The Hopkinton Independent has written a feature article on our office, Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty, in their latest edition.  The article is about well known author and speaker David Meerman Scott who featured our story of recruiting Mike Lefebvre, via twitter, in his latest book about marketing in the age of technology and social media, World Wide Rave. We could not be happier they chose to share our story with our local community.  In our evolving world of technology and given that approximately 90% of buyers shop online, we understand the importance of meeting the needs of the new age of real estate. We strive as a company to stay at the forefront of online technology and the latest marketing and industry trends. We appreciate and are humbled by the recognition both David... 03/26/2009

The Hopkinton Independent has written a feature article on our office, Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty, in their latest edition.  The article is about well known author and speaker David Meerman Scott who featured our story of recruiting Mike Lefebvre, via twitter, in his latest book about marketing in the age of technology and social media, World Wide Rave. We could not be happier they chose to share our story with our local community.  In our evolving world of technology and given that approximately 90% of buyers shop online, we understand the importance of meeting the needs of the new age of real estate. We strive as a company to stay at the forefront of online technology and the latest marketing and industry trends. We appreciate and are humbled by the recognition both David... 03/26/2009

Hopkinton, MA Real Estate - MA MLS - Find Homes For Sale Buying a home is an important investment however your primary focus should be to solve a housing need. The process can be very complicated if you do not work with industry professionals that can provide accurate information and advise you. The professionals include mortgage lenders, Realtors, Attorneys, Home Inspectors and Accountants. If you are a first-time home buyer, you may qualify for a tax credit ($8000 in 2009) and could be eligible for special financing programs. For a map based search of all properties listed in the MA MLS go to HOPKINTON MA MLS Let Hopkinton MA real estate assist you in finding the right property to meet your needs from local area homes for sale, foreclosure listings (bank-owned), country properties, la... 03/17/2009

Click below to view the video (about 7 minutes) discussing inventory trends in this early spring market for Hopkinton, MA.  Charts in the video are also included below for your reference. Hopkinton Mid-Month Real Estate Market Report   Some of the raw data:  just 59 single-family homes on the market currently and of those 7 have accepted offers and remain as "active" only to seek back-up offers.  Average DOM (days on market) is down this month to 135 from 149 in mid-February.  Ten homes have gone under agreement in the past month which is quite a nice activity level.   Below is the inventory trend chart shown in the video.  Since my legend does not appear (ahem) the dark blue line on top is the number of homes in each price range this month, the lighter blue line is the same number from... 03/15/2009

The annual issue of Boston Magazines Best Places To Live 2009 has just been released and Hopkinton Massachusetts has made the list. According to the article Hopkinton was grouped into the "The Teflon Ten" which is the ten towns that are perceived according to statistical analysis to be primed for take off once the market starts making it's way back up again. These ten towns supposedly have not dropped in value like other towns have. The methodology to pick the towns was the following according to Boston Magazine: "We examined median single-family home and condo prices for the years 2005 (the generally conceded peak of the Massachusetts market) to 2008, as well as average number of days on the market, number of foreclosure petitions and deeds, and, for select communities, percentage of h... 03/07/2009

     Single family Sold volume Avg sold Median sold Days on mkt    2009  10 507,000 492,500 140 2008  15 521,000 562,000 168 Trend Down Down Down Down The number of homes sold  & average sales price is down. The median sales price has dropped quite a bit, showing that homes under $500,000 are more active in Hopkinton. The average days on market has improved by 10 days which tells me sellers are more realistic about market conditions and pricing more accurately from the start. See the positive article in Boston Magazine re: Towns that have held their value. 03/07/2009

Seems like a natural fit for Hopkinton's Homegrown Real Estate Brokerage Firm to sponsor Hopkinton Community Television. Supporting a variety of local causes has been an explicit company goal since 2004. Free of excessive overhead and franchise fees of larger and national brokerage firms, we are delighted to share the rewards of our success right here with and within the community we serve. HCAM Rocks! 03/04/2009

