Single family homes continue to sell at higher prices on Cape Cod than they did one year ago. According to preliminary data for last month, the median sale price for single family homes on Cape was $420,000. The median price for condominiums was $289,900. In August 2017, the median price of a single family home was $390,000.  Condos were selling at a median price of $270,250. That’s a very significant $30,000 difference in median price for single family homes! According to the Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS® (CCIAOR), year-to-date, 2,598 single-family homes have sold for a median price of $420,500 and 683 condominiums have sold for a median price of $293,512. Cumulative days on market for this August decreased 6.3% for single-family homes compared to last August, shrinking from 96 days to 90 days. Condominiums also saw cumulative days on market decrease compared to last August, shrinking from 95 days to 83 days, a 12.6% decrease. The fall remains a great time to put your house on the market. Interest in Cape Cod properties remains high, especially with potential buyers looking to be settled in their new homes in time to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. ———- Here’s more evidence that owning a home is still a great investment. The following chart illustrates that actual home value appreciation has exceeded projections for the first six months 2018. ———- Mari is in Baltimore this week with a number of our Today Real Estate colleagues attending the Blueprint  training session put on by the Tom Ferry organization. Blueprint is an immersive three-day business strategy conference that teaches professionals how to get out of the trenches and operate their business from a CEO’s perspective. We’re committed to staying up-to-date on the latest trends and strategies in the real estate field. It helps us remain competitive, as well as provide the best possible customer service to those who select Mari Sennott and Associates to help them complete one of life’s most important tasks: buying or selling a home. Hank  

Much of the talk this year has centered on the fact that we continue to experience a seller’s market. Record high prices this summer and low inventory resulting in increased competition for properties are just two of the factors that lead to a seller’s market. The situation must be leaving potential buyers wondering what they should do. Continue to pay rent and their landlord’s mortgage while waiting for the market to change? Or just resign themselves to paying “too much” for their new home. Here are a few things potential buyers should consider: The market sets prices. An overpriced home is overpriced, whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market. While you might ending paying more for your home than you originally expected, you won’t pay too much. Be realistic about your must haves. Are granite counter tops really a deal breaker? Is a third bathroom necessary?  Being clear about what you absolutely need in a new home and what are niceties will help when considering price range. It’s imperative to be pre-approved for financing. Knowing what you can afford will help you focus your search and keep you from being disappointed when the home you fall in love with is outside your price range, Most importantly, work with a Realtor, who is familiar with the communities where you’re interested. Your sister’s cousin’s husband, who is an agent based 25 miles away, will not have an accurate sense of what is a reasonable price in the area you’re looking. So, there’s a good chance you will end up paying too much,  (This just happened in our own neighborhood.) If you’re thinking about buying and would like to learn more about your options, please call us at 508-568-8191 or contact us via the comment box. We’d be happy to meet with you. ——– Home ownership may be in your blood. According to an analysis of millennial homeowners by the Urban Institute, the homeownership rate of those whose parents rent is 14.4%, while the rate among millennials whose parents are homeowners is 31.7%!  According to the report: “A young adult’s odds of homeownership are highly correlated with their parent’s home ownership. Without controlling for such factors as age, income, education, marital status, and race or ethnicity, there is a 17 percentage-point gap between the home ownership rate for young adults whose parents are renters and young adults whose parents are homeowners.” The study also revealed that as a parent’s net worth increases, so does the likelihood that their child will own a home. These two findings are not surprising as we know from the Survey of Consumer Finances that a homeowner’s net worth is 44x greater than that of a renter. So, a parent who is a homeowner will have more wealth which will, in turn, increase the chances that their children will own their own homes in the future. ——– It’s always nice to know that your work is appreciated. We recently received the following five star review on Zillow from a seller. Mari and her team were phenomenal. She recently represented us selling our home in Mashpee. There were a lot of moving parts and it was a bit of a roller coaster. But Mari always kept her calm, putting things in perspective, and was tremendous at getting our home closed quickly for over asking price. Couldn’t have been happier! We sincerely appreciate the positive comments. Mari and Hank    

