Market Perspective | Landvest Blog

Dec

Middlesex County, MA Real Estate News: High-End Market Watch, Q1-Q3, 2000-2011
By LandVest

Middlesex County, Massachusetts is the most populous county in New England and is located west and northwest of Boston. It contains some of the wealthier towns in Massachusetts and was recently ranked 10th in the country in terms of the number of millionaires. It includes urban, suburban and rural areas reaching from urban Cambridge, home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to the New Hampshire border. Within Route 95/128, towns with high-end real estate include Belmont with its attractive historic Belmont Hill section, Lexington of Revolutionary fame, Newton, particularly the Chestnut Hill area and home to Boston College, and Winchester with wonderful vistas across the Mystic Lakes. Between Route 95/128 and Route 495, along the Route 2 and Route 20 corridors, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston are small historic towns that have maintained a sense of their rural past. Sherborn is an anomaly linked more to the neighboring equestrian towns of Dover and Medfield in Norfolk County. Outside Route 495, Groton is notable for its early nineteenth century architecture, substantial farmland and two highly-regarded boarding schools: Groton School and Lawrence Academy.

Active Listings and Sales, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2011

In Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the first three quarters of 2011 the inventory of high-end listings shrank from record levels in the previous quarter (154 vs. 193 listings at the end of June) and compared to the same time last year (182 listings at the end of September 2010). The first quarter of 2011 had experienced a dramatic decrease in high-end listings down to nearly record lows of 130 so the second quarter was particularly active in terms of new listings coming on the market and the reduction in the number of listings in the third quarter is even more striking.

High-end sales through September are slightly higher than last year (63 vs. 57 in 2010), but significantly behind the average of 74 sales over the past 12 years. Peak high-end sales for the first three quarters occurred in 2007 with 105 sales. The first quarter of 2011 started off more strongly than 2010 and several record sales created an optimistic buzz in the brokerage community. The second quarter did not keep up this accelerated pace and, while the third quarter of 2011 was stronger than last year, at the end of September the number of sales is off approximately 40% from the peak. On the positive side, while off from the peak, the high-end market in Middlesex County appears to have stablilzed at a reasonable level compared to historic levels of inventory and sales.

Highest And Average Sale, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2011

Sale prices for the first two quarters peaked in 2005 to 2007 at the $6,000,000 to $7,000,000 level with an anomalous $10,000,000 sale in 2008. In 2011, the top sale to date was a record $15,600,000 in Weston. There was another nearly record sale in Weston at $8,350,000. Average sale prices have been generally more stable in the range of $2,700,000 to $2,900,000 over the past 10 years. In the first three quarters of 2011 the average sale price was $2,870,048.

Days On Market, Sales, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2011

Days on market for high-end sales in the first three quarters have varied considerably over the past 12 years. Average days on market through September of 2011 were 183 vs. 180 in 2010, 240 in 2009 and 173 in 2008. The average days on market for the first three quarters over the period 2000-2011 was 178. Despite the continued uncertainty in the market, special properties expertly presented and well priced are selling, but it can take time, although not much longer than in years past. Buyers continue to demand value and are leery of projects. Land sales have been mixed with developers being particularly risk averse.

Sales By Town, $2,000,000+, Q1-Q3, 2000-2011

Ten of the 54 cities and towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts had high-end sales in the first three quarters of 2011. Newton was the leader with 18 sales followed by Weston (12), Cambridge (10), Belmont (6), Lexington (6), Winchester (4), Concord (2), Lincoln (2), Sherborn (2), and Sudbury (1). For sales in the first three quarters over the period 2000-2011, the leaders are Weston (219), Newton (201), Cambridge (138), Concord (99), Lexington (56), and Lincoln (37). On a population-adjusted basis, Weston remains the sales leader followed by Concord and Lincoln.

Stonegate Farm in Wayland, MA is currently for sale

Wayland Pastorale in Wayland, MA
was a record sale

Riverwalk in Lincoln, MA was a record sale

Click for more information about Middlesex County Real Estate for sale.

