Thinking Ahead to Spring: Canton MA Little League Registration Opens January 1st Yes....that's right...we are just into the second official week of winter yet one of the big signs of spring....baseball....is peeking at us around the corner!  I guess since the Christmas decorations have been out since Labor Day, it only makes sense that it is time to think about baseball registrations! Canton MA Little League has announced that its online registration for little league and Girls Fast Pitch softball opens on January 1, 2012 and runs through January 31, 2012.  Just go online Canton MA Little League to register.   They will also have walk in registrations on January 14th and January 28th at Canton's Metropolis Rink. Answers to any question you may have can be found in the FAQ section of the... 12/26/2011

Christmas Came Early to this Canton MA Buyer Broker Earlier this week, early Tuesday morning I was working, as usual.  I was on my computer, checking the MLS, blogging, tweeting & checking in on Facebook - personal and business.  In my newsfeed, I saw a post from The Village Shoppes in Canton MA.  I am a fan on Facebook and so they are in my newsfeed. Imagine my surprise when I saw a post about their contest for tickets to a Patriots Game on Saturday December 24th.  The post said something like "Congratulations to Christine S of Canton for being the winner of our drawing for Patriots tickets to this Saturday's game."   I wondered....could it be me?  I think I remember entering that contest but I could not be sure.  The post said that they would be emailing the winner. So I waited patien... 12/23/2011

Buyers Have the Right to their Own Representation There have been a couple of blogs recently - and one not so recently - that I have been meaning to re-blog.  They all deal with agency issues, disclosure & the right to buyer representation.  Rather than re-blogging each one, I decided to tie them all together in one blog post.  Please read the original posts.  They are all excellent. Most recently, there was Carol Ann Palmieri's It Is Always Your Choice Who to Use as Your Realtor where Carol tells of a "friend" who emailed her to apologize because she was buying her home from another agent.  The friend says that she emailed the listing agent to inquire about the house, went & saw it and felt that she had no choice but to use the listing agent's mortgage company and sign a Purchase & Sal... 12/22/2011

Buyers Can Afford the Renovated House -Not the Renovations At recent holiday gatherings, people not involved in the real estate business always want to know how is the real estate market?  I tell them I have been busy.  Buyers are out looking to buy. The next comment is usually something along the lines of there are a lot of homes for sale in Canton!  They are surprised when I tell them that the inventory is lacking.  The problem is that many of the homes on the market are in need of some serious updating (and I don't just mean painting the walls).  Some need more than updating.  There are very few well-priced, move-in ready homes for sale.  The ones that come on the market move quickly.   Sellers do not seem to understand that. They either do not understand that their house is very out... 12/19/2011

Pat Baker | Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage | (617) 435-3471 54 Farm St, Canton, MA A distinctive 2006 Colonial designed by a renowned local architect is in pristine condition. This young home has well-proportioned open living space w 4BR/2+1BA Single Family House offered at $624,000   Year Built 2006 Sq Footage 2,721   Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial   Floors 2 Parking 4+ Car garage   Lot Size 12,197 sqft   HOA/Maint $0 per month     DESCRIPTION A distinctive 2006 Colonial designed by a renowned local architect is in pristine condition. This young home has well-proportioned open living space which lends itself to both entertaining & comfortable daily living. It features a Gourmet Kitchen with granite counters, wine cooler, large granite island, and desk. Along with a roma... 12/18/2011

November 2011 Market Report for Canton MA In November 2011 there were 8 single family homes sold in Canton MA*.  The median price was $383,750.00.  While this was double the number of single family homes sold in Canton MA in October 2011, it is still a seemingly low number.  The late fall and winter months do traditionally slow down.   So, let's take a look at how the real estate market in Canton MA has looked in November over the past five years. You can see that the number of homes sold in November in Canton MA is not traditionally high, with the exception of 2009.  Prices have obviously gone down from the high in 2006 but are starting an upward climb.  Only time will tell if the climb will continue. For buyers looking to buy a single family home in Canton MA during the cold winter mo... 12/17/2011