Another indication that we’re in a sellers market is the number of days a home is available before a contract is signed. This July, the cumulative days a home was on the market was 83. Last July that figure was 108. That’s more than a three week difference! Several times this year, we’ve sold a house or a condo within a day of listing. Earlier this summer, we sold three properties within a week. We mentioned in our last posting that the median price for single family homes on the Cape last month was up $60,000 from July 2017. Here are some figures for upper Cape communities.                                                       7/2017                             7/2018                               % diff Sandwich                                  $362,000                         $405,000                           +11.9% Bourne                                      $369,500                         $370,000                             +0.1% Mashpee                                   $417,500                         $450,000                              +7.8% Falmouth                                  $410,000                         $442,000                             +7.8% Barnstable                                $355,000                         $390,000                             +9.9% Industry experts predict that increases will level off to the $3% – 5% range within a year. While not unreasonable, this estimate is not keeping with today’s eye popping figures. If you’re in a position to put your home on the market to take advantage of today’s higher prices, don’t hesitate.  In general, a house sold within the next few weeks would probably close sometime in late October or early November giving you and your buyers a chance to be settled in your new homes by the holidays. If you have any questions about whether this is the right time for you to sell, please call us at 508-568-8191 or send us a note via the comment section. We’d be happy to help you make the best decision for your family. ———- If you’re a renter who has been on the fence about buying, consider this… According to a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine outlining 12 steps to get rich, while “renting on a temporary basis isn’t terrible, you should most certainly own the roof over your head if you’re serious about your finances. It won’t make you rich overnight, but by renting, you’re paying someone else’s mortgage. In effect, you’re making someone else rich.” As an owner, your mortgage payment is a form of forced savings  which allows you to build equity in your home that you can tap into later in life. As a renter, you guarantee the landlord is the person building that equity. ———- Congratulations to our friends at Holly Ridge Golf Club in Sandwich for successfully hosting an event involving several area Chambers of Commerce. They received rave reviews on social media and elsewhere. But that’s not news to us. Holly Ridge is one of our favorite spots. While we haven’t played anywhere near as much golf this summer as we planned, we’re there every Tuesday night as our six-year old granddaughter takes lessons. The award winning food in the restaurant is a convenient excuse not to go home to cook. We also hosted Mari’s first ever Customer Appreciation Party at Holly Ridge last year and the gathering following Hank’s Mothers funeral this past  June. Jen, Joe, Darren and the whole staff do a great job. For more information about Holly Ridge, check out their website at www.hollyridgegolf.com. Mari and Hank  

   It continues to be a sellers market on Cape Cod. According to initial data just made available by the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors (CCIAOR), the median sale price for single family homes hit an all-time high in July: $439,700. In July 2017, the median sale price for a single family home was $379,950. That’s an increase of almost $60,000! Year to date, 2,223 single family homes have been sold on Cape for a median price of $422,500. In 2017, 2,429 single family homes were sold with a median sale price of $389,000. (A $33,500 difference.) While the market is always changing, homeowners should be having serious conversations about whether they want to take advantage of these record high prices. September and October is a busy time for hiring and potential job transfers. Families return from vacation, schools reopen and work resumes its normal routine. Personnel managers are more available for interviews and applicant screening. Fall is also the time when potential buyers, who are looking to be settled in their new homes by the holidays, begin to look in earnest. If you’re thinking that now might be the time to sell your home, we’d happy be to sit down with you and discuss options. Just contact us via the comment section or call 508-568-8191. ———- With school re-opening, children will again be standing on sidewalks and street corners waiting for the bus. They don’t always pay attention, so it’s important to be vigilant, especially on side streets where maybe we’ve become accustomed to driving a little quicker since June. If your schedule allows it, this is also the time to contact your local school to see what the needs may be for volunteers, guest readers, or tutors. It’s a great way to meet your community’s dedicated teachers and interact with our very curious younger generation, ———- When writing about the Tom Ferry Success Summit that we attended in California, we told you about the Realtors, who were killed in a private plane crash on their way to the conference. Ferry and his wife, Kathy, committed to match the proceeds from the sale of event tee-shirts on the first day of Summit with the funds sent to the victims’ families. With the Ferry match, $23,000 is being donated; hopefully in some way helping loved ones through a difficult time. Mari and Hank  

The challenge after attending a conference like the Tom Ferry Success Summit is to process all the information and figure out what’s applicable and practical for your own business. One message came through loud and clear, though. The old way of doing things; the strategies and approaches that worked just a few years ago are not going to be enough in the years ahead. Open houses, print advertising, mailings, and phone calls will always be part of the equation. But, more is required to successfully represent buyers and sellers in the 21st century. Think about it. Before any of us make a purchase, what’s our first step? We go on line. When clients call us today asking to tour a home, chances are pretty good that they’ve already seen it on a website. It’s also not unusual to visit potential sellers and be told that they already know about us, because they’ve visited our website or seen the videos we post on Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere. If you’re not on line, the saying goes, you don’t exist. We know that to be true, as well. Sellers have also told us that they selected Mari Sennott and Associates to represent them, because we had an on line presence and our competition didn’t. To insure a successful transaction, potential buyers or sellers need more from the agents they’re interviewing than anecdotes about past successes; a list of what social and civic clubs they belong to, or who their important friends are. What they really need to be clear on is what the agent is doing now to be effective and what they’re planning for the future. The days of planting a For Sale sign in a front yard and waiting for the phone to ring are over. ———- Another advantage to attending an event like the Ferry Summit is the opportunity to meet other agents from around the country and the world. We made connections with agents from Israel, Italy and British Columbia, in addition to several states including New York, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Hawaii and Florida. What this means for our clients is that our network of contacts is broader than just Cape Cod. We can reach out to colleagues in other parts of the Ferry ecosystem to discover how they have responded to particular challenges. They can also refer clients to us, who are looking for summer/retirement homes on the Cape or maybe investment properties. In turn, we can help our customers, who need to relocate, find top notch out-of-state agents. ———- The Anaheim Convention Center, where the Ferry event was held, is a short drive to Disneyland. While we didn’t have a chance to visit the Park itself, we did go to Downtown Disney. In short, its counterpart in Florida is bigger and has many more options in terms of activities, restaurants and shops. Before arriving in California, we spent a few days in Reno/Tahoe. Next to a Cape Cod sunset, there’s nothing more spectacular than the Lake and surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. (Pictured below at 7:00am) Mari and Hank

