In May of 2015 there were 12 homes that closed within the month for Westwood, MA. This represents a decreaseof 1, as there were 13 homes that closed in May 2014.The average list price for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2015 was $820,817.The average list price for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2014 wa $966,354.The average sale price for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2015 was $809,933.The average sale price for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2014 was $930,346.The average market time for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2015 was 85 days.The average market time for the homes that closed in Westwood for May 2014 was 70 days.17 homes went under agreement in Westwood, Massachusetts for the month of May 2015. The average list price of the h... 05/31/2015

Is the Grass greener? Agents move around all the time. They are always looking for a greener pasture, a better split, more leads, easier transactions and the good life.  Agents often leave because they are promised a better deal after hearing what a disgruntled agent thinks they are missing. We are all in a sales business and this is the best possible way to close a deal. Listen to what someone wants and then shape your offering into an arrow that hits at the heart of their bullseye. What is really missing here is any introspection on the part of the agent who is looking for these greener pastures.Agents, some agents those who fall into the bottom rung are the ones who most often move. They find it too hard and instead of learning what to do, or applying what they have learned the look ... 05/21/2015

The Consistent Hum of Industry.  Houses sell each and every day across the country.  I just looked in my Boston Area using MLSPIN, our local MLS to report 2570 houses sold in the last month in MA. This means 85 house a day were sold. Think about that, 85 a day. That means there is a consistent hum of activity each and every day.  What is happening in your area?  I work 7 towns in MA and in those towns there were 38 luxury homes sold in the last month, more than one a day.  I chase expired and canceled listings as one of my areas of prospecting. In that same time, in these same communities there were 25 listings that became available. Can you feel the hum of consistent activity. This is luxury listings which is the top ten percent of the market.  This would indicate in regular listings t... 04/26/2015

Boston Area Spring Meetup-The competative edge.  There is no doubt that real estate is a hugely competative business.  You feel it every single day.  Mostly we compete within ourselves to keep ourselves time blocked and doing the things necessary to be active in our industry, but we also compete with those around us. Some of us compete with those in our offices who hire us to be in that office.  This is why here in Active Rain we have the competative edge.  Here in Active Rain we don't compete we complete each other. We share ideas, stories and best practices.  Our bi-annual meetups are a bachanal of enjoyment. Well maybe not really a bachanal, but I do like saying the word.Our Boston Area Spring meetup hosted by our two MA Ambassador's Praful Thakkar and myself will be held May 12th fr... 04/24/2015

Did you know, your Ambassador is here to serve?  The Ambassador's here in Active Rain are not paid, they do not receive any compensation for taking the time to answer your questions or to help you through a difficult and confusing negotiation.  Ambassador's are chosen for their unique abilities to explain our industry and be available to those who need help understanding aspects of the industry that can be confusing at time.  We are here to help you, plain and simple.New agents as well as those agents who started in the business back in the day when there was no internet can benefit from all the amazing content that is delivered fresh to you on a daily basis here in Active Rain.  When I first started back in 2009 and 2010 in earnest I had no clue.  I made it a part of my training to com... 04/17/2015

     YourStories Realty Group  StoryTeller Marketing is the tool that brings to light the true essence of a house, not a boilerplate description so common in the industry.  Storyteller Marketing communicates the home as a living–entity, containing memories and experience. It is about why the owner bought the home and how they loved and grew inside this neighborhood.  Your personal story will resonate with others.  StoryTeller Marketing gets to the heart of your property.  It shares the qualities of living in your house, in your neighborhood, in your community in a way that the Buyers reading the description will resonate with immediately.  To differentiate yourself from the others you do NOT do what everyone else is doing. Storyteller Marketing is the difference maker in real estate. Mo... 04/09/2015

Desperate? You should be. Desperation is not normally a good place to be. So many agents are desperate for the next listing, the next closing, the next client and this is a never ending circle of doom.  Desperation is the act of giving up hope. It is the feeling of having no hope and you would think this as a bad thing and it is for the most part. Desperation is not bad when you the goal is to be desperate to be the best agent/Realtor® you can be.  The focus on being the best takes away all real desperation because you don't need this hopeless feeling to obtain skills and techinques. What you need is focus on the right things.  Focusing on building a database and in communicating on a daily basis with those in your database about information they need and want.  If you are not communica... 04/05/2015