This post was brought to you by Stewart Young (syoung@landvest.com). Whether it’s an elegant Greek Revival in Lincoln, a 130 acre farm in Medfield, or a waterfront summer estate on Stage Harbor in Chatham, Stewart advises buyers and sellers of some of the most distinctive properties in Massachusetts with a focus on Cape Cod, and the Metro West area of Boston. View Stewart’s current Real Estate listings.

The LandVest High-End Market Watch is a periodic review of select high-end markets in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Adirondacks. Market data are collected from Multiple Listing Services and do not include private listings. LandVest makes no representation as to the accuracy of the data and therefore is not responsible for any actions taken as a result of use of or reliance on this information.

For additional information about LandVest’s real estate consulting, appraisal and brokerage services, please contact Ruth Kennedy Sudduth.

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Dec

LandVest Real Estate Activity in Maine: A Reason for Optimism
By LandVest

This entry is brought to you by Terry Sortwell and Shannon Thompson, who assist and advise real estate owners and buyers of fine homes and estates throughout Midcoast Maine.

We at LandVest
have seen increased activity this year,
with a number of encouraging sales. The statistics—and other characteristics of the
market—suggest that values and sales activity
are in a holding pattern at the bottom. Statistics from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) show that
in the coastal towns from Boothbay to Blue Hill there have been twenty sales of properties priced
over a million so far this year, with one sale pending. Of these, seven are LandVest listings.
Statewide, there have been 119 sales and 12 sales are pending. This is consistent with the number of
sales in 2010 (27 in the midcoast region, 140 statewide.)

Indian Head, Northeast Harbor, Story Litchfield's LandVest listing, was the highest recorded residential sale in the state of Maine

Statewide at the very top of the market, above $3 million, there have
been nine sales statewide, and four sales are pending. Of these thirteen sales, eight were LandVest
listings, and four of the five sales above $4 million were LandVest listings. There were twelve
sales above $3 million in 2010.

A recent white paper by Edward
Chancellor from the global investment management firm GMO examined the stages of the real estate
cycle. Typically the peak is characterized by high valuations, high levels of private sector credit
growth, new forms of lending, high levels of construction, speculative purchasing, and rising
interest rates. A credit crunch and defaults on existing property loans generally signal the turn,
and then the market begins the long, slow slide into “the trough,” where the market tends to linger
due to the lack of liquidity in real estate. We are clearly in this trough, which is characterized
by low valuations, lower leverage, low housing turnover, pent-up demographic demand, and continuing
pessimism toward real estate. Since markets tend to move more slowly on a decline or when moving
laterally, they usually spend several years in the trough.

The Real Estate Cycle in Five Stages, source: GMO

The real estate market is moving through its paces, and there are
reasons for optimism, especially on the coast of Maine. On average, it has taken real estate markets
five years to hit the trough after a bubble, and it’s been five years since housing prices peaked.
And Chancellor believes there are other indications that the worst is over: valuations are
reasonable. Mortgages are available, and at lower rates than we’ve seen in decades. Supply remains
elevated relative to demand, but sales have fallen to an extent that if demand recovers to normal
levels, excess supply would disappear—and in some markets, be replaced by a shortage.

Caldwell Island, a record sale for Muscongus Bay, by Terry Sortwell, regional manager and principal with LandVest in Camden, Maine

Here in Maine, as in elsewhere in the country, buyers are holding back.
The vacation home market has many defining characteristics, and these days perhaps none is more
definitive than the fact that no one has to buy a second- or third- home. So the majority of buyers
are still waiting, and while they wait, demand builds, which bodes well for the future. Chancellor
believes, and we agree wholeheartedly, that the long-term fundamentals of the real estate market are
sound. When the economy recovers and unemployment declines, home prices and construction will both
pick up, and a real estate boom will follow. The new buyer, who is younger (ages 30-50) and more
mobile, is increasingly attracted to Maine,
its quality of life, and the relatively reasonable real estate values to be found here. We’re seeing
more and more buyers from this growing demographic, many with young children, deciding that it’s
time to fulfill their dream of a vacation home here.

