LandVest has a 40+ year tract record of success in the sale of high-end New England Real Estate. Despite the long history, it just never gets old seeing our efforts lead to successes and seeing our success recorded in the media. Thank you Boston Business Journal for highlighting us once again. (Click on graphic to enlarge for reading.)
The LandVest web team is never at rest, and is constantly upgrading for better search engine optimization, or to make more user friendly. The most recent change consists of the move of the LandVest Blog to make it more visible to search engines and more reader friendly. Check our our new blog housed within our site at www.landvest.com/blog/. We aim to make this move as seamless as possible. Here are some quick answers to questions you may have:
When will the move take place, and how will I know it has moved?
The blog will be moved on xxx date. This is the very last post on this site. If you navigate to this site you will still find archives, but no new posts.
Will my emails subscription still work?
Yes. If you subscribed to this blog, you will continue to get blog entries emailed to you.
If I’m using an RSS reader, will I have to change anything?
No. If you happen to encounter difficulties, unsubscribe, and then add our RSS feed back into your reader.
Will my bookmarks still work?
While some of the browser bookmark issues are beyond our control, we’ll do our best to maintain your bookmark.
What else will be changing about the blog?
Most of the changes will be behind the scenes, but, you will notice a few visual updates our categories are more organized and you will be able to leave comments.
For over 40 years the LandVest Timberland, Residential, and Real Estate Consulting divisions have been investing in technology and services that allow LandVest to what we do, better than anyone else. Whether it’s the state-of-the-art-technologies that allow our GIS team to produce award winning maps, or our website that engages a targeted affluent audience and alerts potential buyers when a property matches their search criteria, LandVest invests in innovative technologies to maintain LandVest’s leadership position.
In "Vacation Homes Beckon" the Wall Street Journal suggests now is the time to purchase vacation homes such as The Grace Estate in Islesboro, Maine
There was an encouraging article in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal (“Vacation Homes Beckon”) about improving market conditions in specific high-end locations. The article suggests that buyers considering a purchase in the next five years would do well to buy now. In certain places, the vacation home market is showing a) signs that a bottom has already been reached; b) indications that things are picking up; and c) great opportunity for long-term investment. According to National Association of Realtors statistics, sales of vacation properties declined sharply (56%) from 2006 to 2010, but increased 7% in 2011. Still, prices remain soft, and in some markets, prices are clearly still dropping. The article cautions that there are sharp geographical divides, and even pronounced dichotomies within markets. The old adage “all real estate is local” is certainly true.
The WSJ writes, "...the swankiest towns—such as Chatham and Wellfleet—are making a comeback. " suggesting it's a good time to invest in this pre-construction luxury townhouse located in Chatham, MA.
We’re encouraged by the positive press, every bit of which helps stimulate buyers’ confidence, and by the statistics indicating that markets like southeastern Georgia and Cape Cod are making a comeback. Some of the specific factors fueling this recovery vary from region to region, but the one thing that rings true in all of them is that buyers are responding to prices that are too appealing to pass by. Among the markets that are “heating up” or “slowly strengthening,” prices have dropped an average of 30% off their peak, with some markets seeing drops as high as 50% and more. In markets where the “forecast is flat,” such as Scottsdale, Arizona, prices are 56% off their peak.
Click here for full article.
LandVest’s Listing of 80,200 Acre-Wausau Paper Timberlands, Enters Agreement Phase
In just a few short months, LandVest has marketed and successfully facilitated a bid event resulting in an agreement to sell Wausau Paper’s 80,200 acres of timberland holdings. Located in Northern Wisconsin, the property is expected to close prior to the end of 2011 at price of $42.9 million. Lyme Timber Company has an agreement to purchase 72,800 acres and The Forestland Group is set to purchase approximately 7,400 acres. “I am pleased to be part of the process, and pleased to work with such a remarkable team” says David Speirs, LandVest – Portland, Maine project manager and broker. Wausau paper will use sales proceeds to reduce financing requirements associated with the Tissue expansion project and, combined with their exit from the print & color markets will allow them to focus on attractive away-from-home tissue and growth–oriented technical markets.
