyone wants a home that is ready to move into. Evidence of this has been shown by taking a look at one of the latest trends in real estate, which is the purchase of fixer-upper houses. These seemingly ugly flats, mobile homes, cottages, and even mansions are being snatched up so fast that the average Realtor barely has a chance to gather the paperwork together for them before the calls from potential buyers start pouring in. And, after reading all the following reasons why, you might just want to go buy a fixer-upper house too.

Next-Level Creativity

A fixer-upper house that is in a desperate state of repair can easily be remodeled in whatever creative way that a person wants. All new color schemes, flooring, and wood tones can be chosen. The fixtures and lighting are adaptable. And even the lawn and landscaping are fair game for a fun makeover.

High Return on Investment

Because fixer-upper houses...

Alternative Properties in Real Estate

Alternative properties are not something a lot of people even realize are an official part of the real estate market. The words themselves sound like a marginal or miscellaneous aspect of the commodities market. Upon searching for alternative properties on the web you will find many similar blogs and articles that tackle the subject, but not in-depth. Many give broad and similar strokes that offer little information. This is due to the fact that alternative properties vary greatly in cost and ROI.

Billboards

Amongst the more surprising to see listed on several of these blogs, billboards are a legitimate piece of the real estate market. Certainly, of no interest to someone who needs a roof over their head, or office space, they can be a lucrative investment.

The Numbers

• Average Buy-In: Varies greatly, between several hundred dollars and millions of dollars, depending heavily on location, size, and condition of the billboard.

• Average ROI: $1800.00/mo. (For one billboard)

Data Center

A hot ticket in the current alternative properties market is data centers. These are buildings or warehouses...

4 Not-So-Obvious Things To Check When House Hunting

One of the most important purchases in life is buying a house. But even though picking a new home is exciting, it can be a daunting and anxious process. Often you will get over excited and end up thinking with the heart instead of the head.

Well, the exhilaration is a natural feeling that can plunge you into a serious time and money sink if you’re not taking everything into consideration.. With a real estate agent on your side, the process of picking the right house which suits your needs is simplified.

Of course, you contemplate several factors in making the decision. The features most people narrow down first are the size of the house, the location, the neighborhood, and the condition of the house itself.

As there are many aspects to cover, it’s easy to overlook checking into some not-so-obvious features that could adversely impact your stay in the house. These house hunting tips will help you gain a clear eye when scrutinizing homes for sale.

The Home’s Age

...

What Can A Listing Agent Do For You

For many of us buying a home was the biggest financial decision we’ve ever made. Now that it’s time to sell your home you want to make sure that you get the best price possible, as quickly as possible.

There are a lot of moving parts to selling a house and the first thing a savvy home seller should do is hire a reputable real estate agent. The best way to ensure that the sale of your most valuable asset goes smoothly and to the highest bidder is to put it in professional hands.

The Skills A Listing Agent Can Offer

In particular, those selling their home for the first time may not fully understand exactly what a good listing agent can do for them. So let’s go over some of their skillsets: First and foremost a real estate agent will have knowledge about the housing market in the neighborhoods and surrounding area, and have access to sales data that will enable you to know exactly what your home is worth in the current market.

A listing agent will have complete access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a database of homes for sale. Their first task will be to ...

For the Shopaholic - Hudson vs. Concord

For installment two of the Boston Magazine comparison, we jump to the towns that they have identified that are perfect for the ‘Shopaholic’. Boston Magazine highlighted Hudson, MA and Concord, MA as two perfect towns for homebuyers that ‘enjoys lovely boutique-lined streets’. Lets dive into the numbers and see what the current market conditions and real estate trends are for Hudson and Concord, MA.

Overall Heath Of Boston's Market

To calculate the overall health of Boston's real estate market place we look to the months of inventory on the market. In Hudson we have had 83 homes sell in the last 6 months making for an average of 13.83 per month. This is compared to the same time period last year when we saw 65 homes close for an average of 10.83 per month.