Though we’re
in the trough, we’re not without hope, nor without sales activity. We can say with some confidence
that the stalemate between buyers and sellers that we’ve been talking about for the last couple of
years has broken. There have been enough sales of waterfront and other exceptional properties
to allow buyers, sellers, appraisers, and brokers to draw educated conclusions about valuation. With these sales we’re starting to have enough hard data to
begin to gauge real value in the current market. When sales offer more concrete rationale for
pricing, they also generate more confidence among buyers to move forward.

Lilyhaven, Isleboro, sold by Terry Sortwell and William Davisson

While we are beginning to have a better grasp on valuation and pricing,
it’s very difficult to predict what’s going to sell or in what period of time. At the top of the
market, most properties are experiencing slight decreases in value, though the very best among them
are holding value well. The sale (by our Northeast Harbor broker Story Litchfield) of a property on
Somes Sound for $12.25 million was the highest residential sale
ever in the state of Maine. In our own area, our February sale of Caldwell Island in St. George for $4.7 million is another
example of an exceptional property holding its value well, as is the sale of a property on Deep Cove inn Port Clyde for $1.9 million, and the sale of land parcels on
North Haven for $1.7 million. A property on Bremen Long Island that sold in early October for
$635,000 was one of several that attracted multiple offers.

Another peculiarity of this market has been dramatic bursts of activity in
very small markets. Islesboro, for instance, only had one sale over a million in 2006 and 2007. Then
in the three years between 2008 and 2011, sales activity jumped, with eight sales in this range.
There have been two sales this year. Similarly, the market on North Haven was dead quiet for years,
with only three sales above a million in the five years leading up to 2011. This summer and fall
there were six sales.

It remains to be seen whether these flurries
are isolated bubbles of activity or something of greater significance—pointing, perhaps, to renewed
confidence in Maine real estate. We certainly hope it’s the latter and
have many reasons to believe so.

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Sep

Boston Globe Quotes Terry Boyle in Article on Cohasset Waterfront Properties – 2011
By LandVest

Terry Boyle from LandVest, who lives and works on the South Shore of Boston, is quoted in the Boston Globe article titled “On Cohasset Waterfront, 3 very pricey offerings”. Globe business writer Johanna Seltz examined the current state of Cohasset’s high end real estate market, including the historic context of the South Shore market and talked with Terry about his view of Cohasset waterfront properties, his listing of Red Oaks, and South Shore luxury real estate in particular.

“It has a private causeway leading up to the house. There really are no neighbors at all….” Click here to read the full article. Please note the following correction; the article erroneously attributed the sale of the $10M property on the South Shore to another brokerage firm when in fact that sale was a LandVest sale.

Contact Terry Boyle at LandVest in Boston, MA for more information about real estate for sale in Cohasset or on the South Shore, or if you are considering listing your home for sale. Tboyle@landvest.com

This waterfront estate is situated on a forty foot high granite outcropping with expansive views of Little Harbor in Cohasset.

Red Oaks is a magnificent private estate on 7.9 acres.

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Sep

Maine Coast Real Estate News: High-End Market Showing Increase in Activity
By LandVest

Indian Head, Northeast Harbor, ME Listed At: $15,500,000 was the highest recorded residential sale in the state of Maine. Broker: Story Litchfield

Despite global economic and stock market concerns, the high-end coastal Maine real estate market is seeing a positive increase in activity. Terry Sortwell of LandVest in Camden, Maine reports on the coastal Maine real estate market. “In the last six weeks we have had an unexpected surge in the number of productive showings in midcoast Maine. Despite market conditions, the buyers that we have spoken to lately do not appear to be concerned with making a real estate investment. On the contrary, they feel they are getting a good deal and feel a sense of urgency: if they don’t buy, someone else will.” That sense of urgency is not without merit. “Several of our recent sales have had more than one person on the waiting list,” says Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, director of the Residential Brokerage Division. “an occurance that we have not seen happen in quite some time.” In addition, the recent activity has a wide spread in terms of price points. Story Litchfield of LandVest’s Northeast Harbor office recently brokered the sale of Indian Point which was the highest residential sale in the state of Maine.

