Life is Good in Canton MA On September 24 and 25, the Life is Good Festival returns to Canton MA for the second year is a row. Last year's was a big success. Put on by the Life is Good company (you know the ones - you've seen the t-shirts with the smiling face), this festival is a fundraiser to help kids overcome life-threatening challenges, like illness, violence and poverty. 100% of the proceeds go to charity. This festival is located on the grounds of historic Prowse Farm in Canton Massachusetts. The two day long events features a wide variety of music, entertainment, kids activities and more.  Music starts each day at 11:45 pm and runs into the evening.  The musical groups appearing at the festival are too numerous to mention.   The activities include a variety of games, art and act... 09/17/2011

Canton, Mass. Real Estate - Week ending September 17, 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 115 Average List Price $583,478 Average Market Time 142 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! 09/17/2011

Canton MA Recreation Department Fall Programs Canton MA has a great recreation department that continues to offer a variety of programming year round.  While the bulk of the programming is in the summer, they do offer programs in the fall, winter and spring as well.  The Canton MA Recreation Fall Programs have been announced. Among the offerings are some of my old favorites like the Canton Dolphins Swim Team.  In the fall & winter, the team practices at the Blue Hills Regional School indoor pool and competes in the winter suburban swim league.  The winter program runs October through March. Other programs for children include Arts and Crafts, Fencing, Theater, Hip Hop, Cheering, Karate, Magic, Skating, Tennis and Gymnastics.  Fees vary by program but they are pretty reasonable and offer... 09/16/2011

Dance....It's Not Just for Kids Anymore! As a buyer agent located in Canton MA and mother of three teenage girls, life certainly is busy! I am sure you all can relate.  We are so busy with work and family obligations.  I think it is important to take time out for ourselves to do whatever it is that makes us happy.  I find myself involved in many volunteer activities that I do enjoy (I am a firm believer in only volunteering for those things that you enjoy).  However, they are not activities that are just for me.  Even going to the gym is usually something that I feel I HAVE to do! This year when the Hazel Boone Dance Studios located in Canton MA started offering some adult dance classes, I decided to sign up!  My girls have danced at Hazel Boone Studios for over 10 years now.  I danced ... 09/15/2011

Fiduciary Duty. Exactly What Is That? Businessdictionary.com defines fiduciary duty as "A legal obligation of one party to act in the best interest of another. The obligated party is typically a fiduciary, that is, someone entrusted with the care of money or property." As real estate agents, we have a fiduciary duty to our clients.  It is my guiding principal both as an exclusive buyer agent and attorney in Canton MA.   The best interests of my clients are first and foremost.  Period.  It is not about me.  Advice given to my clients and decisions made are made in their interests only. Of course, everyone deserves to be paid for their time and to earn a living. Outside issues regarding who is listing the property, an agent's opinion about another agent on the other side of the transactio... 09/14/2011

Every week I write a feature for my local Patch site featuring a home for sale in either Canton MA or Milton MA. 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. This weeks featured home is in Canton and is located at 65 Leonard Street, Canton MA. This is an circa. 1880 Colonial-style home with some modern conveniences like an open updated kitchen and central air conditioning. Walking distance to the Dean S. Luce Elementary School, Canton High School, the Canton Public Library and the Canton Center Commuter Rail stop, this home is also situated on one and a half acres of land, with a private back yard and water views.  W... 09/13/2011

                                                                                                              FIRST OPEN HOUSE 54 FARM ST., CANTON, MA SUNDAY 9/18/2011 FROM 1:00 to 3:00 Beautiful 5 year old Colonial in the Ponkapoag area of Canton.  This home has a gracious foyer and center staircase  The family room is located  off the gourmet kitchen  The kitchen is large with granite a center island, wine cooler,  and breakfast room and off the kitchen is a powder room.  The hardwood floors are gleaming on he first floor and staircase.   This home is great for entertaining as well  as being  very warm and inviting.  Attention to detail in this home which was designed by a renowned local architect. There are 3 bedrooms in addition to the master bedroom complete with walk in closet and... 09/13/2011

September Request from the Canton Food Pantry   As I have said before, 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 ... 09/09/2011

Canton DPW To Aid in Storm Cleanup Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene may be long gone but many Canton MA residents still have large amounts of tree branches and brush around their yards.  Normally, this type of waste is not picked up by the regular trash collection in Canton MA but must be brought to the Recycling Center where it is turned into compost. However due to the amount of large tree branches, stumps and brush, the Canton MA Department of Public Works has announced that it will pick up brush over the next several weeks.  Residents simply need to leave the items along the side of the street and the DPW will pick it up according to the schedule shown on this map.  Canton MA is lucky to have some great public servants in our town workers.  They worked diligently to clear the roads im... 09/08/2011

Canton, Mass. Real Estate - Week ending September 3, 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 105 Average List Price $575,062 Average Market Time 144 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! 09/07/2011

Celebrate Oktoberfest in Canton MA Canton's own micro-brewery, the Blue Hils Brewery, is holding its annual Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, September 10th from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Irish Cultural Centre at 200 New Boston Drive in Canton MA. There will be live music by Strange Parade: The Doors cover band, Monophonic - American Rock, and Double Eagle Oktoberfest Band - a German Oompah band from Canton. Food will be provided by Canton's Queen Anne Catering who will be grilling up plenty of sausages and by Milton's Abby Park Restaurant who will be serving up modern American cuisine. Beer will be provided by Blue Hills Brewery, of course! There will be other activities like the Keg Toss for adults and plenty of inflatables and plenty of activities for the kids.  Tickets are $12.0... 09/05/2011