For more information regarding the bid event sale, contact:
David Speirs, 1 City Center Portland, ME 04101 Phone: 207-874-4982 Fax: 207-774-5845 dspeirs@landvest.com
LandVest, Inc. and Charles Reinhart Company are members of The Active Enterprise Network, a union of privately-held real estate companies across the country that share information and strategy as well as a unified technology platform.
Years ago, real estate as a profession used to attract those with people skills, and often not much else in the way of education or training. A social butterfly could make a nice living taking orders from friends and acquaintances. In fact, someone with poor organizational skills were often considered to be an ideal candidate for the job.
Today, a successful Realtor needs to be disciplined, highly trained, tech savvy and have good social skills. Ever increasing regulation, environmental issues, liability factors and the complexities of deal structures have taken the degree of difficulty to a very different level. There is so much a Realtor needs to know in order to avoid legal and financial pitfalls. No one believes it will get any easier in the coming years. This sea change to the industry favors the traditional, independent brokerage model. By the year 2030, independent brokers will hold a significant advantage.
Adapting to Change
Independent model brokers pay lower commissions to agents because they provide staff for support services: marketing, technology, education, and transaction management being the most common. Franchises can function the same way, but take a percentage off the top of every commission to pay for the brand name and then divide the rest between the brokerage and the agent. 100% models, such as ReMax, pay the whole commission to the agent and charge the agent back for services used.
Franchises can not adapt fast enough to the pace of technology change. Their marketing and tech tools are built for the member masses across the country and are watered down in effectiveness to provide a common denominator. Updating website software means dealing with hundreds of boards of Realtors–a massive and slow moving project. It doesn’t get done in a way that meets the needs of clients in a timely fashion, a significant strike against franchises.
Agent Support Services
The 100% and modified 100% brokerage models do not make support services a high priority. Agents who choose that model tend to believe they can handle the details themselves, and don’t want to pay the company for them.
At Reinhart, we’re seeing that it is becoming too difficult to do the job without quality support services. An individual cannot keep up with all the details and the constant change. It takes a small army of skilled specialists to keep all the bases covered. Independent, non-franchise brokers already have a distinct advantage today and will have even more of one by 2030. They can move ahead unencumbered, offering the latest tools to clients in a way that is flexible to the particular needs of their market. Higher quality support services keep everyone on track and frees the agent to focus on selling real estate. A balanced team of specialists keeps the process moving along smoothly, ensuring the best quality information and marketing for clients and customers. Everyone wins.
By. Marsha Volchoff, VP of Operations at Charles Reinhart Company, serving Ann Arbor Real Estate, a proud participant of the Holiday Blog Swap, presented by The Active Enterprise Network.
More article on Real Estate in 2030 found here: Smith & Associates, Residential Properties, Helen Adams Realty, Murney Associates, Windermere Tri Cities, The Group, inc., Hasson Company, McEnearney Associates, N.T. Callaway, and LandVest.
For more information, click on photos or contact: Terry Sortwell tsortwell@landvest.com or Shannon Thompson sthomson@landvest.com or call 207-236-3543.
6.13 acres with walking paths to 860 feet of easily accessible shorefront
380 Port Clyde Road, St. George, ME 04860
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~1 acre property includes 260 feet of waterfront and private sand beach.
19 Sea Street, Rockport, ME 04856
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6 acres of classic island property
11 Bremen Long Island, Bremen, ME 04551
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Property is on 45 acres with tidal frontage on Davis Cove
30 Davis Point Road, Cushing, ME 04563
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453 forested acres on the shoulder of Patrick Mountain
777 Old County Rd., Washington, ME 04574
For more information on Maine Luxury Real Estate in the Camden Maine, Midcoast area contact (click link for contact info) Terry Sortwell, or Shannon Thompson
Click here to view Terry’s current listings.