John Saint-Amour from LandVest’s Portland office reports similar increased activity in southern coastal Maine and into the western lakes region. With buyers looking for value, sellers are working with realistic offers and properties are selling. For the entire state of Maine since 1/1/2011, John reports that there have been 15 sales at $2,000,000 and over. LandVest did 7 of these 15 sales. Of the 11 “pending” transactions in the $2,000,000 and over, LandVest is responsible for four of these properties.

William Davisson, also of the LandVest Portland office, reports dramatic increased activity from buyers having interest in properties in Southern Maine. Oceanfront positions, proximity to amenities, accessibility to transportation, and relative turn-key quality define search parameters for these buyers. The recent financial market turmoil has not deterred prospect property visits with most buyers. It is generally acknowledged that value in Maine Coast real estate is present. York and Cumberland Counties currently have three properties pending, and one sold, listed above $3MM. LandVest represented the Sellers for the $4.2MM sale, and is managing two of the pending transactions.

John Scribner, also from the LandVest Portland office, reports there seems to be a sense that the bottom has been realized and that the market is beginning to turn. This phenomenon requires a unique property with realistic pricing (there has to be the appearance of a good deal for all parties) but it is an emotion we are sensing in the market place we have not seen in a long time. The coast of Maine has been a dream of many for many years, but sellers over confidence (over pricing) and market conditions (recessionary times) have limited opportunities for intelligent buyers. The barriers to entry seem to have lifted a bit.

Below is an illustrative collection of LandVest – Maine listings that have gone under agreement or sold in the last few weeks.

Pine Knot, Kennebunk, ME, $3,850,000 -Broker: John Scribner

Seabury Farm, York Harbor, ME $3,495,000 Broker John Saint-Amour

Long Reach, Harpswell, ME $1,745,000 Broker: John Saint-Amour

Eastern Bay Farm, North Haven, Maine, $1,875,000 Broker: Terry Sortwell

Harbor House, St. George, ME $975,000 Broker: Terry Sortwell/John Saint-Amour representing the buyer

Deep Cove, St. George, ME, $2,175,000 Broker: Terry Sortwell

Isleview, Seal Harbor, Mount Desert, ME, $950,000 Broker: Story Litchfield

Pratt's Island Cottage Southport, ME, $1,250,000 Broker: John Scribner

Lilyhaven, Islesboro, ME, $3,495,000 Broker: William Davisson

For more information about buying or selling distinctive real estate in Coastal Maine or information about any of the properties that have sold or are under agreement in Bar Harbor, Northeast Harbor and the Down East area, Camden/Rockport and the mid-coast Maine region, York County, Greater Portland and Boothbay Harbor regions, contact one of our Maine Real Estate Brokers.

Camden, Maine Area Real Estate Broker

Portland, Maine Area Real Estate Broker

Northeast Harbor, Area Real Estate Broker

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Jul

Middlesex County, MA Real Estate News: High-End Market Watch, First Half, 2000-2011
By LandVest

Middlesex County, Massachusetts is the most populous county in New England and is located west and northwest of Boston. It contains some of the wealthier towns in Massachusetts and was recently ranked tenth in the country in terms of the number of millionaires. It includes urban, suburban and rural areas reaching from urban Cambridge, home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to the New Hampshire border. Along Route 95/128, towns with high-end real estate include Belmont with its attractive historic Belmont Hill section, Lexington of Revolutionary fame, Newton, particularly the Chestnut Hill area and home to Boston College, and Winchester with wonderful vistas across the Mystic Lakes. Between Route 95/128 and Route 495, along the Route 2 and Route 20 corridors, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston are small historic towns that have maintained a sense of their rural past. Sherborn is an anomaly linked more to the neighboring equestrian towns of Dover and Medfield in Norfolk County. Outside Route 495, Groton is notable for its early nineteenth century architecture, substantial farmland and two highly-regarded boarding schools: Groton School and Lawrence Academy.