We’re writing from Anaheim, CA and the Tom Ferry Success Summit 2018. It’s a gathering of over 5,500 agents from around the world, who have come to together to learn about the latest trends in our field and what we can expect from the market over the next 18 months. Tom is the leading coach and trainer in our profession. He and his staff have put together an impressive line up of topics and speakers. The knowledge we’ll gain from being here will allow us to better serve our clients. Indications are that the housing market will be entering a period of slow, but steady growth in terms of prices. We won’t experience the roller coaster ride that characterized the last decade. What we can expect is a 3-5% increase in valuations. As real estate professionals, it will be our job to educate our buyers and sellers about this “new normal,” as Ferry describes it. Now, more than ever, it’s important for sellers to listen to the market when thinking about asking prices and considering offers. Today’s buyers are savvy. They know an over priced home when they see it. But those properties that are priced right can sell quickly. If you’re thinking about selling your home in the closing months of this year or in 2019, we’d be happy to speak with you about where the market is headed and what’s the best time for you to make your property available. ———- The unofficial start of the Summit was Monday’s “Tom X” which featured rock star agents from across the country talking about their formulas for success and how they sometimes reached or exceeded their goals in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. But, the highlight of the day was 87 year old legendary tennis coach Nick Belletteri, who has worked with superstars such as Andre Aggasi and the Williams Sisters. He talked to the gathering about the Mindset of a Champion and the importance of teamwork saying that it’s never “I did it, but we did it.” Teamwork — not the cliche but the real thing — is one of the hallmarks of Today Real Estate. We’ve been able to attend this conference and take a short vacation before getting here, because of the support we’ve had back on Cape from our colleagues. With their help, three of our properties have gone under contract, while we’ve been out of the office. A big thanks to our colleagues in the Sandwich for their support! This is just one of the many ways that Today Real Estate is unique on Cape Cod. ———– This week’s conference began on a sad note with word that five of our California colleagues were killed in a plane crash on their way to the Summit. Ferry and his wife, Kathy, have pledged to match the proceeds from Monday’s tee-shirts sales with the funds being sent to the victims’ families to assist them through the difficult days ahead. At last report, conference attendees had made over $10,000.00 in tee shirt purchases. Mari and Hank

There was a lot of talk earlier this year — empty chatter in our opinion — that because of changes in federal tax law, real estate was not as good an investment as it once was. Recent research (courtesy of Keeping Current Matters) indicates that the public didn’t buy the argument. For the fifth year in a row, Americans consider real estate the best place to realize long term returns. It outranks stocks/mutual funds; gold; savings accounts/CDs, and bonds as the number one option for your money. Generation X (those aged 34-54) lead the way in that opinion, followed by baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and millennials (22-37 years of age). Public opinion about real estate has come a long way since 2011, when Americans favored gold as the best investment. Real estate also has the added benefit of being a financial option that you can enjoy immediately while waiting for your long term financial return! ———— The market on Cape Cod has really picked up. Homes that are priced right can be on and off the market in as little as a day, which just happened to one of our listings. That same week we had accepted offers on two other homes — one was on the market for two days; the other for seven! This is also the time of year when buyers with families are looking to be settled in time for their kids to start school in September. If you have any questions about the market and whether this is a good time for you to sell or buy, please get in touch. We’d be happy to help. ———— Next week, we’ll be blogging from the Tom Ferry Success Summit 2018. This is the ultimate training event for real estate agents who are committed to building and sustaining their careers. Ferry is the leading real estate coach in the country and we both participate in training activities and individual coaching offered by his organization. We’re looking forward to a great experience and sharing with you all that we learn. Mari and Hank

Welcome to the first of what we plan will be many postings about the world of real estate. We firmly believe that who you select to assist you with the real estate process can be almost as important as price or location. Most buyers and sellers have limited experience with the rules and legalities of a real estate transaction. The right agent can make what is a confusing process easier to navigate. It’s important to engage an agent with the right combination of experience and time to help you achieve your dream. Here on Cape Cod there are many agents, but a relatively small percentage consider it a full time job. The average agent here has fewer than four transactions a year! We approach our real estate practice as a full time commitment. We’re available to our clients 24/7 and are dedicated to making the buying and/or selling process as stress free as possible. In future postings, we’ll be sharing with you our thoughts about the current state of the real estate business on the Cape; what we learn through the various training programs we participate in, and what you can expect when buying or selling your home. We hope you’ll find the information helpful. Please call or message us if you have any questions. Mari and Hank