Martha's Vineyard Real Estate News

Homes on Martha's Vineyard are selling, on the average, below assessed value.  As Massachusetts is a 100% valuation state, look for the assessments to drop, while the tax rate per thousand will increase.  This will protect the coffers of the towns.  Time to file for an abatement!  If your home wouldn't (or hasn't sold) at a price on or near your assessed valuation, you should be entitled to a real estate tax abatement.  Your town assessor's office can help you with this process.  Call a real estate agent to get a clear estimate of what your home would sell for in this market.

Where are the best buys to be found on the Island?  (geographically, in price segment, etc.) In the lower price ranges Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs continue to offer value, particularly to first-time or low-income buyers.  If you are a buyer in the $1.5-$2.5 million dollar range, you have a wide selection of wonderful properties to choose from.  There are foreclosure and bank-owned properties on the Island.  Some offer competitive mortgage financing options, including FNMA and MHFA.  Call for more details.

Have there been any changes locally or nationally that might affect the 2012 market?

The international debt crisis has many investors scared but with job numbers (out today) in a more positive range and the market jumping up and down, investors are looking for more stable investments and real estate on Martha’s Vineyard continues to be in that category, particularly over the long term.  Again, the political climate will factor into decision-making and my hope is that people will get tired of waiting to live and just get on with it!

Martha's Vineyard Real Estate Market

A local paper asked me my thoughts on the local real estate market.  Here is one of the questions and my response.

What do you see ahead for 2012?  

Historically, the real estate market slows when there is a presidential election.  I definitely see that having an impact on the market.  Buyers and sellers will wait to see what the political climate will be.  The Federal Reserve will probably continue to hold borrowing rates/inflation lower and we’ll continue to see mortgage money in the lower ranges. 

Stay tuned for more questions and answers.  Remember, real estate is local - depends on where YOU are!

3 Tips to Make This Year Your Best Year Yet

For salesmen of all products - from Realty Times

1. Cultivate a positive mindset, no matter what: Focus on all the positive things in your life and appreciate even the small things.

2. Pump up your lead generation: This is a two-step process.

    a. Release your old self-limiting beliefs, such as:

•                "if I call people, I am bothering them."

•                "If I call people, I might appear to salesy." 

•                "If I call people, I might be rejected."

    b. Install updated powerful beliefs, such as:

•                "I have a valuable service to offer people, and people are happy to hear from me."

•                "There is no such thing as rejection; it's either a match or it's not a match."

3. Clear your self-limiting beliefs: Research shows that what you say consciously only accounts for 2 percent of your brain activity.

     

    a. Here are a few anti-success beliefs:

•                "I have to be perfect to be okay."

•                "I have to be hard on myself to succeed."

•                "To succeed, I have to work long hard hours, struggle and sacrifice."

    b. Change these thoughts into pro-success beliefs, such as: 

•                "I am perfectly imperfect, just like everyone else."

•                "I motivate myself in positive and encouraging ways."

•                "To succeed, I just need to work smarter not harder."

Ideas for Foreclosed Properties

The Cape Cod Times had a recent article from Bloomberg News that stated the Federal Housing Finance Agency was seeking ideas as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look to reduce losses, stabilize neighborhoods and support housing values by turning a portion of the more than 180,000 repossessed homes in their inventory into rentals. Carrington, a real estate and mortgage services company founded by hedge-fund manager Bruce Ross, is "actively raising" roughly $1 billion to purchase foreclosed homes that will be renovated and held as rentals, with or without the government program, according to Rick Sharga, executive vice president of Carrington.

Good News for the Housing Market

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) released its latest pending home sales index figure last week, and for the second month in a row the index is up. More than that, the index has broken 100. This is significant because the only time since the housing boom collapsed that the index has broken 100 is when the home owner tax credit was in effect. The fact that the index has returned to this level a year since the credit has been in effect means the housing market is strengthening completely on its own, without any stimulus. It is also worthy to note that pending home sales have reached their highest level in 19 months according to NAR.

New Office New Blog

I've been in the real estate business for a long time - on Cape Cod and in the Wellesley/Boston Metro area. Having recently married and moved to Martha's Vineyard, I was offered the opportunity to start a new real estate company - Homes on Martha's Vineyard - with a partner - Tjark Aldeborgh.  We've been open since May 2011 and working away at building this business.  Our remodeled office (we did all the work ourselves) doubles as an art gallery for my husband, artist Ovid Osborn Ward (ovidward.com).  We are focusing on residential sales and summer rentals and have already booked our first sale!  We're gearing up for a busy rental season and today it's 53 degrees and sunny here on our beautiful Island!