Active Listings and Sales, $2,000,000+, First Half 2000-2011

In Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the first half of 2011 the inventory of high-end listings grew to record levels (193 vs.183 listings in 2010). The first quarter of 2011 had experienced a dramatic decrease in high-end listings down to nearly record lows of 130 so the second quarter was particularly active in terms of new listings coming on the market.

First half high-end sales are slightly higher than last year (42 vs. 40 in 2010) and about at average levels for the past 12 years. Peak high-end sales for the first two quarters occurred in 2007 with 61 sales and in 2005 with 60 sales. The first quarter of 2011 started off more strongly than 2010 and several record sales created an optimistic buzz in the brokerage community. While the second quarter did not keep up this accelerated pace and the number of sales is off approximately 30% from the peak, the high-end market in Middlesex County appears to have stabilized at a very healthy level.

Highest And Average Sale, $2,000,000+, First Half, 2000-2011

Sale prices for the first two quarters peaked in 2005 to 2007 at the $6,000,000 to $7,000,000 level with an anomalous $10,000,000 sale in 2008. In 2011, the top sale to date was a record $15,600,000 in Weston. There was another nearly record sale in Weston at $8,350,000. Average first half sale prices have been generally more stable in the range of $2,700,000 to $2,900,000 over the past 10 years. In the first half of 2011 the average sale price was $3,067,976, skewed by these two exceptional sales.

Days On Market, Sales, $2,000,000+, First Half, 2000-2011

Days on market for first half high-end sales have varied considerably over the past 12 years. Average days on market for the first half of 2011 were 197 vs. 216 in 2010, 258 in 2009 and 186 in 2008. The average days on market for the first half over the period 2000-2011 was 194. Despite the continued uncertainty in the market, special properties expertly presented and well priced are selling, but it can take time. Buyers continue to demand value and are leery of projects. Land had been mixed with developers being particularly risk averse.

Sales By Town, $2,000,000+, First Half, 2000-2011

Nine of the 54 cities and towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts had high-end sales in the first half of 2011. Newton was the leader with 14 sales followed by Weston (8), Cambridge (5), Belmont (4), Lexington (4), Winchester (3), Concord (2), Sherborn (1), and Sudbury (1). For first half sales over the period 2000-2011, the leaders are Weston (134), Newton (116), Cambridge (76), Concord (49), and Lexington (38), and Lincoln (22). On a population-adjusted basis, Weston remains the sales leader followed by Concord and Lincoln.

Stonegate Farm is currently for sale in Wayland, MA

River Road Farm is currently for sale in Carlisle, MA

Click for more information about Middlesex County Real Estate for sale.

For additional information about LandVest’s real estate consulting, appraisal and brokerage services, please contact Ruth Kennedy Sudduth.

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Jul

Buyer Demographic Survey 2011
By LandVest

A recent informal survey of LandVest brokers throughout our network reveals an important demographic shift in buyers of high-end real estate. While as recently as five years ago, the leading group was the empty nester seeking a retirement home, today’s buyer is more likely to head a young family with children. Interestingly, sellers, with an average age of 72, are now a full generation older than these buyers, who average 45 years old.

This new cohort of buyers is affluent. The average size of our most recent transactions was $3 million. They are geographically mobile. Of 39 recent LandVest transactions, nine of which were in Greater Boston primary home markets, the buyers came from nine states and three countries, including multiple buyers from Canada and the U.K.

