Newton is certainly known to be one of the more premium housing markets in the Greater Boston area.  Over the past decade, Newton has been one of the most expensive suburbs to rent an apartment in the Boston area.  In the year of COVID, those housing markets took the biggest hit, and Newton was no exception. Still, even though Newton apartments saw the biggest drop in rent prices among all suburbs, it remains one of the most expensive suburbs to rent in Boston. Newton Apartment Rental Inventory and Vacancy RatesThe current apartment vacancy rate in Newton is 1.64% at the moment.  That is the 4th highest vacancy rate out of the 14 suburbs closest to Boston behind Medford (1.73%), Belmont (1.80%) and Malden (2.25%).  It also eclipses the overall Greater Boston vacancy rate of 1.48%.  That... 08/26/2021

Not living in fear, perspective, hope and caring in this time of Covid-19, the offical title for the corona virus pandemic that is sweeping the world right now.  People all over the world are living with this new reality. A virus that is fast moving and very contagious has made it from China, through Italy and now here in the US. There was political maneuvering from the Oval Office that promises to make it worse in the states.  Federal response has been slow and plodding. Fortunately the individual State officials are stepping up in the wake of the response to protect their citizens. Here in Massachusetts our Governor has already taken strong actions.Later today we are doing a podcast on Broker-Talk.com with a Luxury Agent from Milan, Italy. He will share with us what his country and hi... 04/02/2020

Real Estate Best Practices PODCAST with Ilya Cobi From William Raveis, The Cobi RE Team in Brookline, MA. In this podcast Ilya, Larry and Jim talk about the characteristics of the best agents and their practices. Not all agents are created equal, there are A students and C students and it is not hard to tell them apart. The best agents use the best practices and technology. In today's world where we no longer have free access to properties during this pandemic it is even more important than ever you work with people who know the process completely and can keep you informed and prepared to make the decisions on the property along the way.Real estate agents are everywhere. Everyone has a friend, a relative, a significant other, a friend of a friend or that annoying guy you met at Starbuck... 04/01/2020

In the office not at home Day 2 Covid-19 lock down. I always makes calls when I am in the car traveling, we agents spend a lot of time everyday in the car going places. Here in Massachusetts we are in lock down and are told to shelter in place (which means don't go out). This Corona virus is serious and is impacting businesses, families and countries.  The only way to protect yourself is to be away from people for a time so that we can flatten out the new infection curve.I spoke with a client this morning who wondered where I was calling from. I said from my car and I am headed to my office.  A pregnant pause before he asked, "why are you going to your office?" I explained how our office has been clean and disinfected.  I have my own space that no one uses but me so I should be safe.  T... 03/20/2020

Running Out of Toilet Paper and Loosing my Mind is a perfect description of this historic day. CoronaVirus, Covid-19 is on the upswing, the Fed just cut it's rate to zero and there are actually agents out there who don't know the relationship with the Fed Rate and the Interest Rates banks charge for mortgage loans.  The running out of toilet paper is this moments true craziness. For some reason people are hoarding toilet paper and the thoughts that come to mind for why are just too horrifying to consider without disinfectant.There are still lots of buyers who are looking for homes and not near enough homes on the market to satisfy the need. On the other side of that is price, with scarcity comes increased prices, but with the threat of life altering pandemic the desire to get out makes ... 03/19/2020

Raising the boat for all Broker-Talk with Kate Lanagan MacGregor.To be a licensed real estate agent is simple, take the courses, pass the test and voila, you are an agent. Being professional at this career is a wholly different and more rigorous process.  Our guest today on Broker-Talk.com is Mattapoisett, MA Realtor/Broker extraordinaire Kate Lanagan MacGregor of Bold Realty, Inc. Kate is a social media savant. She demonstrates on a daily basis how much she cares.  Starting with her daily posts on RITUALS to Rise (a private Facebook Group dedicated to starting each day with power, focus, strength and love).Listen to this episode of Broker-Talk.com and find out how to be the best agent you can for your community.  Find out how to be one of the best people you can be with Kate showing th... 02/05/2020