In February there were 108 Single Family homes on the Market. The Average Days on the Market was 194. 16 Homes had Price Changes resulting in an 8.74% reduction. 8 Homes went Under Agreement, with a median price of $427,000. 7 Homes Sold, with a median price of $475,000. 4 Homes Expired (Didn't sell during the time of their agreement with their Realtor) Average price of these expired homes was $249,450. There were 31 Condominiums on the market. The Average Days on the Market was 249 1 condo had a Price Change resulting in a 15.23% reduction. 3 condos went Under Agreement with a median price of $515,000. 0 Condos Sold 0 Condos Expired Let's compare Today to 6 Months Ago 9/1/08                                                                              3/1/09                     Single F... 03/01/2009

Thank you to the Hopkinton Education Foundation for allowing us to sponsor the Gala Game Room! Congratulations on raising over $40,000  for quality programs in the Hopkinton schools. 02/26/2009

This is just a quick look at the single family market in Hopkinton, so far this year. I am looking at whats on deposit as this information is more up to the minute as opposed to solds which probably went on deposit 60 days earlier Since 1/1/2009 there have been 13 homes go on deposit - avg 2/week the median price is $479,000. the avg. market time (days on market) is 165 days. There are currently 50 active homes on the market with an avg. asking price of $588,000 and 160 days on market. 22 of the actives have come on the market since 1/1/09 and 3 of these are on deposit or closed. So, 22 have come on the market and 13 have gone off- they are coming on faster then they are selling, but overall and considering the time of year the market is still active and homes are selling. Marketing, pr... 02/18/2009

Overall inventory trends are still somewhat favorable to sellers with just 53 homes to choose from in Hopkinton as of mid-February.  In fact, the number is just 50 if we exclude the homes still appearing as active but which have in fact accepted offers.  Video is embedded and the graphs within the video are available below. Mid-Month Real Estate Market Report Hopkinton, MA (February 2009)   Days on market has gone down a touch to an average of 149 days this month whereas last month our average was 166.  The price range we are watching closely is the $600,000-$700,000 range since we've picked up a net of 2 houses there will more inventory to come.        Although inventory may be favorable to sellers, reticence and outright fear on the part of prospective buyers is not.  Nevertheless, in... 02/14/2009

Hopkinton Education Foundation Winter Gala 2009 from Mike Lefebvre on Vimeo. The Hopkinton Education Foundation (HEF) hosted their annual Winter Gala this past weekend at the Lake View Pavilion in Foxborough, MA.Over $40,000 was raised for this phenomenal organization that funds some of the most innovative and creative initiatives and programs within the Hopkinton School System. Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty was the proud sponsor of the event's game room. A good, no GREAT, time was had by all!We all look forward to next year's event... Video was shot and produced by Mike Lefebvre, The Uncommon Agent. 02/13/2009

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC 1 Campus Drive Parsippany, NJ  07054   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     Sotheby’s International Realty Brand Grows Worldwide Network in 2008   PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Feb. 9, 2009) – Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced it grew the office count within its network by more than 10 percent in 2008, ending the year with 10,750 sales associates located in more than 500 offices in 39 countries and territories worldwide.    “According to the National Association of Realtors®, for all of 2008 existing-home sales were 13.1 percent below the transactions recorded in 2007, which is the lowest volume since 1997.  In this environment, the Sotheby’s International Realty® brand actually grew its office count by 10.7 percent, demonstrating a tru... 02/09/2009

  Hopkinton Education Foumdation Gala   A few years ago I was asked by the Hopkinton Education Foundation to sponsor the Gala Game Room. Times were good in Real Estate and it just seemed like a fun way to give back to the community. Often as Realtors we are asked to sponsor many in town events. It makes a lot of sense as normally the people who ask us to sponsor their organization are the people who have chosen us to represent them in the sale of their home and/or the purchase of a new home. So, I wrote out the check, designed an ad, had a sign made (by Mike Carroll who is also a sponsor), and showed up at the event. There is a certain vibe at the Gala. It is a high energy vibe. The people who are there are the ones who care greatly about the education of Hopkinton's children. They are ... 02/04/2009