Angry Agents: What to do?  If you have been in this business for any period of time you have probably run into an angry agent.  Quite often they have been around for a long time and will tell you so immediately.  These are people who have grown up in the days when no agent was your friend, when no agent had your back, when co-broke didn't exist.  These agents are the people who look for the disrespect, they look for reasons to denigrate you or deny any truth to your statements.  So what do you do in the face of this anger? For me I do nothing.  I wish them all the best.  I offer an even and balanced opinion and if that is also met with vitriol I say good bye.  There are all kinds of agents in this world.  We will not always like them, they will not always like us. That is the way it is.... 03/27/2015

Boston Area Move In Homes Luxury Market Report March 24 2015. Brought to you by the International Luxury Homes Marketing group. Each week I monitor what is going on in the Boston area and the other areas in the world that I have clients buying and selling.  It is the Spring market here now and there is lots of new activity.  So the first thing that is happening is that the professional Realtors® that service this sector know that pricing your house correctly against the market is the best way to get the most people through your house.  Getting foot traffic is essential to creating offers.  The chart to the right shows that the newer houses coming on the market this Spring are coming on slightly lower than the properties that have remained on the market. This is why you are seeing the 7 ... 03/25/2015

Moving without the ball, or what to do when you don't know what to do. Trasactional details, when you have a client working on buying or selling often takes agents away from their duty to prospect.  Prospecting is a process that needs effort on a daily basis to be successful, this we know.  So there are so many things that take us away from that number one task.  As mentioned, transactional details is one, but so is social media, exercising, networking, educational events, and doing nothing all take your time away from the process of prospecting.  Then the month is near over and you don't have any new buyers and haven't brought in another listing or two.  There are things to do that keep you in the game when you are not. Moving without the ball I like to call it. This phrase was one Lar... 03/24/2015

Clearing the cobwebs of a Realtors® mind. Have you ever noticed that a great agent will always return your call and those who are not so great won't, or will do so after several calls. The first thing these average agents tell you is how busy they are. Really? Have you been surprised going into an open house and having the agent not look up from their phone but telling you to sign in and there is a sell sheet on the table? What are these agents doing for their clients? Communication is the single oft criticized issue between an agent and their client. Why don't some agents understand this and make it a point to speak to their clients on a regular basis? YourStories Realty Group, associated with Keller Williams 1561-Reynolds-Westwood-3 Why do some agents never change their style even tho... 02/09/2015

103 Hillview Road in Westwood MA 02090 OverviewMapsPhotosDescriptionNeighborhoodMarket Stats $324,000 Single Family Home Main Features 2 Bedrooms1 Bathroom1 Partial Bathroom1 UnitInterior: 962 sqftLot: 7,500 sqft Location 103 Hillview RoadWestwood, MA 02090USA Michael Mahoney Remax Executive Realty(617) 980-9025mike@mmahoney.comhttp://www.HomesinBostonMass.com      Listed by: Michael Mahoney Our recent listings Seller is Motivated to Make A Deal Happen Early in the New Year Subscribe to our listing feed Nearby properties for sale 02/04/2015

Things are looking up and down in relation to our real estate markets.  While the number of houses sold in this year is down from 2013 the price point is up. See what I mean?  Understanding what is going on in your market is complex with many variables.  While the market is looked at as a whole which includes the entire US, this look is only important in the abstract.  Real estate markets are local and by local I mean right down to your neighborhood versus the one down the street and around the corner in your very own town.  A Realtor® does not need to live in your neighborhood to understand it, but the Realtor® must be a student of the nieghborhood. The old axiom of using an agent from your locale has been altered with the internet in the same way that the consumer now has access to in... 12/28/2014

Gratitude and Gratefulness is what we all should be feeling at this time of the year.  I know that the average agent in the nation only makes somewhere below $40,000 in the year and in most areas of the country that isn't even a part time job salary.  Truth is many agents work part time and many full time agents only do the real work part time.  For these people there is more fear and loathing for the job.  They are the people who complain about the market and their fellow agents. They complain about thier agency and switch from one place to the next always looking for an easy way. Well, guess what, there is no easy way.  Real Estate, as a profession is simple, but it is not easy. To be successful in this business you need to  arrive at each day with a plan.  You need to know what you a... 12/23/2014