This theme is consistent regardless of whether we look at primary home or second home markets. In Greater Boston, couples with young children are upgrading to large houses on family friendly sites, generally in excellent or like new condition. Our Maine offices are seeing buyers in their 30s and 40s who already have connections to Maine. They are returning to the state, seeking Maine coast property to give their children the opportunity to experience the Maine summer magic that they treasured when they were kids themselves.

The way buyers communicate and do business has changed too. These new buyers are tech savvy and well-informed; they move at a fast pace, manage multiple competing priorities on the fly, and they expect instant responses to communication. The web is their key resource, and they are intensive researchers of property and markets. They carry smartphones (predominantly iPhones and BlackBerries), and many carry iPads as well. All communicate via email, but a rising share prefers text messaging to email. Most are on Facebook and LinkedIn.

These buyers are looking for family homes with luxury amenities. In many markets, they are seeking either exceptional privacy or a village setting in very close proximity (i.e. walking distance) to town centers, children’s activities, and services. For the most part, they’re most interested in, and willing to pay for, houses that are already “done,” updated to current standards and offering all the desirable amenities.

One of our fiduciary clients, the president of an international wealth management firm, commented that his older clients were still behaving very conservatively after the recession. Younger clients of wealth, perhaps more confident that they have many years of wealth creation in front of them, have been the leaders in purchasing landmark properties in this recovering high end market environment.

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May

Bangor Daily News Gets Midcoast Maine Real Estate Perspective from Terry Sortwell
By LandVest

Terry Sortwell, Regional Manager in our Camden, Maine office, is quoted in the Bangor Daily News article (BDN) titled Housing Bloom? BDN business writer Matt Wickenheiser examined the current state of Maine’s real estate markets, including coastal Maine real estate, and talked to Terry for his view of Maine waterfront properties and Maine luxury real estate in particular.

Terry Sortwell is a principal and regional manager at LandVest’s Camden office. The firm deals in high-end properties, generally more than $1 million. He suggested that the current market conditions have shown, once again, that real estate is not a liquid investment.

“If there’s not a lot of demand for the property you own, you can reduce the price way down below what one would think it’s worth and still not sell it,” said Sortwell. “You can’t make a market for it — that’s part of the frustration many sellers are going through.”

The market he deals in got very quiet about three years ago, reviving a bit last year, said Sortwell.

“Basically, buyers have been …” Read the full article

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Apr

Private Properties – Perspectives on Luxury Real Estate – Mid-Coast Maine
By LandVest

This blog post is brought to you by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, who, as the director of LandVest’s Residential Brokerage Division, has a unique perspective on the luxury real estate market. This regular feature will chronicle special places and give readers insights on New England’s high end real estate market.

One of the great pleasures of directing the LandVest Residential Real Estate Group is seeing the truly remarkable properties we have for sale, and understanding their appeal through the eyes of our team of experts in each regional market. LandVest has offices and experts in the markets where the most special properties exist. The best real estate tends to be in locations where beauty and sense of place have been recognized for generations, making for truly remarkable combinations of site and houses. This series of blog entries explores some of these special places and some of the remarkable private properties hidden within them.

On up the coast to Camden and Rockport to meet with Terry Sortwell and Shannon Thompson. Camden’s streets tip and wrap along the rocky shoreline of the harbor, with gaps between the buildings opening to glimpses of lobster boats and moored cruising schooners.

Camden Harbor Waterfront is a rare investment opportunity with a variety of possibilities, and the best of Camden’s waterfront vistas.

Though the population bulges in the summer, the year-round community is vital enough to support a thriving village life, with most shops and top-notch restaurants staying open through the seasons, and several noteworthy conferences and recreational and cultural events happening through fall, winter and spring. Including internationally known Pop!Tech, the highly regarded foreign affairs symposium Camden Conference , the Camden Snow Bowl hosting the National Toboggan Championships, and the renovated historic Strand Cinema in Rockland, bringing first run movies, nationally recognized music acts, and the Met Opera live in HD.