 Newton Residential Single Family Market Report Jan 2020. Lots of things going on inside the 13 villages that comprise Newton. Issues right now with some development projects that include affordable housing.  There are a total of 165 properties in Active, UAG, Sold or some other form of "on the market" housing through the Multiple Listing Service MLSPIN in the Boston Area.Single Family New Listings: 2 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 3,712 Median List $: $1,612,000 Median List $/SqFt: $418 Median DOM: 108  Now you may think this is odd the fact that DOM is 108 when they are new properties, and it is, but it is the way MLS deals with properties that were on the market, go off for a period of time and then come back on.Single Family Active Listings: 57 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 3,606 Median List $: $1... 01/16/2020

Selling your home-strategies and tips. search with this term and you will get a plethora of choices. They all are necessary steps in the process, but they just may not be in the right order. What is important is what you want to get from the sale and how are you going to wisely use those proceeds. These are always significant transactions. When large sums of money are exchanged many tax implications are part of the deal. Considering the long term benefit to be preserving and protecting your cash, the first step in selling your home is to know what you are doing with those funds and how you are going to do it.Then of course look on line and see the competition in your neighborhood, see what the prices are, if there are open houses, go to those open houses and see how they are being marke... 01/14/2020

Broker-Talk with Chris Brogan StoryLeader 3 Words for 2020. Chris Brogan is a nerd, I love nerds. Chris was focused on growth and learning when I met him in 2005. He worked for a telecom in some tech type job and he was tired of going to the same old conferences where you sit in an audience with a set schedule of topics that were not always valuable. Along with Christopher Penn, Chris Brogan created the PodCamp movement.  That pulled me in.  With technology and social media growing in importance I saw the value in knowing and understanding it more. PodCamp offered the attendees an opportunity to shape the future. Broker-Talk.com is an outgrowth of those early days and I am thrilled to have another opportunity to connect with Chris and listen to what he is currently working on.  His Thre... 01/09/2020

Boston Area Luxury Marketing Report Jan 2020. I gather information from several sources for this report. I include the towns I mostly work in, Boston, MA; Newton, MA; Weston, MA; Wayland, MA; Milton, MA; Dedham, MA; Westwood, MA. Information comes from Institute for Luxury Home Marketing where I am a Million Dollar Guild Member in good standing, and MLSPIN the local Multiple Listing Service in this area. All reports are based on trailing statistics. The Dec stats will be in sometime later this month.Luxury, as defined by the Institute is the to 10% of all properties on the market at any given time. For the purposes of this month listed the price to get into this select club is $1,950,000. Any property below that price would not be considered luxury for this report. Many homes below this... 01/08/2020

Gratitude 2019 Broker-Talk.com with Deanna Coyle. Deanna Coyle is a co-founder of VestaDivorce and she was a guest on our show a month ago.  Her story is one very many of us can relate to. So many people go through difficult marriages, grow up in difficult households, live without love and have to survive.  Life is pain is an axiom for all, we end up dead and that is no real spoiler. No life is without pain and challenges, have you ever heard the story of Buddha?Broker-Talk.com is a 30 minute show about real estate and life. Co-hosts Larry Lawfer and Jim Lowenstern discuss topics of real estate and a life lived.  Deanna's life of hope and rejuvenation has helped her build a business that on a daily basis helps people who need this help. Her spirit of gratitude comes from her life experi... 01/06/2020

Proven Strategy for best Sale of Home YourStories Realty Group. Real estate is a process in both an up market and a down market. Properties sell every month, some months more, some months less, they sell, every year.  Properties move from one deed to another when prices are going up and prices are going down, they move. There is never a reason to panic and make bad decisions about your own move. The system and strategy is simple and straight forward for both the buyer side and the seller side. The person who is best prepared with the best story wins. That is the way.Look at the market of comparable properties and be specific. Be within 10% of some specifics like square footage, rooms, yard size, age, style etc. Actually with style you would want to be exact because a center enter Coloni... 09/12/2019

Hows the Market Day 61 Your Million Dollar Year. This is a question any real estate professional should be able to answer in detail when asked, and you will be asked. National trends in lending, inventory, prices, days on market (DOM) and other stats should be followed and understood by the professional. Here in the Boston area we often lead the market in prices. For instance Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently shared that nationally although fewer house have been sold this year than last the interest rates remain low, DOM is going down as well while inventory of available housing is going up. The average house nationally costs $267,300 which is up from last year.Here in the Northeast the average house costs $277,700 up from the year bef... 05/24/2019