Canton High School Winter Concert  Canton MA High School's annual Winter Concert is coming up on Tuesday, December 20th and it is looking to be another great performance by our high school students.  The concert will be held at Canton High's Morse Auditorium and admission is FREE! First on the agenda will be the Tri-M Candidate Performances at 5:30 pm.  Tri-M is a Music Honors Society open to those dedicated music students who have participated in the music programs at Canton High for at least one year, who maintain good grades and who volunteer their time in helping the music department.  In order to gain membership into Tri-M, the new candidates must perform a solo number, which is not easy.  Last year I was blown away by the performances! After a short break between those performance... 12/15/2011

Canton, Mass. Real Estate - Week ending December 10, 2011 Here is a brief snapshot of the real estate market for single family homes in Canton, Mass. (Source MLSPIN) Number of Homes on The Market 95 Average List Price $592,513 Average Market Time 176 Days Thinking of selling your home in Canton, Mass. or other Norfolk County towns. Call or email me...I would welcome the opportunity to show you how my online marketing can get your home SOLD! 12/09/2011

Bank of America Customer Outreach in Boston MA I know....the bank we love to hate....but I just found out about this upcoming program in Boston and am blogging about it in the hopes that the news reaches some who may not have known about it. For those Bank of America mortgage customers having difficulty meeting their mortgage payments or for those who may already have fallen behind, they are holding customer outreach event next week in Boston.  Customers who need assistance will be able to meet with Bank of America specialists to discuss loan modification programs or other options to avoid foreclosure. Appointments may be scheduled at www.bankofamerica.com/homeownerevent or by calling 1-855-201-7426.  There will be representatives to service both English speaking and Spanish speaking cu... 12/09/2011

Year-to-Date Real Estate Market Report for Single Family Homes Canton MA 02021 There were 8 single family homes sold in Canton MA in November compared to only 4 sold in October. Both months represent a significant decrease in the number of sales from the relatively consistent sales of single family homes month-to-month between June and September. At the same time, the average sales prices have declined ending November at $441,181. The chart below shows the pattern of average sales prices so far this year. You can see that the average sales price has declined over the past 3 months.  Here's a look at that same information, along with the number of single family homes sold each month, and the percent change in average sale price from one month to the next. What Do These Numbers Mean? Ther... 12/09/2011

Should You List Your Home During the Holidays?  My Answer May Surprise You. Much has been written about whether someone should list their home for sale during the holidays.  I am an exclusive buyer agent so I generally do not give advice to Sellers.  However, from a buyers perspective my answer is that yes, many buyers are out there looking.  They are serious buyers and many have looked at many of the homes that have been on the market and are finding the inventory lacking. I am working with a number of buyers right now in this situation. However........(there is always a but)............ consider how busy you might be during the holidays and whether you can take the time to be out of your house during the holiday season.  I guess the real question is do you really want to sell your hom... 12/08/2011

You May Not Find the Perfect House....But You May Find the Perfect Home Most buyers are limited by the amount of money they can spend.  When you add that in to the type of home they want, the size of home and the community in which they want to live, there are certainly limits.  At that point, buyers need to make priorities....is it the school system that is most important?  Maybe the size of the house? Or is it the condition of the home that is important? Figuring out what is most important to you will be the key to a successful home search. Even in this market, in certain communities like Canton, Sharon and Milton MA, there may be many homes for sale but there are not many homes that meet all the criteria.  Some are in great locations but need a lot of work or are priced high.  Some a... 12/05/2011

December 2011 Requests from the Canton Food Pantry   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 email, I put a few of the items on my shopping list for the week so that I remember. Then, ... 12/03/2011

Decorate Your Own Christmas Wreath in Canton MA Small Business Saturday may have been last week but there are many good reasons to support our local small businesses well beyond that date.  Here is a great local business event to help you get into the Holiday Spirit. Floral Scents located at 515 Washington Street in Canton Center is holding a decorate your own Christmas wreath event right in their store.  From Wednesday November 30th through Sunday December 4th December 18th (it has been extended) from 1 pm to 9 pm, you can go in and decorate your own holiday wreath.  The cost is $30.00, and that includes the wreath AND all the decorations to go on it.  That is about what you would pay for a pre-decorated wreath anyway.  This options gives you a chance to make an event out of it and esc... 12/02/2011

