Canton MA Visual Arts Center:  New Exhibit Opens January 29   Canton's own art gallery, the Mass Audubon's Visual Arts Center, has a new exhibit opening on Sunday January 29 ~ Unfamiliar Faces: Photographs of Vanishing Wildlife by Kevin Schafer.  The exhibition will include a selection of photographs of wildlife from across the world.  Admission is free to Mass Audubon members.  For non-members, the cost of admission to the gallery is $4.00 for adults and $3.00 for children and senior citizens.  The exhibit will be open through May 13th.   As a special treat, photographer Kevin Schafer will give a talk about his career photographing wildlife from across the seven continents on February 25th from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm.  The cost to attend this talk is $10.00 for members and $12.00 for non-me... 01/27/2012

It Is Fifth Grade Play Time in Canton MA!   That's right, it is that time of year when the fifth graders in the Canton MA elementary schools put on their annual play.  It is a lot of work but there is a lot of reward.  For some students, this may be the only time they get on stage.  For others, this exposure is their first bite of the acting bug and they are opened up of a whole new world.  Regardless of whether the students go on to be performers or whether this is a one-time experience, it is an experience they can draw on for the rest of their lives.  It involves teamwork in working as part of a cast, homework in memorizing lines and songs, overcoming stage fright and learning to speak in front of a large, live audience.  These are skills that can be used and drawn upon forever.  It... 01/26/2012

Neither Snow Nor Sleet........ We have had a fairly mild winter here in Canton MA.  With all the snow we had last year, we were due for a break.  I had deluded myself into thinking we would have no snow this year!   Unfortunately, we had our first storm yesterday.  It was not that big but it snowed all day.  I had several showings scheduled.  It was not enough snow for me to cancel so I left it up to my clients.  They did not call to cancel so out I went.  It was one of those where some roads were fine & some were a little slippery.  But, having grown up in New England, a little snow cannot get in my way......kind of like the post office.....neither snow nor sleet nor dark of night.....   My clients had a slight skidding accident & slid into a tree and now have some body work to do to ... 01/22/2012

Canton MA is Going Green   Canton MA is Green in more ways than one.  First of all green and white are the town colors - the colors of the Canton High Bulldogs!  Go Bulldogs!   But Canton MA is also into green energy as I recently wrote about in my blog post about Canton MA's Green Projects, outlining two solar projects that are under way in Canton MA.     This Canton MA Buyer Broker wanted to get in on the green action.  So I am now the proud owner of a Toyota Prius Hybrid.  What a fun car to drive!  And, it shows you how many miles per gallon you are getting so I find myself adjusting driving habits to get the best MPG.  The best so far was a little over 50 MPG.   With the amount of miles I drive, it no longer made sense to drive around my minivan, when most of the time I am the only ... 01/21/2012

Canton MA Condo Market ~ January 2012   As of January 19, 2012, there are 29 condominium units for sale in Canton*. The lowest priced condominium for sale in Canton is a one bedroom garden style unit priced at $94,900.00 and the highest priced unit is a three bedroom, two bathroom half-duplex style unit priced at $449,000.  There are a lot of choices for those seeking to buy a condominium in Canton MA.   Looking back at 2011, there were 63 condominiums that sold in Canton MA, with a low price of $90,000.00 and a high of $495,000.00.  The average sales price was $255,703.00.  The average number of days on the market was 124.   In 2010 there were 79 condos sold in Canton priced from $99,000 to $470,000, with an average sales price of $253,744 and 134 days on the market. While the number o... 01/20/2012

Buying a Home with a well in Massachusetts?  Remember the Well Inspection.   In my area of Norfolk County Massachusetts, most homes are on municipal water.  Most single family homes in Canton MA and Milton MA do not have wells.     I recently had a buyer put in an offer on a home with a well. When she scheduled the home inspection, I told her to inquire about water testing and also checked with one of my favorite home inspectors to get his input on water testing.  I was not that familiar with wells and wanted to make sure she was protected.  She also inquired about a well inspection.  The home inspection company did not offer that.  She did her due diligence and found a well company.   In talking with the well company, I asked if they did this sort of testing often?  Their answer was mo... 01/18/2012