This blog entry was brought to you by Norman Brown IV, a LandVest Project Manager who works in both the LandVest Residential Brokerage Division and the LandVest Real Estate Consulting Group. Norman assists buyers and sellers of unique and distinctive real estate holdings throughout the New England region and beyond, with a current concentration on the Middlesex County and Cape Cod markets.
“Rare” Earth Materials an Asset to some New England Land Owners
We hear from time to time about how emerging market countries are profiting from the presence of rare earth materials in their soils. Well, New England has its own “rare” earth materials that many landowners may not know about. Earth materials, such as sand, gravel and stone are vitally important to the economy of Massachusetts. The availability of quality earth materials is a critical aspect of the future of our infrastructure and the construction industry.
Natural earth materials are involved in every major construction project. These materials are used in the proper site preparation for buildings, houses, roads and other infrastructures. Earth materials are also used in the creation of asphalt, concrete and other finished construction materials. As such, adequate availability of these products is imperative. However, the construction industry is seeing the availability of these materials decreasing, especially in areas close to Greater Boston.
The lack of quality earth materials in the Greater Boston area provides an opportunity to landowners, whose properties may contain these vital earth materials. First, those whose properties may have quality earth materials, and whose properties are located relatively close to Boston, will benefit from the lack of local product availability and could reap the benefits financially. The market for quality earth materials is strong, even during times of a slow economy. The right materials in the right area could generate significant income for landowners.
Secondly, landowners outside of the Greater Boston area are beginning to see potential benefit because the market for earth materials is slowly coming to them. The construction industry has seen a spike in earth material prices over the past 5 years or so. The greatest factor giving rise to these price increases is the expanding geographical market for earth materials. As the availability of earth materials within the Greater Boston area decreases, material providers find themselves searching out earth materials further and further from the Greater Boston area. In doing so, the cost of transporting these materials rises, which is turn, directly increases the price of the materials on site. This provides a unique opportunity for landowners, who previously could not find a market for their land rich in earth materials. While landowners in far western Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine faced competition from lands rich in earth materials and closer to Greater Boston in the past, this competition is quickly eroding. Suddenly, these landowners are sitting on a desirable asset, and they may find themselves able to benefit financially from cashing in on that asset.
Here at LandVest we can provide consulting services, brokerage services or both to landowners who hope to benefit from the changing market for earth materials. Coming from the earth materials industry, I have a unique understanding of this market and the potential for landowners.
If you believe your land is rich in earth materials and you hope to benefit by selling the land or earth materials located thereon, please contact Norman Brown at LandVest at (617) 357-8958.
Click to view Norman Brown’s contact info
Today’s blog entry was brought to you by Daniel Tesini– LandVest -Timberland Division Project Manager and Gary Bahlkow, Director of LandVest’s Northern Timberland Transaction Group.
Why NOW is the time for Timberland Investment:
In addition to the general appeal of investing in timberland (timber beats inflation, outperforms the stock market, and offers true diversification), there are several reasons why timberland remains an excellent investment at this point in time. First, as housing markets recover and a middle class emerges across the developing world (e.g. China) demand for wood products will rise – and in fact demand is expected to double in the next thirty years.
These last two points were taken directly from a recent Forbes Magazine interview with the Nation’s largest private landowner – available at: http://blogs.forbes.com/monteburke/2011/03/10/john-malone-largest-private-landowner-in-the-u-s-speaks/. The interview not only touches upon the current appeal of timberland investment, but also serves to illustrate the changing patterns of forestland ownership.
See part one of this three part series by clicking on this link: Investing in Timberland: Part 1 of 3: Why Invest in Timberland
Click to view public Timberland Investment Opportunities or view contacts below for private offerings.
Contact Gary Bahlkow (gbalkow@landvest.com) for current timberland properties for sale in MD, ME, MI, NY, PA, or VT. Also contact Gary Bahlkow if you are interested in buying or selling timberland investment properties in the mid atlantic, northern or midwestern states.