On The Road Again Day 60 Your Million Dollar Year. In the real estate business and with your real estate career you will find, if you stick with it, that your life can be changed in a heartbeat. Your life can go from horrible to wonderful in a phone call, it can go the opposite way as well. The more deals you have in your pipeline the more you will feel both the elation and comfort in know you life does not depend on a single deal. You real estate career is determined by what you have in your pipeline. Not having your life determined by a single deal no matter what happens is the rarefied air of a successful real estate career. When you have enough in your pipeline you are back on the road in moments when something crashes. The best antidote to desperation is getting your pipeline fille... 05/23/2019

Hiccups and Bumps Day 59 Your Million Dollar Year. So the 90 day start hit a hiccup on the 15th. Being overwhelmed in this business is pretty common, getting over it and getting back on track is not so common.  When you don't achieve a goal you set for yourself, what do you say to yourself? What is your next action or inaction? Stop worrying about little failures and focus on your long range goals. For me this last week has been exactly that. I was overwhelmed with all the new goals. I am enthused and overwhelmed all at the same time.So I pick this up again. What I mean is that I want to share what life is like for an agent on a daily basis. Now that I am partnering in a new agency and my goals have shifted from not only being the best agent, but also in helping others be their best age... 05/22/2019

Grasping at Straws Day 58 Your Million Dollar Years is probably the worst thing you can do if you are starting out in real estate. You don't want to grab at straws, you want to build a business that produces your living. Starting your career with small goals only gets you small results. Starting your real estate career with goals that are unattainable, or unattainable by you is also foolish. To succeed in the real estate industry you must adhere to a live long pursuit of knowledge. Don't worry, along the way you will gather a life time of experience. Each experience with each new client is both the same and different.The buying and selling of a home is straight forward. I, the Seller, have a commodity that you, the Buyer, will want, so let's get this done is how For Sale By Owners (FSBO... 05/17/2019

How Many No's to get to Yes Day 57 Million Dollar Year. We all want the "yes" as quickly as possible. What we are doing here is trying to quantify how many times you will hear "no", on average, to get to that "yes". Over the years the number of times you are likely to hear "no" until you hear "yes" has grown.The questions you ask along the way determine if you will ever get to "yes". If the person is still engaged with you as you go from question to question, that is good, but never keep asking the same question.To get to "yes" you need to ask the right questions. You need to drive as quickly as possible to their core driving emotion. What do they really want? What is their time frame? Where are they going next? What excites them about the process and what do they dred? When you ask the... 05/16/2019

Starting Out Real Estate Day 56 Your Million Dollar Year. When you have been an agent for some time you often forget what it is like to be an agent the first week you get your license. It is true that the barrier to entry into this business is small. In MA where I have a license it only takes 40 hours of study and passing the test to get licensed. These newbies are afforded the same credence as an agent who has many years of experience. Why wouldn't the unlicensed public believe they know as much as some of these people? Going from the moment you get your license it is essential that if you want to be successful you need to keep learning.Learning in this profession is a daily opportunity.  Experience is often what drives this learning. If you are asked about specifics regarding a proper... 05/15/2019

The Power of Mother Day 55 Your Million Dollar Year.When working with the public an experienced agent knows all to well that it is the woman who will ultimately make the decision about their living space, not the man. This is true in most cases and it remains true even in cultures where the man takes the lead on financial issues.  When working with couples and the man/husband/partner asks a question, or makes a comment directly to me I always look at the woman for her reaction to the question. I usually respond with, "I hear what you are saying, I am listening to her."  Invariably the woman understands completely what I am saying and usually the man misses my point.This is not to say the man has no role in the process of buying or selling their property it is just that it is of less imp... 05/14/2019

Places and Spaces and People Day 54 Your Million Dollar Year. Where you live is special to you, if only because it is where you live. It can be so much more. Your place is your fortress from which you emerge each day to slay the dragons, or be slayed. You plan to outlive your spouse because the opposite would seem moot. If you are the first to go, it doesn't matter.Spaces are places you inhabit, walk through, live within or nearby. You walk through places to get things, you walk through places to get there. Places are where you find yourself. If you find yourself in Boston, here are some places and spaces.  The neighborhoods are defined in many ways, parks, flowers, streets, public places, restaurants, shops and more.The winding paths of growth through Boston since and before the Revolu... 05/13/2019