Check it out!! Gerry Bourgeois of Towne & Country, Realtors, will be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. Press release from Sentinel-Enterprise, Fitchburg MA

Check out our real estate blog. Latest ad in the Sentinel:

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?

Originally posted in Towne and County, Realtors blog:

According to a report in the Sentinel, Fitchburg and Leominster MA schools do well when compared to similar schools around the state.

From the Sentinel and Enterprise:

BOSTON — Fitchburg and Leominster School Districts are performing better than their socio-economic peers around Massachusetts, according to new study released by the Pioneer Institute.

The study looked at 14 midsize, urban cities outside of Boston, with populations of 40,000 or higher, an average family income of $20,000 or lower and property values at about $80,000.

The study looked at the increase in 10th grade MCAS scores from 2004 to 2008, the predicted scores based on the number of students who receive Free Lunch, and the average dropout rate in 2003-2004 and 2007-2008.

Fitchburg’s average 10th grade MCAS score improved by 10.4 in English and 12.8 in math between 2004 and 2008–one of three cities in the study that improved more than the study predicted in both English and math. …

In 2008, Leominster had one of the highest MCAS scores in the study, although over the four year period the scores improved less than most schools, with 5.3 points in English and 9.4 points in math.

Your library- it isn't just books anymore

Have you heard? To borrow museum passes (for free or discounted admissions) from the Leominster Public Library, all you need to do is become a friend of the Library with a family membership or higher, and of course have a library card. You have access then to many local museums, among them The Boston Children’s Museum, the Discovery Museums in Acton, the EcoTarium in Worcester, and the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI.

Library membership is priceless, especially in a time where we are so rushed and information-overloaded. Reading: a gift for our children, an escape for us. Check it out!

Diane Guercio of Towne and Country

Diane has become involved in social media as it applies to business, particularly real estate. Since over 90% of buyers begin their house hunting online, it is extremely important to be represented by a brokerage that is a player in this online arena. “That is what attracted me to Towne & Country to start out with. I met Gerry Bourgeois, the broker-owner, at Inman Connect- the real estate industry’s flagship technical conference. I was impressed with the vision that he had already brought to the company, and with the plans that he has made for the next decade. Towne & Country is already a major player in its local market- a feat for an independent brokerage- and it is poised to bring even more value to its clients and agents.”

In addition to her interest in real estate and business, Diane also co-founded a successful online social media and business group called the TwitterQueens. She is president of TQI Consultants. She has led sessions at several social-media-in-real-estate conventions this past year, and presented at Ignite Delaware with the other cofounders of TwitterQueens. She was recently named to Sellsius’ Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers List.

Towne and Country, Realtors® is a fixture in the local real estate market. Towne & Country is consistently one of the top offices in the area in sales according to MLSPIN, and Gerry Bourgeois himself has been one of the top selling Realtors® in Central MA for over the past 15 years. This past year, in response to changes in the industry, Bourgeois has been laying the groundwork to make Towne & Country the most progressive brokerage in the area. Please visit our new company blog at http://towne-country.com – Just one of the many things we have begun implementing.