This well-maintained ranch home in the Great Harbors waterfront community in East Falmouth, MA has good curb appeal, but the when people entered the house, their attention was drawn to the furniture and a lifetime collection of items and not the house.

We brought in Jayne Pelosi of Renaissance Interior Design to help prepare the home for sale. Jayne spent two hours rearranging furniture, packing knicknacks, and coordinating the relocation of all unneeded items to the garage for storage.

The result was house that allows visitors to see the house and not the "stuff" even though she just worked with the owner's furniture. You can take a virtual tour of the house by visiting the house's designated website www.10halfmoon.com or by just clicking on the picture.

I pay for Jayne to help the owners and me prepare their home for viewing for two hours as a part of my listing service. In some cases, the owners will pay to have her guide them through a more extensive staging process.

If you are a REALTOR on (or near) Cape Cod, I'm sure that you have been working very hard and deserve to take a short break.

Please join your colleagues at a Broker Open House at 126 Edgewater Drive in East Falmouth, MA on Wednesday, July 21, anytime between 4-7 pm.

We will have some beverages and snacks as well as short boat tours provided by Tom Murphy of Meridian Mortgage.

If you can't join us on Wednesday, you can check out the house at www.126edgewater.com. You can also view an unbranded virtual tour by clicking on the picture at the left.

I hope to see you on Wednesday.

Summer in Falmouth is in full swing and there is plenty to do for everyone. Cape Cod is known for its beautiful beaches and outdoor activites including boating, hiking, biking, golf, surfing and almost anything else you can think of.

But there is also a myriad of other activities that provide fun for every member of the family. Theater, music, craft shows, lectures, antique shows, miniature golf, dining of all types, and special festivals. Over the next few weeks, we plan to sample some of these and will report on them here.

Every Monday night in Falmouth, an a capella male singing group called the Hyannis Sound appears at the First Congregational Church at 68 Main Street from 8-10 PM. The cost is only $10 per person and the performances by these college-aged young men are excellent.

There is always a debate in real estate offices as to whether open houses really help to sell homes. I have always been a believer that open houses do generate business, but lately I have had some very well-attended open houses that have modified my approach a bit.

The key to a good open house (in addition to the normal planning) is like real estate sales itself: location, location, location. Houses that are in high demand locations or settings will generate the highest amount of traffic.

I have two waterfront listings that have attracted an average of 20-30 visitors for each open house. The number of leads generated has been exceptional and have resulted in 2 sales to date. Both houses that were featurd in the open houses also have several qualified buyers entertaining offers at the present time.

So now, when I pick a home to keep open, I am focusing on the most attractive listings but share handouts that feature all my listings with visitors.

We were out of bed at 3:15 AM this morning so that we could arrive at the Lexington Green by 4:45 AM to see the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington. As we drove into Lexington under the cloak of darkness, we began to think that 4:45 AM may have been a bit too late. Thousands of people of all ages had arrived before us and thousands more were on their way. Some were carrying step ladders to insure their view of the green.

Fortunately we did get a front row standing spot (although an obstructed view spot - pine tree) and stood with folks from around the nation. Volunteers dressed in colonial clothes worked as "pickets" and made sure that everyone stayed behind the ropes, but several also came by and delivered history lessons. They wanted to make sure that everyone knew the story behind what they were about to see.

At 5:45 AM, the loudspeakers that surrounded the green came to life and the crowd went silent. The speaker once again made sure that everyone knew the background of what they were about to witness.  He also introduced some visitors from Lexington's sister city in France and reminded those present that the Revolution might not have been won without the help of the French.

Check out www.battleroad.org and click on "What Happened That Day" to get a brief summary of the events that then unfolded before us. It was surprising how apprehensive we became as the British soldiers approached the Green (and the somewhat disheveled colonial militia men) with their full regalia, fife and drums, and muskets with bayonets. 

A very solemn morning for me. I'm glad that my clients and former neighbors Klaus and Sherry Schneller encouraged us to go. The VIP passes, map and directions were very much appreciated.

