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Boston.com Features Gibson Sotheby's Agent, Luxury Home

Gibson Sotheby's own Tammy DeWolf was recently interviewed by the Boston Globe.

One of her active single family homes, 1 Rich Road in Milford, was featured as part of a spotlight on luxury homes in the Bay State with dedicated home theaters.

The theater in this lovely home is noise-insulated and features wood trim framing around the big screen in a wonderfully finished basement.

Tammy DeWolf can be found on Facebook. She works in our Westwood office and specializes in Single Family Homes, Condominiums, Land and New Construction.

How's the Market: Condos in Boston with Brian Perry

I recently sat down with Brian Perry, a real estate agent in Gibson Sotheby’s South End office. He does a lot of work with developers and sellers interested in condos in the Boston area. We chatted about the state of the condo market in the South End, Back Bay and Boston in general.

Boston is one of the most unique metropolitan areas in the United States. We’re an older city with a great selection of condos. Whether you’re looking for upscale luxury properties or older homes with antique charm our city has it. Wintston Churchhill once famously called Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay “the most beautiful street in the world,” speaking of course of all the beautiful Brownstones.

Like the rest of the country, Boston suffered during the recent real estate slump. Many potential sellers holding off on putting their homes on the market, for fear of low pricing. Many of these sellers opted to either wait until the market improved or opted to rent out their vacant condos.

“But the market is recovering,” Brian said during our chat. “We are seeing promising signs. Since the first of the year we have seen some really good activity, particularly in the $700k - $1.3m range. I had several listings go under agreement in the last month.”

“These properties,” Brian continued “they’ve been going under agreement very close to asking price. We’ve also been in multiple offer situations, which is great.”

Several local and national publications seem to agree with Brian’s assessment. The Boston Globe revealed in a recent story that the condo market in Boston is faring very well. Sales have increased by 3.8 percent and median selling prices rose by 5.4 percent over last year.

Sales in luxury buildings also jumped by an impressive 22.15 percent in 2010 compared with the previous year, according to Listing Information Network, a local company that tracks condo sales in downtown Boston.

“There has also been a big uptick in developer activity.” Brain told me as we discussed the topic. “Condo projects that were once stalled seem to be coming back to life. We haven’t seen this in several years. I’m not just talking about small 3 - 6 unit buildings, but 20 - 40 unit developments, too. A lot of these units have been selling preconstruction, too. This is a great sign for the coming spring market.”

Our outlook for the coming year in Boston condos? Very positive, if recent trends continue. We’re looking forward to a pretty good market; regardless of if you’re looking for a luxury condo or an antique masterpiece.

Brian Perry can be found at brian-perry.com and on Twitter @BrianPerryRE. He serves Boston neighborhoods with over fifteen years of real estate experience.

Americans Agree: Owning a home benefits everyone

According to a recent study by The National Association of REALTORS the majority of renters and homeowners alike agree that owning a home strengthens the American economy and benefits families as well as their communities.

Looking at the recently released statistics it is clear that most Americans can agree on one thing: owning a home is a great investment over the long term. This is despite a challenging job market and numerous other economic factors that have impacted the housing market over the past several years.

The biggest piece of news in this study is the sense of community that homeowners have reported. When asked "How well do you know your neighbors?" by NAR, 6% of homeowners responded with "extremely well." Only 2% of renters responded the same. 19% of homeowners responded with "very well."

The most surprising result falls within the "not at all well" field, where 35% of renters claim that they have little, if any connection with their neighbors. While these results are somewhat anecdotal, it's clear that many homeowners feel a stronger connection to their neighbors and by extension, their community as a whole.

Homeowners demonstrate their strong connections to their communities in other ways, too. Not just on a local scale, but a national scale as well. When polled, 86% of homeowners responded that they always or often vote in national elections. 78% responded that they often or always vote in local elections.

Despite the recent economic difficulties, most respondents report "not at all worried" when asked if they will be able to make their rent or mortgage payments throughout the coming year. This demonstrates that Americans (both renters and homeowners) in general have an optimistic outlook for the future. Although homeowners are 6% more confident in being able to make their mortgage payments. This is a small difference, but it is one worth noting.