Canton High's Bulldog Band Canton High's Bulldog Band is gearing up for the upcoming football season and school year!  They recently held their band camp during the last week of August to get a jump start on practice. Canton High's band director, Brian Thomas and Performing Arts Coordinator Sarah Collmer, are to thank for the re-vitalization of the marching band program in Canton MA.  The Bulldog Band can now be seen at some of the home football games as well as parades and other community events throughout Canton MA. For the upcoming football season, the bulldog band will be performing at the following home football games at Memorial Field: Friday September 9th vs. Weston Friday September 23rd vs. North Attleboro Thursday October 6th vs. Attleboro The band will also perform and help ch... 09/03/2011

In August of 2011 there were 13 homes that closed within the month for Canton, MA. this was a decrease of 4 units as there were 17 homes that closed in August of 2010. The Average list price for the homes that closed in Canton for August 2011 was $513,077 The Average list price for the homes that closed in Canton for August of 2010 was $529,282 The Average sale price for the homes that closed in Canton for August of 2011 was $502,400 The Average sale price for the homes that closed in Canton for August of 2010 was $517,357 The Average Market time for the homes that closed in Canton in August of 2011 was 89 days. The Average Market time for the homes that closed in Canton in August of 2010 was 152 days.   9 homes went under agreement in Canton, Massachusetts for the month of August, 2011... 09/02/2011

August has come to an end.  How is that possible already?  With our thoughts turning to fall, here is the summary of the Real Estate Market in Canton MA for August 2011. For the period of August 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011 there were thirteen homes sold in Canton MA. The median price was just over 440,000.00 and the average number of days on the market was 90 days. I always think it is helpful to compare numbers to the same period last year. For the period of August 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010, there were 17 homes sold with a median price of $557,000.00 and an average of 153 days on the market. For home buyers, this looks to be a good time to buy with the median price lower than last year.  We all know that rates are at historic lows.  It is definitely a good time to buy. Currently, ... 09/02/2011

Sidewalk Sale at Canton's Village Shoppes On Labor Day Weekend, The Village Shoppes in Canton MA will be holding their annual end of summer sidewalk sale on Saturday September 3rd and Sunday September 4th.  All of the merchants in the shopping center will be putting much of their goods out on the sidewal.  There will be some great back to school savings and also some great deals on summer merchandise to stock up for next summer! In addition to the savings, many of the shops and restaurants will be offering free samples and/or providing entertainment on Saturday, September 3rd.   Hilliards House of Candy will be offering FREE samples!  If you're not a candy person, your pet can get a free sample of Yoghund Yogurt at Especially for Pets. There are lots of offerings for the kids too.  Your... 09/01/2011

Canton MA Schools Named Among Best in the State Canton Patch is reporting that the Canton Public Schools has been named among the Top 50 School Districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by Boston Magazine.  The ranking is determined by test scores from elementary, middle and high schools in the State's 135 districts, per pupil spending, student to teacher ratio, number of AP classes, graduation rate, the number of students continuing on to higher education and the total number of sports teams and clubs. Apparently each category receives its own weighting and then the totals are calculated by the Director of the Math Resource Center at Babson College.  Now, some people may have their own opinion about which categories should be weighted so, like all statistics, it is subject to some... 08/30/2011

Canton, Mass. Real Estate - Week ending August 27, 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 106 Average List Price $569,527 Average Market Time 143 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! 08/30/2011

Every Sunday I write a column for my local Patch sites featuring a home for sale in either Canton MA, Milton MA or Braintree MA. 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. This weeks featured home is in Canton and is located at 34 Wildewood Drive. This home is walking distance to Canton High School, the Canton Public Library and the Canton Center Commuter Rail Station.   It is a ranch style home, with more space than meets the eye from the outside.  It has just over 1800 square feet, four bedrooms, two and half bathrooms.  It offers a renovated kitchen and beautifully landscaped grounds To find out more about this... 08/28/2011

What Happens if the Hurricane Damages the House I am Buying? Buyers of mine who are under agreement have nervously written to me asking this question.  They found the home that they love, put in an offer, got it accepted, made it through home inspection and now, Hurricane Irene, is heading straight towards us.  What happens if the house gets damaged or destroyed? First of all, safety of people is far more important to me than safety of things.  So, for all of you who are currently in the path of Hurricane Irene or who will be facing her over the next several days, please stay safe.  People first, things second. Now, as to the house, of course it depends what each contract says, what state you live in, how the contract was drafted, etc. etc. etc.   However, in purchase and sale agreement... 08/27/2011

Canton MA School Supply Lists You know that the kids go back to school on September 6th.  You've seen the bus schedules posted.  And while you have been trying to cherish the last few weeks of summer, you know that you still need to get those school supplies.  Now, where is that list? Some receive them in the mail with a note from the teacher. Some teachers post them or distribute them with last year's report card.  Many of the Canton Schools are using with SchoolKidz....a program where you sign up and pay for the supplies in the spring, and in the fall, on the first day of school, a box with all the necessary supplies are waiting on the desk.  That last one is my favorite - cheaper and more convenient! I wish they offered it for the older kids! But, if you still need the school supply ... 08/25/2011