Real Estate in Scituate, MA

Market Report

and Thoughts on the Economy

January 2009

The current conditions here in Scituate remain steady. The final numbers for 2008 reflect an overall decrease from ‘07, but still better than "our worst year" - ‘06. To put the course of Scituate's single family home sales in perspective, I went waaaay back - to 2002. Sometimes it helps to see the big picture:

To put these numbers into perspective, let's look at Scituate compared to Plymouth County (2004-2008):

See that nice steady line?  Note:  A neighboring community - Cohasset - is located in a different county(??) and is not included in these numbers.  Like Scitate, Cohasset is also showing steady sales.   Let's look at the numbers with another neighboring town that is NOT doing great  - Marshfield:

In order to view the line more clearly, I added 1,000 to Marshfield numbers so the picture is clear...

This last quarter in ‘08 was fairly quiet. The current inventory is pretty low. Much lower than the usual Holiday lull.  I am beginning to see more buyers than sellers.  Could this mean a demand is looming?  THAT hasn't happened in a very long time.

What about home values?  Our prices are back to 2004 levels.  While that may seem like bad news, you must remember that prices increased by DOUBLE DIGITS for a long time.  People seem to be forgetting this.  We were never going to be able to sustain those levels.  Isn't it GOOD news that the home you bought in the early 90's HAS DOUBLED IN VALUE?  And if you bought in the last few years, don't despair.  Your home is still the best long-term investment you can make.  I don't see the current price deductions occuring daily to be any sign of further devaluation.  These are simply homes that, for whatever reason, must sell.  No, only a few are short sales.  Scituate's short sale/foreclosure rate is much lower than the national average.

Finding it difficult to make your monthly mortgage payment?  Be proactive.  Get OUT of your ARM now!  Contact your lender and work out a reasonable plan.  If your lender is not cooperative, you have options.  In fact, any lenders not willing to cooperate right now are ridiculous!  We are fortunate to have a voice right here in Massachusetts - Rep. Barney Frank.  He would probably love to know about your uncooperative lender ;)

Need a financial plan for 2009?  Hurry and download Suze Orman's Action Plan for 2009 by January 15th for free!  Go to Oprah.com.  A lot of us have lost money due to the stock market.  We need to rebuild our portfolios and be smarter about investing.  Do your homework now so that you can be prepared for upcoming changes in your life i.e. college, retirement, caretaker, etc....

The next few weeks will be anxious - January is a good gauge for the coming year. Most divorce proceedings (sadly) begin this month. And folks who have entertained over the Holidays realize that their homes are too big or too small and begin the process of looking for another home that better suits their needs. Sons/daughters seem to be settling into college life and the parents start the mournful (or jubilant!) empty nest process. The snow birds who are getting ready to depart for Florida come to the realization that they really don't want to ever come back....

So, let's see what this new year brings. I remain positive.  And the calls from sellers is rising this week already...

MAKE it a Happy 2009!