My favorite place may not be the most glamorous, but the Boynton McKay coffee shop, located in an old pharmacy, serves up amazing sticky buns and thick, homemade French toast. At the other end of the spectrum, Francine Bistro just down the street resonates to a cooler downtown vibe, with excellent seasonal menus well-presented. Life in the Camden/Rockport region is civilized, with amenities ranging from the excellent Bay Chamber concert series to a great pool at the Penobscot Bay YMCA for lap swimming. Road biking is fantastic along the back roads that fan out from town, with harbor vistas shifting to quiet lakes and open farmland. The hills above Camden have wonderful hiking, with the reward of big views of Penobscot Bay when you get to the top.

The LandVest office in Camden is in a beautiful harbor location, tucked up in an old sail loft down near the waterfront. Above the harbor, climbing creaking stairs, it feels a world away from the generic American strip. Camden is a base for exploring Penobscot Bay, a huge protected bay dotted with islands, perfect for leisurely exploration by sail, motor, or paddle. The landscape is varied, with each change of aspect yielding another beautiful view. Because Maine coast real estate is all about the water and the views, exploring real estate for sale by boat, including private islands for sale, is the way to go.

Terry’s deceptively simple work boat is big and safe, though elegant and comfortable, and it makes for the best possible views of the great properties which would otherwise be hidden from view at the end of long driveways. Island living is one of coastal Maine’s great pleasures, and LandVest has listed and sold many remarkable properties. Island properties are the Camden office’s specialty, and Terry is arguably the region’s most experienced, knowledgeable and qualified broker for island real estate. The recent sale of Caldwell Island near Port Clyde—another record-setting island sale—is a fine example. Current listing Davis Island, also in Muscongus Bay, offers an exceptional opportunity of the highest quality for a buyer seeking a turn-key private island. The Grace Estate is an island property of equally exceptional quality offering a very different experience. A historic early 20thc. “cottage” on Islesboro, the property encompasses 8.8± acres at the end of a private peninsula with spectacular views of the Camden Hills and down Penobscot Bay to open ocean. In addition to the 8-bedroom year-round residence, the estate also includes a guest house, boat house, deepwater dock, professional putting green, and saltwater swimming pool.

With waterfront properties ranging from understated oceanfront cottages to impeccably appointed private estates, Maine island properties offer a summer experience like no other.

Click below to view more Camden, Maine Real Estate for Sale

Central Coast Maine real estate for sale

Blue Hill real estate for sale

Pemaquid Peninsula properties for sale

Maine Island properties for sale

To view properties throughout maine: Distinctive Maine Real Estate

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Apr

2011 Shows the Way to a Gradual Real Estate Recovery in Vermont
By LandVest

This entry is brought to you by Story Jenks who assists buyers and homeowners of distinctive Land, Estates and Farms throughout Vermont.

2010 was a year of consolidation across the markets we serve. With pricing well off the highs of 2005, and approaching 2001 levels in many markets, seller expectations became realistic and buyers stepped in to pick up attractive deals with cash. Yankee thrift largely avoided the distressed market prevalent in the Southwest and California, and bottom-fishers have largely been frustrated at trying to pick off superb properties which hold considerable value despite the market.

LandVest led record sales through this challenging market, reflecting our strength and the quality of the properties we represent. Wyck Estate – spectacular waterfront French chateau reproduction in Manchester, MA was offered for $12.25 million. Lochland – eclipsed only by the previous New Hampshire record set by LandVest in 2006, this former home of Babe and William Paley on Squam Lake sold for $6.85 million. Round Pond Road – remarkable Martha’s Vineyard beachfront property was offered for $18 million and sold in early 2011, setting the tone for a stronger spring market.

North Mowing, located in Springfield, Vermont is privately set on 230± acres and is currently for sale. The amenity-rich estate offers nine clapboard buildings in an idylic Vermont setting.