A few years ago I was asked by the Hopkinton Education Foundation to sponsor the Gala Game Room. Times were good in Real Estate and it just seemed like a fun way to give back to the community. Often as Realtors we are asked to sponsor many in town events. It makes a lot of sense as normally the people who ask us to sponsor their organization are the people who have chosen us to represent them in the sale of their home and/or the purchase of a new home. So, I wrote out the check, designed an ad, had a sign made (by Mike Carroll who is also a sponsor), and showed up at the event. There is a certain vibe at the Gala. It is a high energy vibe. The people who are there are the ones who care greatly about the education of Hopkinton's children. They are young parents. The ones whose children ... 02/04/2009

Hopkinton volunteers with the help of CPC funds, have restored the original Circa1872 Hopkinton train depot into a warming hut at Ice House Pond. The sation is opened on weekends for skate changing and has benches and beautiful wooden panel walls. The pond has for many recent years been used for skating and the town has made a parking lot and now this awesome warming hut. This is another example of the community spirit that is Hopkinton. Another place for the community to gather and enjoy winter activities. 02/02/2009

Heard in our office sales meeting recently "Be the first girlfriend, the second wife, and the third realtor." Mike comments on positioning yourself to be the third realtor FIRST ... confused? click play for the rest of the story..,.. Video by: Mike Lefebvre of Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty, in Hopkinton MA 01/30/2009

  We are so excited to be the Hopkinton Education Foundation Gala's official Game Room Sponsor!  Saturday, February 7, 2009 6:30 pm Lake View Pavilion Foxborough, MA Join us for a night of fun featuring a game room of Texas Hold'Em and Black Jack tables.  We look forward to seeing you there! Other highlights of the evening include... a Sit-down Dinner of Petite Filet & Stuffed Shrimp Select-A-Prize Raffle Live Auction (4) VIP Starting Line passes donated by the Hopkinton Marathon Committee (4) VIP Finish Line passes donated by the Boston Athletic Association Invitation to John Hancock's post-marathon party  Spot in lower town hall on Marathon Day Invitation to Kenyan Day at Elmwood School Autographed books and Marathon Memorabilia from Dick Hoyt, Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to ru... 01/30/2009

    Real Estate Market Report - Hopkinton, MA  Single Family Home Sales Sales 2008 Hopkinton, MA - SOLD Property Statistics - 2008Property Type(s): Single Family Homes Status: SOLD Dates:: 01/01/2008  - 12/31/2008Town: Hopkinton, MA Price Range # ofListings Avg. Dayson Market AverageSale Price   AverageList Price SP:LPRatio AverageOrig Price SP:OPRatio $0 - $49,999 0 0 $0   $0 0 $0 0 $50,000 - $99,999 0 0 $0   $0 0 $0 0 $100,000 - $149,999 1 288 $143,000   $159,900 89 $199,900 72 $150,000 - $199,999 5 140 $177,480   $183,440 97 $200,540 89 $200,000 - $249,999 3 155 $236,667   $242,933 98 $276,267 88 $250,000 - $299,999 11 185 $273,391   $282,482 97 $298,482 92 $300,000 - $349,999 8 127 $317,891   $331,613 96 $351,625 91 $350,000 - $399,999 10 86 $368,115   $376,580 98 $390,040 95 $400,... 01/30/2009

Thanks to all the great resources and information found online, researching real estate options today is so much easier than it was just a few short years ago.  From anywhere in the world, buyers can research and compare potential communities.  For the Greater Boston Area, boston.com has some nice research tools, for example.    Buying RE in Massachusetts   When buyers are ready to start looking at specific properties, the local real estate agent serves as a wealth of information which is far more difficult, if not impossible to find online. 01/29/2009