Happy Patriot's Day!

Monday, April 19, 1775 marked the beginning of the American Revolution. The historical significance of the day sometimes gets lost in the excitement of the Boston Marathon, the Red Sox game, school vacation week, and just the start of nice spring weather.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are reenacted every Patriot's Day and My wife Mary Beth and I will be spectator's at this year's 235th reenactment. It starts at 6:00 am on Lexington Green. We have read about the battles in the past but are looking forward to being there.

You can learn all about it at www.battleroad.org.

A maintenance reserve: What an idea!

In the midst of our country's major financial crisis and with daily news casts about both public and private credit debt, it is refreshing to see a condominium community that has wisely put money aside since its inception. So while other complexes defer projects due to a lack of funds, FalmouthPort in Falmouth, MA just goes on about its business.

Falmouthport is a waterfront condo community on Cape Cod. Since it was built in the late 1970's, the Association Board with its professional management company, have managed the property in a highly professional manner.

Three points need to be highlighted:

1. The Board knew from day one that even though the complex was new, the day would come when repairs would be needed.

2. A Long-range Repair and Replacement plan was adopted and money was set aside.

3. The funds were invested conservatively. When stocks were rising wildly, the fund did not grow as fast as some would have liked. When the market tanked, however, the fund was barely touched.

What spurred this entry? Today the main road was repaved. No, there was not just a top coat applied; the old road was removed and a new one put in its place. And most important: there was no special assessment.

Now that summer is winding down, it's time to do all those things that you wanted to do but somehow didn't get to. Although many of the summer activities will soon give way to special fall events, there is still time to take advantage of some summer activites.

Click here for information on Lobster on the Lawn Mondays in Falmouth, MA. There's still time.

                                                      Dec. 31, 2008     May 15, 2009     July 31, 2009

• Units on the market                          56                         76                      68
• Average sales per month                  4.5                         3                        4
• Our absorption rate*                12.4 Months           25.3 Months    17 Months

*Absorption Rate: The number of months that it would take for all condos presently on the market to be sold. A balanced market is around 5 months.

• Sales % of original list price                   85.3%            85.2%                  89.5%
• Sales % of list price (at time of sale)      92.7%            94.57%                94.1%

Here are some statistics by price range: 

                               0-299,000        300,000-399,000       400,000-499,000      500,000+                        

Listings                    14                              19                              18                       13

Sold (6 mo)               9                                 6                                4                         5

Pending                     5                                 2                                1                         1

Average Days on Market (sold)

                                   188                            257                            92                      267

Positives:  

•1.      The fact that the number of condos listed for sale is down 11% is a good sign.

•2.      The absorption rate is also down.

Negatives:

•1.      The average sales price is down 10% from the same period a year ago (2008: $407,812;  2009: $367,576).   

•2.      In the past six months, 53 condos have come on the market while just 22 have been sold. 

Conclusion: The continued downward pressure on sales prices means that the buyers' market continues.

Tomorrow I will post the statistics for the three upper Cape Cod towns combined: Falmouth, Mashpee and Bourne.

The downward pressure on the sales prices of Cape Condos continues as the challenges of getting financing continue.

The very same condo that I mentioned in May had a new buyer and a new lender and fell apart again at the last minute. This time it was about the buyer's income. Needless to say, the bank (in this case Citizens Bank) had preapproved the buyer, received all the information requested in a timely manner, and gave no indication of a problem until the day of the final commitment when they issued a "declination letter."

Another condo in a very well managed, well funded complex that has never had a special assessment, is under agreement with a strong buyer. The buyer is putting 20% down. Yesterday, the date of the final commitment, the lender (Provident) could not meet the original commitment date because their underwriters are backed up. The commitment is now due next week. Stay tuned.

Needless to say, this continues the downward pressure on condo prices because buyers are reluctant to get involved.

On the bright side, however, I do have a closing today on a very nice condo. Bank of America is providing the financing for this one.