Vermont

Sales Volume
The Vermont high-end market is predominantly a second (or third…) home market, driven by want rather than need. 2010 volume of state-wide residential sales over $1 million topped 60, improving ever so slightly from 2009’s trough of 54 sales, but down over 57% from the peak in 2005. Sales over $2 million showed a similar trend with a bigger rebound in 2010, but off the peak by 62%. The average marketing period lengthened to over 1.5 years.

It was not until end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 that the scale of price decreases became clear. Here are sample sales in the primary high-end markets in Vermont. (more…)

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Feb

Middlesex County Real Estate News: High-End Market Watch
By LandVest

Middlesex County, Massachusetts is the most populous county in New England and is located west and northwest of Boston. It contains some of the wealthier towns in Massachusetts and was recently ranked tenth in the country in terms of the number of millionaires. It includes urban, suburban and rural areas reaching from urban Cambridge, home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to the New Hampshire border. Along Route 95/128, towns with high-end real estate include Belmont with its attractive historic Belmont Hill section, Lexington of Revolutionary fame, Newton, particularly the Chestnut Hill area and home to Boston College, and Winchester with wonderful vistas across the Mystic Lakes. Between Route 95/128 and Route 495, along the Route 2 and Route 20 corridors, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston are small historic towns that have maintained a sense of their rural past. Sherborn is an anomaly linked more to the neighboring equestrian towns of Dover and Medfield in Norfolk County. Outside Route 495, Groton is notable for its early nineteenth century architecture, substantial farmland and two highly-regarded boarding schools: Groton School and Lawrence Academy.

ACTIVE LISTINGS AND SALES, $2,000,000+, YEAR END, 2000-2010

In Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the fourth quarter of 2010, the inventory of high-end listings shrank as expected in the winter months to 114 listings from a third quarter level of 182. The record for year-end inventory was 133 listings in 2005. The number of high-end sales peaked in 2006 (121 sales) and 2007 (126 sales). The past three years have seen considerably less activity: ninety-eight sales in 2008, sixty sales in 2009, and eighty-one sales in 2010, an increase of 35% over 2009. However, 2010 sales remained 36% lower than the peak in 2007. The uptick in sales in the first quarter of 2010 was sustained in the first half, lagged in the third quarter, and came back strongly in the fourth quarter. Towns with high-end sales in 2010 were Belmont, Cambridge, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Newton, Sudbury, Wayland, Weston and Winchester.

HIGHEST AND AVERAGE SALE, $2,000,000+, YEAR END, 2000-2010

In 2010, the top sale in Middlesex County was $6,500,000 in Chestnut Hill (Newton). In the past eleven years, the highest sale recorded in MLS for Middlesex County was $10,000,000 in Weston in 2008. There was also a private sale in Weston in 2008 for $11,265,000. Average year-end sale prices have been generally stable in the range of $2,600,000 to $2,900,000 over the past eleven years. In 2010 the average sale price was $2,640,536.

DAYS ON MARKET, SALES, $2,000,000+, YEAR END, 2000-2010

Days on market for high-end sales have varied dramatically over the past eleven years. In the first quarter of 2010, properties that did sell sold quickly, while in the rest of 2010 days on market increased, but were better than in 2009. Average days on market for 2010 were 187 vs. 236 in 2009 and 164 in 2008. Despite the continued uncertainty in the market, special properties expertly presented and well-priced are selling. Success in 2011, as in 2010, will depend on reaching out to a broad market with a strong value proposition.

SALES BY TOWN, $2,000,000+, YEAR END, 2000-2010

Ten of the fifty-four cities and towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts had high-end sales in 2010. Over the period 2000-2010, Weston was the leader with 246 sales, followed by Newton (226), Cambridge (166) and Concord (120). On a population-adjusted basis, Weston was also the leader by a three-fold margin, followed by Concord and Lincoln.

The Monument Street Estate is currently available for sale in Concord.

This Classic Shingle-style on Nashawtuc Hill is currently available for sale in Concord.

Click for more information about Middlesex County Real Estate for sale.

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