Contact Joe Taggart (jtaggart@landvest.com) if you are interested in buying or selling timberland investment properties in the southern or western states.
Today’s blog entry was brought to you by Daniel Tesini– LandVest -Timberland Division Project Manager and the Director of LandVest’s Northern Timberland Transaction Group, Gary Bahlkow, who recently facilitated this years largest timberland transaction (over 1,000,000 acres of Timberland) to the now largest individual landowner in the US.
Why Invest In Timberland? Timberland is an increasingly popular investment tool – attracting broad interest from institutional investors and high net worth individuals alike. There are several reasons that make timberland an appealing investment. First, timberland prices have risen above inflation by approximately 3% for much of the past 100 years – making timberland investment a solid hedge against inflation and a low-risk method of capital preservation.1 Second, timberland investment offers much greater stability and faster appreciation than the stock market as a whole. Over the past two decades, NCREIF’s Timberland Index has risen an average of 15% a year, versus roughly 10% annualized return for the S&P 500.1 Third, timberland has a very low correlation to other asset class investments, which means timberland offers meaningful diversification.1 In essence, the advantage of timberland investment is that trees continue to grow on the stump and appreciate in value notwithstanding world events with otherwise negative financial consequences.
For more detail on this topic click to read the Money Morning article Timber Investing: The Inflation Hedge That Pays Off in Every Type of Market
Click to view Timberland Investment Opportunities
Click to view Gary Bahlkow’s contact information
Richard Carbonetti, Vice President of LandVest’s Timberland Division and President of the Association of Consulting Foresters of America, was recently featured in The Consultant, an ACF publication. The article, called “Madonna, Cher & …Carbo?” tells the story of Richard Carbonetti (or “Carbo,” as he is more commonly known by many); how he began his forestry career and how he has risen to become ACF’s newest president.
The author of the article, Robert P. Bradbury — a LandVest Forester — holds “Carbo” in high esteem as he describes his colleague’s “outsized personality” and boundless conviction to succeed at all that he does. Carbonetti graduated from the University of Maine in 1977 with a degree in Forestry. He subsequently moved to Vermont to pursue his career. In 1978, he began his own small company called Round Top Woodlot Management which steadily grew for the next seventeen years. He managed almost 100,000 acres of land before merging with LandVest in 1995.
Richard Carbonetti, LandVest
Bradbury illustrates Carbonetti’s hard-working personality by detailing instances of Carbonetti rising before dawn and keeping his limitless energy well into the night, sometimes even on overnight road trips. He was able to fit in with a variety of different people – from loggers to lawyers. In his business, and in policy work as a member of the Northern Forest Lands Council, Carbonetti always stood up for what he believed in. He actively participated in committees in order to make forestry practices better. Along with several others, Carbonetti helped to improve the laws in Vermont dealing with timber harvesting practices and overcutting.
Carbonetti is very passionate about his forestry work, and enjoyed it so much, he never even thought of it as actual work. Bradbury recalls Carbonetti saying “I’ve never worked a day in my life because I love this profession so much I’d never consider it work.”
Bradbury attests that Carbonetti wouldn’t be where he is today without the encouragement and support of his wife Emily and two sons, Ben and Sam. During the early years he could dedicate numerous hours to his work because of his wife’s patience. And for over 20 years he worked from a home office so that he could play an active role in his sons’ lives.
The article serves as a nice testament to Carbonetti’s work and his life. It is clear that Carbonetti will be an asset to ACF and will undoubtedly succeed as president.
Read the full article, “Madonna, Cher & …Carbo?”
The ACF was founded in 1948 to advance the professionalism, ethics, and interests of professional foresters whose primary work was consulting to the public. The ACF is the only national association for consulting foresters. Currently, there are more than 675 members in 40 states, as well as several international members.
Click for more information about the ACF