How Do You Spell FUN?  Canton's Annual Spelling Bee is January 20th! On Friday, January 20th, the Canton Alliance for Public Education, or CAPE, will host its Annual Spelling Bee.  This is truly a feel-good and fun event that brings everyone together.  The early part of the evening, starting at around 5:30 pm, features Spelling Teams from Canton's three elementary schools.  There are 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teams, made up of five members, that compete against the teams from the other elementary schools to boast for top honors for the year for each grade.  It is an honor just to be on a team and it is all done for fun!  The Middle School competition features teams from each of the three grades who compete to be the Middle School Winner and the High School has teams from each of its four g... 01/16/2012

Featured Home in Canton MA:  709 Pleasant Street As an Exclusive Buyer Broker in Canton MA I like to feature certain homes for sale in Canton MA that have a certain appeal for one reason or another.  To be clear, this is not my listing.   Since I am an Exclusive Buyer Agent and do not list homes, it is fun to pick out different homes that I have seen to feature. I have no interest in featuring one home over another. Today's featured home is the house for sale at 709 Pleasant Street Canton MA.  A 1400 square foot Cape-style home, this home is ideal for commuters, busy couples and families.  709 Pleasant Street is located within walking distance from the Dean S. Luce Elementary School, the playground and fields at Devoll Field and to Canton Center - including the Canton Public Library and... 01/13/2012

Keep the Spirit of Giving Going: Support the Canton MA Food Pantry in January The holidays are over but there are many who still need our help.  The Canton MA Food Pantry provides an invaluable service to many members of our community who are struggling. They rely on the donations and support from the Canton community. Luckily, the citizens of Canton MA always come through for them - as they do anytime they are asked for help. The Canton Food Pantry sends out a monthly email to its subscribers, letting them know what items they are most in need of for the current month. Each month they stress that all donations of any kind are always welcome. If you would like to get on the list you can email the food pantry and ask to be put on the list. I find it useful. The week that I receive the e... 01/12/2012

New Website for the Canton Alliance for Public Education Canton's own non-profit educational foundation, Canton Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) has a new website that is tied in to the Canton Public School's website.  It is easy to find when you are on any one of the school sites within the Canton Public Schools.  Along the top of each page there is a link that says "Community".  If you click on that link, you will find the direct link to CAPE. One of the best features of the new website, is that payments to CAPE can be made directly online.  So whether you are paying your membership dues, making a donation to the Honor Thy Teacher program, sponsoring a letter for the Spelling Bee or supporting the annual CAPE Gala, you can do it ALL online. The new website also features a calendar... 01/10/2012

Going Green in Canton MA Canton MA is going green......and I do not necessarily mean the town colors of Green & White!  (That would be a story for another blog post!) Canton MA  has some green initiatives that should save the town money and also help produce green energy.  Last year I wrote about the Solar Farm that is planned for installation on the capped town landfill.  Today, I drove by the site and saw quite a bit of activity.  It looks like construction and installation has begun on Canton's first solar farm by Southern Sky. Following the municipal side's lead, the Canton Public Schools recently approved a plan to install solar panels on the roofs of some of the school buildings.  The plan includes installation of solar panels on Canton High School, Galvin Middle School and Dean S... 01/09/2012

Canton's Galvin Middle School Winter Concert 2012 Canton High held its Winter Concert before the holidays.  Rather than trying to fit everything in before school vacation, the Galvin Middle School holds its Winter Concert upon the return to school in January.  It is nice not to have one more event going on in December and is a welcome break from the cold January winter. This year the Galvin Middle School Winter Concert will be on Thursday, January 12th at the Canton High School auditorium.  The 6th Graders will perform at 6:30 and the 7th and 8th graders will perform at 7:30.  There are so many students performing that they need to divide up the performances so there is plenty of seating and parking for everyone. There will be performances by the chorus group from each grade, band and t... 01/05/2012

Canton MA Real Estate:  2011 Market Wrap Up for Single Family Homes In Canton MA there were 127 single family homes sold in 2011.*  The average sales price was $478,642.00, with a low of $125,000.00 and a high of $1,225,000.00.  The pie chart below shows that just over 47% of the single family homes sold in Canton MA sold between $300,000 - $500,000, with the next highest percentages coming in on either side of those price ranges.   To get an idea of how the market is performing overall, it is helpful to look back over the past years to see how the real estate market has performed, compared to other years.  Going back 5 years, the average sales price has fluctuated.  While the average sales price is down from 2010, it is still higher than 2009.  2010 was the year of the federal first ti... 01/04/2012