  Five Homes that Sold in Westwood, MA for November 2014       By Joseph D. Federico Real Estate Agent with Donahue Real Estate Co.                  81 Ellis Street, Westwood            Sold for: $375,000 Last list price: $374,900                                  Sold on: Nov.7, 2014 2 beds, 1.5 baths 948 square feet .17 acres   50 Webster Street, Westwood Sold for: $404,000 Last list price: $409,000 Sold on: Nov. 19, 2014 3 beds, 1 baths 1,414  square feet  .18 acre   776 High Street, Westwood Sold for: $545,000 Last list price: $559,800 Sold on: Nov. 21, 2014 4 beds, 2 baths 2,352 square feet .56 acres   74 Partridge Drive, Westwood Sold for: $1,195,000 Last list price$1,195,000 Sold on: Nov. 14, 2014 4 beds, 3 baths 5356 square feet .97 acres   22 Beechnut Road, Westwood Sold for: $1... 12/06/2014

Taking the High Road, Your Advantage is that you are in control.  So you are trying to show your client some properties and the listing agent doesn't return your phone call.  You call again, and again and then finally the get back to you and explain how busy they are. (Yeah, right.)  You take the high road and let it slide then ask to see the property.  They tell you to call their office and arrange the showing. This is after the listing states unequivocally that the call should be to the agent.  It is 6PM now and the office is closed forcing you to wait until at least 9AM the next day.  I call my client to let them know I don't yet have the appointment but should be able to set it up tomorrow.  Of course they assume you are doing your job when it is really the listing agent.  Take the ... 11/28/2014

Agent collaboration, why not I often ask my competing agents. Here is the scene. We each compete for the same listings. Sometimes they win; sometimes I win, that is the way it goes.  There are some agencies that want to sell their own listings and not anyone else’s, so they will instruct their agents not to see the home. They  won't bring their clients who might want and love the property to the property. Crazy, right?  Why would you deprive your client of a home that might be right for them just because it is listed with a competing agent, or agency?  In the Realtor® code this expressly prohibited. And yet it has been a common practice since back when the Agents ruled the world. That is no longer the case. That practice is still prevalent in some of the communities I service. Here is a... 11/28/2014

Commission breath is a turn off to any Seller, Buyer or Prospect.  There are many indications that you have commission breath.  One of the most obvious is complaining about the efforts you have to make for a client with more needs than normal.  Another will surprise you….taking overpriced listings.  When you accept your Seller’s estimation of what the price on their home should be you are not doing you own work, or are not able to communicate market pricing.  You are accepting the overpricing because you want a listing. That is commission breath.  Your thinking may be to get the listing and chase the market down.  Again, this too is commission breath.  You are doing no favor to your Seller, or the neighborhood in which this property sits.   The listing will sit longer on the market and ... 11/28/2014

Westwood, MA SF Housing Report Nov 2014 There are 90 properties that show up in the last 30 days in Westwood. They are Actives, Under Agreements (UAG), Solds, Expireds and Canceled listings.  Westwood is a town located South and West of Boston. It is a community with highly regarded schools and a range of properties from affordable to luxury.  Let's dive into the MLS (MLSPIN which serves the Boston area) statistics. This does not include properties sold by other means. These other means like FSBO's and estate sales rarely are any more than 20% of the market and often far less.  This is good considering that these sales are often for odd prices outside the normal statistical analysis. Single Family Active Listings: 58    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 3,385.45     Avg. List$: $1,086,268    Avg. Lis... 11/26/2014

Surrounded by greatness, That's the key. It has been said, you can't pick your family and this is true. But you can pick those who surround you on a daily basis.  The key to success is surrounding yourself with great people. People you admire and respect, people who make you better just because you know them enough to know how they are great.  We all have had friends and colleagues who are happy to suck your lifeblood with their complaining, negative attitudes, wrong thinking, over ego, etc...The truth is that when these people come into your life your first reaction should be RUN!  Listen to the people around you, do they raise the level of conversation of make excuses why things can't or won't go right? In the last couple of years I have fallen prey to a couple of artful con people.  ... 09/23/2014