Archive for the 'Market Insights' Category

The following is recent real estate sales activity for the Mid-Cape villages of Dennis, East Dennis, South Dennis and West Dennis.

April 1, 2009 through May 15, 2009 as reported by Cape & Islands MLS

Dennis and Brewster are stabilizing. Condo sales continue to drop sharply.

The following is the first of what will be WEEKLY entries of market data for MID-CAPE REAL ESTATE.

This week’s data shows that prices are stabilizing in Dennis.

The following is recent real estate sales activity for the Mid-Cape villages of Dennis, East Dennis, South Dennis and West Dennis. (more…)

Long time clients of ours arrived in town last week to look for their next Cape Cod home.  We had sold their Dennis waterfront property back in December and they were now ready to begin looking again.  “Where should we look?” they asked.  “WHAT??!! We thought you were only interested in Dennis, the town you’ve vacationed in for 25 years!” Despite our surprise, we had to admit that it was a relevant question. A lot of things can change in 25 years!

It’s fun to think of how our forefathers, post 1492, made their decision as to where on Cape Cod to settle. Needless to say their needs & wants were quite different than ours would be today.  Can’t remember the last time  I’ve  had a client list “fertiile soil” as one of their top ten criteria!

But there are considerationts to be made even today. Every Cape Cod town has a unique character.  Some are more historic,  offering old sea captains’ homes on every block, some offer what we call “Village life”, where you can walk to everything – restaurants, bookstores, band concerts, ice cream.  And some are strictly beach communities, where the beach is all there is unless you want to get in your car and drive to the closest town.  Still others are no where near the beach, but offer golf, cultural activities and other less summer-oriented pursuits.  (I am always amused by the occasional client, looking for a home here, who proclaims “Oh we don’t need to be near the beach.  In fact, we never go to the beach!)

The demographics of the Cape suggest that there are many different considerations for someone moving here, either full or part time.  A good place to start is to look at your goal.  are you retiring to the Cape?  Are you looking to raise your young family here?  Will this be strictly a vacation home for you and your family?  Depending on the answers to these questions,  you will begin to formulate a plan for which towns/villages most speak to your requirements.

Rest assured that there is something for everyone here on Cape Cod.  And remember one of our favorite sayings (that tends to be repeated more regularly in these times) “Even on your worst day, you’re still living on CAPE COD!”

Elaine

The following is recent real estate sales data for the Mid-Cape villages of Dennis, East Dennis and South Dennis.

Neighborhood Sales Activity

January 1, 2009 – February 15, 2009

(As reported by Cape Cod & Islands MLS and other sources)

Now view current listings in the above areas:

• Dennis
• East Dennis
• South Dennis

On Wednesday morning this week, readers of the Cape Cod Times were greeted with a front page article about the current state of the Cape Cod real estate market.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/NEWS/902040318&emailAFriend=1

As reported, year-to-year January sales Cape-wide indicated a significant decline in unit sales and median prices. In the mid-Cape area specifically, unit sales declined by 25% and median prices declined by 22%, compared to Cape-wide statistics of -28% in property sales and a 15% decline in median price.

On this website, we will provide updated sales data on a monthly basis . Our last blog contains sales data for 4th quarter 2008.  View it now at http://blog.lomenzoproperties.com

No matter what the “experts” say, we remain  committed to our marketing campaign on  behalf of our Seller clients and have recently experienced a significant increase in buyer activity. In our experience, and this year has been no exception, the “Spring market” on Cape Cod begins on Super Bowl Monday which has just passed. We here at Lomenzo  Properties look forward to a very vibrant Spring market.

As always, we’ll keep you posted on changes in market conditions.

This is the first in what will become a regular post with recent real estate sales data for the Mid-Cape villages of Dennis, East Dennis and South Dennis.

Neighborhood Sales Activity

October 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008

(As reported by Public Records)

Now view current listings in the above areas:

• Dennis
• East Dennis
• South Dennis

Image via Wikipedia

A few blogs back, I reported on some rare GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS for Cape Cod, namely the bright future for the Cape Cod scallop industry.

http://blog.lomenzoproperties.com/2008/11/12.  Today we have further good news pertaining to another quintessential Cod Cod industry, boat building. 

According to the Cape Cod Times, Pease Boat Works in Chatham is celebrating a winter of work for its staff after a previous spring and summer that were the “slowest in 20 years”.  The company is building a boat called a Magic Class 30, a 40 foot sailboat designed by Nantucket sailor, Alfred Sanford, for cruising and racing.

 Yesterday was the day they “flipped the hull”, apparently a difficult task to perform successfully.  The operation took about two hours, mainly accomplished by a decidedly low tech method of pulleys and rolling logs.  My favorite line was boatyard owner Brad Pease proclaiming “This is the way the Egyptians did the pyramids!”

The main point of the article was the fact that even in this economy, there are still people out there who want boats built,much to the delight of Cape Cod boatyard owners. The Magic Class 30 reportedly will cost $750,000 to build and will require 5,000 to 6,000 hours of labor, leaving Pease Boat Works personnel feeling “very blessed”.  I would say so!!

Elaine

Image via Wikipedia

Here at Lomenzo Properties, we couldn’t be happier about the start of this New Year, both for ourselves and on behalf of our clients.  Being sort of “glass half-full” types anyway (or, in Peter’s case, “glass always overflowing”!) we are very optimistic about what this New Year will bring to the Cape Cod Real Estate market.

The  numbers are in for most of 2008 and they are not all that bad. The Mid-Cape towns of Yarmouth, Dennis and Brewster had a total of 989 transactions for the year, down from 1046 in 2007.  The market is still what we call “active” and more so since January 1 as our phones have been ringing and showings are taking place.  This past weekend, we’ve actually received offers on three of our lower-end properties that have been sitting on the market for some time. 

In Sunday’s  Wall Street Journal, columnist Alan Murray refers to the “ONCE IN A LIFETIME BONUS OF LOW PRICES AND LOW INTEREST RATES” as a great impetus for prospective buyers.  He actually states in his article entitled “2009 Could Be Better Than You Think” that this will be a good year to invest in real estate.  His opinion is that if you find a property you like, have good credit AND a realistic seller, then NOW IS THE TIME to take advantage of the low rates and low prices.  Makes sense to us! 

Elaine