Top Blog Posts of 2011 by a Canton MA Buyer Broker 2011 was my first full year of blogging.  I started near the last quarter of 2010.  A review of 2011 blog posts shows that these were my most popular public blog posts of 2011, measured by clicks. Every Transaction is a Learning Experience:  This post was about how there really is no wasted time or bad transaction.  If we are always learning, it is all good. A Home's Value is Not Dependent on Your Personal Situation: This post discussed how a home value is determined.  It is not dependent on a Buyer's or Seller's financial situation. Debunking the Myth: You Will Not Save Money By Not Using a Buyers Agent:  With apologies for the double negative, I tried to debunk the myth that some buyers have that hey will get a better deal if they do ... 01/02/2012

2011 Real Estate Market Statistics for Canton MA Condominiums Just as real estate market statistics vary from one local market to the next, the market statistics within a town vary greatly between single family homes and condominiums. In Canton MA, there were 63 condominiums sold this year, compared to 127 single family homes. While the total number of condominiums sold in Canton decreased by 20% from 2010, the average sales price increased just slightly. The largest number of condominiums sold in Canton MA continues to be those priced between $300,000 and $350,000, with most of those selling under $325,000. The number of condominiums sold in the $200Ks and the $100Ks was even with 18 sold in each price range, representing a 22% and 33% decrease respectively from 2010. The overall abso... 01/01/2012

2011 Real Estate Market Statistics for Canton MA The single family home market in Canton MA saw some decreases this year. The average sales price of single family homes in Canton decreased by 3% since 2010, while the total number of single family homes sold decreased by 9%.  The overall absorption rate is slightly more than 12 months. This is the amount of time it would take to sell the current inventory of homes if no new homes came on the market. In a future post, I will discuss the absorption rate in different price categories. With inventory taking this long to sell it is important that sellers position their homes properly to sell. The largest number of homes sold in Canton MA continues be in the $300,000 price range. This year, there was a significant increase in the number of hom... 01/01/2012

Ending One Year with a Bang....Starting the New with a Bang New Year's Eve.....New Year's Day......just another day in the life of an exclusive buyer agent.  Yesterday was spent showing some homes to a client. She is really looking forward to buying a house and starting the new year off in a new home.  She was quite happy to look at them yesterday, even though it was the beginning of the holiday weekend. We found one she really liked and I emailed the agent to see if he was working during the weekend.  Sure enough, he was and said he would be willing to work on an offer throughout the weekend.  We submitted an offer and hopefully we can put a deal together. Later in the day, I received an email from another client.  She expanded her search and found a couple of other homes she likes and... 01/01/2012

Happy New Year from Canton MA! Last year I wrote a post about Where to Ring in the New Year in Canton MA.  Most of the places I mentioned for 2011 are still great ideas for 2012! Around here, the perennial favorite is First Night Boston, a family-based celebration the includes a variety of artistic and cultural performances throughout the city, including a parade and fireworks.  The MBTA will be free starting at 8:00 pm so that is your best way to get into the city.  There are two commuter rail stations here in Canton so take the quick ride in to Boston and enjoy the celebration! No matter how you choose to ring in the New Year, I would like to wish all my readers a Happy and Healthy New Year!   Wishing you Peace & Prosperity in 2012! 12/30/2011

Canton Based Company Facilitates Organ Donation We are all aware of the need for organ donation, whether through a personal friend or family member awaiting a new kidney or other organ, or perhaps through stories that we read on the news.  The majority of organ donation comes through people who have died, perhaps in an accident, and whose families agree to donate their organs so that someone else may have the gift of life.  The waiting list is long. We have all probably heard the stories of live organ donations as well.  Usually that is where a sibling or other family member donates an extra kidney or other organ to another family member.   However there is a company that was formed in Canton MA that increases the opportunities for live organ donations across the country.  After a surve... 12/30/2011

First Day Hikes at the Blue Hills in Canton MA Located on the border of Milton MA and Canton MA sits one of the state's great natural outdoor resources - the Blue Hills Reservation, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).  It is home to a ski area, as well as the Mass Audubon's Trailside Museum, miles of hiking trails a weather observatory, a swimming spot and more.   What better way to kick off the New Year than to join the DCR Park Rangers and staff from the Trailside Museum than with a hike through the beautiful Blue Hills Reservation.  Hopefully the mild weather we have been having so far will hold out until then. There is no fee to participate in the hikes and no registration is required either.   Hikes begin at 1:00 pm and start at the Houghto... 12/27/2011