What does this say about the market? Americans agree that owning a home is a smart decision for their financial future, whether or not they owned a home when polled. In today's market, many aspiring home owners face worries about job security and being able to qualify for a home loan. While these are indeed large obstacles, most seem to face the challenge with overall optimism. Few homeowners are worried about making their mortgage payments.

Furthermore, while there are always exceptions to the rule renters who upgrade to their own homes tend to develop a stronger sense of pride in their communities and tend to foster larger economic growth than their counterparts. This not only benefits the individual, but the area as a whole.

Guest Post: Boston Real Estate Market Report

(This was originally posted on Joe Wolvek's Blog. Joe has helped clients in the Back Bay, South End, and other downtown neighborhoods as well as Brookline, Cambridge, and other inner suburbs since 1992. He works with Gibson Sotheby's International Realty.)

The market right now is characterized chiefly by tight inventory. Last year at this time, in the downtown neighborhoods of Boston (see above), there were about 1038 condominiums on the market. This year, it's about 855, which is about 18% fewer. As a matter of fact, in the South End, inventory hasn't been this tight since 2000.

This makes it an opportune time for sellers who have reasonably priced, attractive properties (as opposed to overpriced, unattractive ones which will hang around for quite a while). I have seen several really nice properties, mostly in the $400,000 to $600,000 niche come onto the market and sell at the first open house.

My feeling is that as we move forward, even into this month, we will see increased good quality inventory and increased sales activity. I've been impressed by the number of buyers venturing out to open houses and to showings, but there's not much to buy right now in that price range. If you've been out there looking, you know what I mean. Look for that to start changing before the month is out.

The higher end of the market appears to be demonstrating increased activity. Between

10/1/2010 and 2/8/2011, 122 $1m+ condos sold in the downtown neighborhoods as compared with 103 the year before and demand appears to be increasing. The continuing problem (for these sellers, at least) is that there is still a very large supply, given the fact that there are 3 luxury towers with many unsold units, although they are beginning to sell at a faster clip.

Another positive sign is that there are about 30% fewer resale units at the Ritz Towers Boston than about three months ago (21 as compared to 30).

The Clarendon Back Bay is now about 50% sold out with approximately another 10% under agreement. This is really not that surprising given its superb location and finishes. It really is an impressive project. In my opinion it's the best new building in Boston (Mandarin Oriental notwithstanding)

45 Province has a longer road, but they've had some new activity, and they claim to have a three year financing agreement, giving them some time on the sellout. According to LINK, about 23 of their 150 unts have closed.

The Residences at the W Boston is in foreclosure hearings. The judge will more than likely rule by the end of March. About 27 of their 123 units (22%) have closed. While it's a very good quality project, I think the location has had a dampening effect on sales, given the premium prices of the units.

The links to the left on my blog will give you additional info on the individual neighborhoods. If you'd like to comment on any of this please visit. Let me know what you think.

Good News for the 2011 Housing Market

According to USAtoday.com and a variety of other sources, the housing market is expected to do well in the upcoming season. "Building permits for new single-family homes rose 5.5% last month, the third consecutive monthly increase and the strongest showing since March, the Commerce Department said."

The market will rise slowly and steadily, especially in Boston, where housing values thrived even through economic challenges.

Boston-Based Real Estate Firm Completes Seventh Acquisition

Weston Firm Joins Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty

WESTON: Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty announced today that it has acquired Prudential Wilmot Whitney of Weston. Peter and Barbara Casey started the firm in 1991 and have been servicing the Weston community for nearly 20 years. “We saw this as a wonderful opportunity to do more for our agents and clients. We have a very positive feeling about the future.”

“This is a company that fits our culture and our goal to offer the best service to our clients,” said Larry Rideout, CEO and Owner of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty. “We have now acquired seven companies in four years – all during some of the most challenging economic times in history. Each of those acquisitions has made our company better, as we have enhanced their services to their clients.”

Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty now has eight offices in and around Boston and nearly 200 agents. The firm had its highest sales volume in its 48 year history in 2010.