Santa Arrives in Canton MA on December 3rd It is the moment that the kids have been waiting for! Santa Claus is coming to the Village Shoppes in Canton MA on December 3rd at 1:00 pm.  You will find him out in front of the Halfway Cafe and Especially for Pets from 1 pm to 3 pm.  You can even have your pet's photo taken with Santa! Every weekend through December 18th there are Holiday Happenings going on at the Village Shoppes. Strolling caroliers and live musicians from 12 pm - 4 pm Horse & carriage rides very Saturday from 1 pm - 3 pm Free gift wrapping at participating stores Savings and sales and great gift ideas throughout the season Support our great small local businesses like Glee Gifts, The Village Toy Shop, Hilliards Candy, Canton Village Wine & Spirits and more.   In the spirit... 12/01/2011

Happy Thanksgiving 2011! I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my clients, colleagues, friends, fellow bloggers and even all those anonymous readers out there a Happy Thanksgiving!  I wish you all a day filled with family, friends and good food. I like to think of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to remember to be thankful for those things that are most important - family, friends and health.   I hope you all enjoy the day enjoying your Thanksgiving traditions - whatever they may be - food, football, family, parades, or even shopping! For myself, I have some cooking to do!   Oh - and good luck to the Canton Bulldogs in their annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Stoughton!  Maybe this will be our year!   11/24/2011

Canton Alliance for Public Education Announces Fall 2011 Grants The Canton Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) is a non-profit volunteer-run organization that provides grants to the Canton Public Schools to help fund programs and projects that are not able to be funded through the usual school budget.  Grants are written and submitted by teachers and administrators from the Canton Public Schools. CAPE has two grant cycles - fall and spring.  They recently announced two grant awards for Fall 2011. The first grant was awarded to Canton High School for the establishment of The Change Agents Club at Canton High.  The purpose of the Change Agents is to transform the social and academic enviornment at Canton High by opening up conversations about race and ethnicity.  The founding members of ... 11/23/2011

Canton MA Market Report for October 2011 In October 2011, there were only four single family homes sold in Canton MA.  The median price of those homes that sold was $521,500.00, with a low of $150,000 and a high of $750,000.  Considering that there are currently 102 single family homes for sale in Canton, the number of sales in October certainly is low. The fall does traditionally see a slow down in sales, however four is still a very low number.  So I thought I would take a look at number of homes sold in October over the past several years.  The hart below shows that while 2010 was not much better than 2011, there is a variation of numbers of homes sold in October. Nonetheless October 2010 and 2011 seem to have the lowest numbers in recent history. Of course, the other piece of data t... 11/22/2011

Keeping it Local on Thanksgiving I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year.  I have two local establishments that I rely on each and every Thanksgiving. For the turkey I rely on The Main Course in Canton to order a fresh turkey from a local farm.  They will season it for me as well.  You can order the whole meal from them too.  But I just get my turkey as well as a side of butternut squash - theirs seems to be better than mine ever turns out.  They have a great selection of wines as well so usually I pick some up when I get my turkey. If you are not sure what kind of wine to pick, they will make suggestions for you. The Main Course has a lot of other gourment foods for other times of the year as well!! The Main Course also offers Thanksgiving pies and desserts.  I am s... 11/16/2011

Real Estate Can Get Emotional - Good Reasons to Hire a Professional Buying and selling residential real estate can get emotional for both buyers and sellers.  Sellers may be selling their long time family home and it carries a lot of memories for them.  Buyers may be just starting out - maybe just married or expecting a new baby - and have a lot of conerns.  They want to make sure they are starting out on the right foot. Even the most well-advised and well-prepared buyers and sellers can get emotional - even if they have no intention of doing so.  A qualified professional can put that emotion out of the equation and help either side focus on negotiating a deal in the best interests of their clients - and a fair deal at that. I just finished negotiating a For Sale By Owner property for m... 11/15/2011