Tip O'Neill (former Speaker of the House) used to say that "All politics is local". THE SAME IS TRUE FOR REAL ESTATE!

Is the real estate sky really falling nationwide, or is that a gross generalization? In Florida, Arizona, or California that might be true. But what about Massachusetts? What's happening locally?

The only real estate conditions that impact you are in the area where you want to buy or sell or refinance. What you read/see/hear in the media paints the real estate market with too broad a brush to be useful. They report National trends or Regional trends. Their reports aren't local enough.

The facts below, actual sales, are what's REALLY happening with real estate in MA. This isn't crystal ball stuff, it's real.

So, scan the actual sales info below and come up with your own conclusions. Is the sky really falling or is the 8^th best year on record still pretty good.

Let me know what you think?

2007 year-end and December housing numbers

Massachusetts Association of Realtors released its housing sales numbers for 2007 and the month of December.  Despite the troubles in the sub prime market and the tightening of credit, it was still the 8^th best year on record for residential sales, which include single-family and condo sales

Ignorance is cured by the acquisition of knowledge.  Having said that let me share with you the TOP 10 things I have learned about Short Sales.

1. They take a long time to complete, typically 4 months.  It is extremely frustrating to ALL who embark on a short sale transaction.

2. The mortgage lien holder rarely returns your calls, even though you are trying to keep the deal moving forward.

3. It will test your patience and phone endurance. It is not unusual to be kept on hold for 27 minutes.

4. Quoted by a lawyer who does a lot of short sales, "only 4 out of 50 short sales go to closing."  You ask, why only 4?  "Because most buyers give up and move onto another property."

5. There is no uniform "Short Sale Package" or protocol. Can't win the game if you don't know the rules, and the rules change from one bank to the next.

6. The Bank's REO (real estate owned) property paper pushers are over worked and under paid and they have no sense of humor.  There is no real incentive for them to move your transaction to the top of the pile.  Being nice doesn't help, but it doesn't hurt.  Getting tough definitely does not work and they will remember the RUDE squeaky wheels.

7. The Sellers' bank requires a fully executed P&S, commitment letter, appraisal by the Buyers' bank, and along the way a 2^nd disinterested party appraisal. ALL short sales packages must be complete before they will even look at the transaction.

8. Both Sellers and Buyers need to be kept in the loop more so than a normal sale. Lots of hand holding.

9. Banks have not yet reached the tipping point, so they are reluctant to negotiate.  My experience has been that once the Acceptance Letter has been issued by the mortgage lien holder, there is a "take it" or "leave it" attitude.  The bank would rather evict the owners, winterize the house, and wait another two or three months to go to auction, rather than shave off another couple of thousand dollars to make the deal work.

10. BEWARE, the Bank will cut the Realtor's commission, so start out at a rate that you will be willing to negotiate down and make the Bank feel like they got a deal.  The Realtor will EARN every cent of their commission on one of these sales.

In closing, as real estate agents we hear and read everyday in the media that the real estate market has slowed and will get worse before it gets better.  If you have a lot of time on your hands, pick up a short sale.  I guarantee it will be a test of your endurance and an eye opening education into another side of real estate sales.

Stay tuned; next Friday I am schedule to close the short sale I've been working since September!

We know that the Massachusetts real estate market has been stagnant in 2007, yet from years of experience we know that the real estate markets are cyclical, and the real estate in Fall River, MA is no exception.

Here are some of the single family home housing MEDIAN SELLING PRICE stats from 2007 vs. 2006 in MA:

Region 2006 2007
Percentage / Change

Cape Cod $ 3 90,000 $ 4 09,000 4.9%
Central $ 2 90,000 $ 2 82,250 -2.7%
Greater Boston $ 5 05,000 $ 5 02,000 -0.6%
Northeast $ 3 82,950 $ 3 80,000 -0.8%
Southeast $ 2 80,000 $ 2 74,950 -1.8%
South Shore $ 3 50,000 $ 3 47,250 -0.8%
West $ 2 16,500 $ 2 15,000 -0.7%
STATEWIDE $ 3 52,000 $ 3 55,000 0.9%

Hi everyone - I have been following Active Rain for some time, and finally am getting involved.

I am the broker/owner of a Fall River real estate brokerage named Arrow Realty Group which is located in the historic Highland District of Fall River, MA.

I look forward to meeting many of you and participating in Active Rain and Localism.com.

Happy New Year and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Meg