What a year it’s been since I sat down to write for our last annual newsletter! Then, I was just settling into my new position here at Chatelain Real Estate and was looking forward to a wonderful year. What’s that they say about ‘the best laid plans’?  While the Cape has been experiencing a record-breaking real estate market, many people and [...]

December Review: 

 December's market performance continued the trend we have been seeing since June - massive seasonally adjusted increases in median price, closed sales, and new listings.  Why?  Massive seasonally adjusted decreases in inventory - December 2020 saw only 40% of the inventory of 2019.  But these numbers are offset somewhat by [...]

All my life, I’ve been a cat person. I liked their begrudging acceptance of affection and our shared love of naps. 
And then 2020 happened. 
I avoided panic-adopting a puppy in March, but by June, I decided there was indeed room in my life for a fluffy companion. Mid-July, I got the call that the incredibly pathetic looking creature I’d been [...]

November Review: 

  While 2020 is remarkable with exceptionally high median sales prices and low inventory, it is beginning to see the usual winter slow down - although this slow down still outpaces anything we have seen in the past.  Median sales price in Barnstable county continues to climb and is up 33% from this time last year.  [...]

October Review: 

  The Cape Cod real estate market continues its unprecedented year.  Most remarkably is that median sales price remains at $550,000, up 25% from this time last year.  What is driving this increase?  Demand.  Both closed sales and pending sales are up more than 40% from this time last year and inventory is incredibly low, at [...]

Whether you are buying, selling, or renting your home, one of the most important decisions you will make is who will represent your interests during the transaction. Those representatives should always be experienced local professionals with strong relationships in the community. I recently closed a transaction that perfectly illustrated just how important those relationships may end up being. Take a look:

Three days before closing on a seller client’s home the buyer’s attorney discovered two title issues which were going to prevent us from closing: an undischarged mortgage and an outstanding right of first refusal from the original developer. Title issues are always trouble but this was particularly troubling because my sellers were using the funds from their sale to purchase another home on the same day – a delay on the sale would cause serious complications for everyone involved. But my clients had done the right thing – they had carefully selected a team of experience professionals with strong connections in their respective professional communities. Here’s what happened:

We were in a rush so the attorney asked me (as the seller’s agent) to work on the right of first refusal while she and the sellers dug in on the mortgage. Because of my local knowledge, I happened to know who the developer was, and that he had retired and sold his business about 15 years ago. I also happened to know who he sold the business to, and have a working relationship with that person. So I called him up and got the contact info for his predecessor. I then spoke with the developer who sent me to his attorney here in Yarmouth. I called the attorney, with whom I have closed dozens of deals and asked for a favor. That afternoon the document was prepared and signed. First problem solved.

But what about the second problem? The mortgage on the home had been paid off for 10 years, but the bank never recorded the discharge. [Editor’s note: this happens ALL THE TIME. Always call your bank to make sure they recorded the discharge after your last payment to avoid this issue yourself]. The mortgage was, sadly, with a large national bank, so my sellers’ tearful trip to the branch was useless. So they regrouped and, on a lark, called their financial advisor. At dinner time on a weeknight. He picked right up. They explained the situation and he said, “You know what, I know someone who works in the mortgage department at that bank’s headquarters. Let me reach out to him.” By noon the next day they had satisfactory documentation of the discharged mortgage in hand, thanks to their finance guy’s local relationship within the bank.

We sent the completed file to the buyer’s attorney, the transaction closed as scheduled on Friday, my clients bought their new house that afternoon, and everyone walked away happy. Disaster averted.

So what was the trick? Local relationships. My clients had carefully selected a team of local experts and it paid off big time. Think about it like this – what if their Realtor hadn’t been local? Would the seller’s attorney have known and trusted him to solve part of the problem, or would she have had to extend the closing date to give her time to do it herself? Would the agent have known immediately who to call to track down the long-since retired out of state developer? Would the developer’s attorney have been willing to do the agent a favor by rushing the file? What if their financial advisor had been a nameless associate at a large firm who they couldn’t reach after hours? Or who didn’t have personal local relationships within the industry? Would they have still closed on time? Maybe. Maybe they would have gotten lucky. But why leave it to chance? Real Estate is a team sport – when you assemble your team, make sure to pick local professionals who have the experience and relationships in their industries to give you the best representation possible.

Every few years it is worth evaluating the costs and benefits of paying off your mortgage early.  We'll discuss four scenarios with a home purchased for $450,000, 20% down and 2.75% interest on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. For the purposes of this exercise we will be calculating principal and interest payments and not including mortgage [...]

September Review: 

 The Cape Cod real estate market continues its foray into uncharted waters.  September saw the highest single family median sales price ever recorded in Barnstable County at $550,000. Additionally inventory remains incredibly low with only 921 homes available cape-wide.  These two factors are putting incredible pressure on [...]

Though it’s practically treason to say so, fall -- and not summer -- is my favorite season on Cape Cod. With fair skin and a short attention span, lying on the beach all day has never been overly appealing to me. But give me a crisp autumn day wandering around in a thick sweater, sipping a hot beverage -- now you’ve got my attention!

Usually the Cape’s fall schedule is packed with Fests, road races, and craft fairs, but this is hardly a typical year. Still, there are plenty of ways to make the best of this quieter, cooler season!

Wellfleet’s famous OysterFest is moving online this year! As always, it’s the weekend following Columbus Day, and will feature a live stream of the Shuck Off for the 20th iteration of this great event. Support the community by ordering Wellfleet oysters to eat while you watch, bid on auction items, and buy some great local merch!

Forget pumpkin spice: the fall is cranberry season. There’s something very pleasing and orderly about watching them round up all of the cranberries for harvest (not to mention highly Instagrammable). Watch the process in action in Harwich off Exit 10 or in Yarmouth on Weir Road, go for a walking tour of a working bog, or just pick up some delicious, locally-grown goodies! 

Lower temperatures mean more time spent outside without immediately being covered in sweat. Nothing beats soaking up the warm sunshine, cool ocean breezes, and changing foliage on a Thoreau-esque stroll in nature! Try the Boardwalk Trail in Wellfleet or on the John Wing Trail in Brewster for a peaceful moment of solitude that feels miles away from civilization….but is still close enough to grab lunch when you’re done. 

Somehow, we’ve made it this far through 2020. The change of seasons is a perfect moment to pause and reflect on how far we’ve come…and then brace yourself for the upcoming holiday season. So enjoy being outside while the sunlight lasts, and as always, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance! 

August Review: 

  We are in an unprecedented market on Cape Cod folks.  Sellers are heavily favored in the current clime as we are seeing multiple offers over asking price on many properties, a norm previously only seen in super-hot markets like Boston, San Francisco and other booming urban areas.  Inventory is down 51% from August last year [...]