This means that today we currently have 1.08 month’s worth of inventory this year compared to 1.10 months of inventory this time last year. In other words, the Hudson Market is still a hot seller’s market that has seen statistically no change in the market conditions year over year.

...

Boston Area Boomtowns – Chelsea, Lowell, Everett, Newton, Watertown

We look at the “Boomtowns” in the third installment of comparing the towns that Boston Magazine lists as the Top Places to Live Around Boston Right now in its March 2019 issue.

I think some additional gray hairs came in with this 5-way grudge match. But none the less, let's take dive into the numbers and see what town is performing better in the current real estate climate. To keep as apples to apples as we can, we will examine the market type that has the most sales.

As an example, in Chelsea there were 133 condos that sold in 2018 vs. the 28 Single Family Homes. In this case, we will be examining the condo market in Chelsea as the larger data set will give us a better idea of the current market conditions.

As we dive into 5 different towns throughout Massachusetts, it is important to remember that year over year the amount of Single Family Homes currently on the market in Massachusetts has grown by 15.96%.

Meanwhile year over year in the Massachusetts Condo Market we have seen an increase in the available inventory of 32.84%. These numbers will help us in creating a better baseline for the performance of these 5 individual towns.  

Chelsea

 The Chelsea Condo...

For the Beach Bum

Hull vs. Manchester by the Sea

In the March 2019 issue of the Boston Magazine, they looked at different towns for the home buyer looking for city alternatives.

For the ‘Beach Bum’ buyer, Boston Magazine put up Hull, MA and Manchester by the Sea as two towns for a buyer to put on their list. Comparing the two towns is like comparing an apple to an orange, but none the less Boston Magazine put them up as two choices for the beach bum category… So let’s dig into the numbers!

Hull MA Real Estate Statistics 

The Hull Real Estate Market is shifting quicker than the Manchester market. Year over year we have seen an increase of inventory throughout the state of Massachusetts by 15.96%. This represents an increase of 1,330 Single Family homes. On April 10th, 2018 there were 8,334 homes on the market compared to 9,664 on the same day in 2019.

The Single-Family market in Hull has increased far above the rate we have seen for Massachusetts as a whole. Today we have 42 Hull Single Family Homes on the market vs. the 20 homes in 2018. This represents a 110% increase year over in the amount of the homes available to buyers....

Home Sales Rebound In February, 2019

A report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows existing-home sales rebounded strongly in February 2019 with the largest month-over-month gain experienced since December 2015. The report showed that the completed transactions for single-family homes, town-houses, and condominiums, increased by 11.8 percent over January.

This was an adjustment in the seasonal annual rate of 5.51 million in February. Completed home loan transactions continue to remain 1.8 percent below sales figures from a year ago when the adjusted annual rate was 5.61 million for February 2018.  

NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, believes that there are several aspects that contributed to the increase in home sales February, 2019. "A powerful combination of lower mortgage rates, more inventory, rising income, and higher consumer confidence is driving the sales rebound."

Lawrence Yun believes the market could greatly benefit in 2019 with additional new housing.

An Increase In Existing Home Prices

In February the median existing-home price across all housing types was $249,500, which is a 3.6 percent increase over February 2018...

Supply & Demand vs. Older Homes

  According to a study by NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, the nation's residential housing inventory is getting older and new-home construction is falling behind the current demand rate.

The NAHB says this could add up to a severe housing shortage and there is a growing concern that older homes do not meet current safety and energy standards. In NAHBs, Eye on Housing blog, Laurie Goodman of the Urban Institute estimated that the supply of new homes in 2017 fell about 350,000 short of the number needed to meet demand allowing older homes to stay on the market longer.

Only 6 of every 1,000 homes built prior to 1970 are removed from the housing stock each year, according to the NAHB report. “In the long run, loss rates as small as this are not sustainable, of course, as that would imply half of new homes built in some regions last 1,000 years,” NAHB notes in the post. “But in the medium term, it may be possible to keep removal and production rates as low as they are right now.”

Older Homes May Not Pass New Standards

  The report...