CNN posted  earlier today that “Real estate’s new problem [is] Not enough homes.”

(originally published in http://towne-country.com)

For sellers whose homes are lingering on the marketplace, this may not seem realistic. Inventory of homes is shrinking, however, and buyers hoping to find that one perfect home may find themselves set up for a long wait.

In our area, we have been seeing multiple offer situations and I have spoken with two buyers this week who bemoaned the lack of new inventory.

Leominster MA For Sale, Sold, Pending and New Listings (Single Family Homes):

What will happen in the wake of the Homebuyer’s Tax Credit is anyone’s guess, but at least for the moment we are headed toward more of a status quo in the real estate market.
If you are considering selling and planning on making a home purchase after the sale, now may be a good idea to start the process. There is still inventory to purchase after the sale of your home, yet not so much that your home will be overlooked.
If your home is on the market for some time and has not sold, it may be time for reevaluation. Are you priced properly, reflecting current trends in the market? Is your home one of the two or three best buys in its size and price range? Is there anything you can do to make it more marketable?

Live in Leominster and have questions about selling your home, but you know that you can’t sell it for what you owe on it? Wondering about the recent changes in the new government guidelines that are making short sale properties easier to close?

Because of the increase in short sales in the area, and because we see the need to help people who are involved in this area that needs specialized training and experience, two of our Realtors® recently completed coursework for certification:

Gerry Bourgeois and Laurie Howe Complete Short Sales and Foreclosures Course

Leominster, MA (March 30, 2010)- Gerry Bourgeois and Laurie Howe of Towne & Country, Realtors in Leominster have just completed a highly specialized course, Short Sales and Foreclosures, presented by the Council of Residential Specialists. The one-day course earns one unit of core credit toward the Certified Residential Specialist Designation.

Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 32 percent of all home sales during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Short Sales and Foreclosures gives agents the practical tools and skills they need to counsel clients about these types of transactions. The course explains the intricate steps involved with these transactions as well as the roles of lenders, sellers, buyers and cooperating agents. It includes dialogues and systems agents can use when they work with financial institutions and other owners of REO properties.

Both Bourgeois and Howe have with this course and others completed the requirements for SFR (Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource) Certification from the National Association of Realtors®. Both are experienced full-time Realtors® and look forward to sharing this expertise with the community.

The Council of Residential Specialists is a not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors® comprised of more than 40,000 members. It awards the CRS Designation to experienced Realtors® who have completed advanced professional training and demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in residential real estate. Bourgeois earned the CRS designation many years ago and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of CRS. Towne & Country, Realtors® is located on 124 N Main Street in Leominster, and has been a fixture in the real estate community for four decades.

Please call us at 978-537-6401 or fill out the form with any of your questions.

irst of all, nearly all listings go into our local MLS. From there, they are sent to over 30 online sites- including Realtor.com. This is not anything special, and you should expect that your agent would have a larger plan beyond that.

From Realtor.com about how buyers are finding their homes:

Buyers use a wide variety of resources in searching for a home: 90 percent use the Internet, 87 percent rely on real estate agents, 59 percent yard signs, 46 percent attend open houses and 40 percent look at print or newspaper ads. Although buyers also use other resources, they generally start the search process online and then contact an agent.

When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 36 percent of buyers said a real estate agent; 36 percent the Internet; 12 percent from yard signs; 6 percent from a friend, neighbor or relative; 5 percent home builders; 2 percent a print or newspaper ad; 2 percent directly from the seller; and less than 1 percent a home book or magazine.

First time home buyers are coming out in record numbers. These buyers are looking online and asking their agents to look for them – they are NOT checking the newspapers or looking at home magazines. If you are trying to sell your home, your agent’s time and resources should be better used than running newspaper ads.

Your agent should ideally have a Facebook, twitter and YouTube presence.  The more opportunities to showcase your property and attract buyers to you and the office, the better. Google your prospective agent and his or her office, and see what they have to offer you!

For more ideas, visit our Towne & Country blog.

Here are the trends for Leominster, MA from the past couple of years:

stats Leominster ONLY dollars and units

These are more helpful if you are buying or selling a home in Leominster than numbers that apply to the entire New England region. The numbers- which were obtained from our MLS- show that prices in Leominster dropped nearly 25% in the past two years. As the prices came more into line with what the buyers expected, and probably partly due to the first time homebuyer’s tax credit, sales rose a bit cumulatively over that same 2 year period.
Buyers and sellers need to be aware that a home MUST go under agreement by April 30, 2010, and the property MUST close before June 30, 2010- see the IRS document explaining that. With the mortgage process taking so much time lately, that 2 month window of time isn’t all that long.
If you would like statistics that are even more relevant- drilled down to your neighborhood, or more up to the moment- call Gerry at 978-537-6401 x24 or