Town of Holliston
My favorite town, being born and raised in this community of 13000 residents. Tucked into a location about 30-45 minutes from Boston, Providence and Worcester, this small community features a quaint downtown. Throughout the Fall there are antique shows, fairs, and community celebrations with your neighbors.
Many residents use the commuter rail stations in the neighboring communities to get into the city. More and more workers are finding employment on the very fast growing Route 495 highway belt. This “technology corridor” is home to EMC Corporation, Waters, and many others.
If you wait for the Robins, Spring will be Over.
October 28th, 2008
I couldn’t keep from creating this blog title after reading it in a Warren Buffett Op Ed piece. It was in the New York Times Oct 17th. Now, I understand that everyone will critize the Realtor speaking positive about the real estate marketplace, but I am excited about this Low!
When is the “Low”?
You won’t know it until you see it in the rear view mirror.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a real estate agent in a very down market. I am working harder and dealing with more emotions then I have in my 10 years. If I can manage scraping up a little cash, I will be putting it into equities and real estate NOW.
I worked an open house a few weeks ago, and at least 3/4 of the visitors were interested, but waiting for a bit longer for the market to fall further. This was a very real display of pent-up demand.
Another contridictory real world example is a client looking for a $800K home in Holliston but not having more than a handful of options in the past 3 months. Do I really need to direct mail a neighborhood to let them know I have a Buyer for them? That is not the real estate market that the Boston Globe is reporting about!
In scanning over the region’s 3rd Quarter real estate stats, the median prices are reporting grim news to homeowners:
Holliston down 13.6%
Hopkinton down 8.7%
Framingham down 7.2%
Ashland down 7%
Natick down 5.4%
In regards to the number of sales, the region has 12.8% fewer sales!
OK, where you are ready to jump out a window, I am now salivating! Yes, I do own a home, but I am not ready to move yet. Therefore, no sweat.
Take a deep breath Massachusetts, the sky has not fallen and it is time to start figuring out how to take advantage of this market, not how to escape it!
Categories: Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Market Conditions, Real Estate
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Unique Tool to Sell a Home
October 17th, 2008
This past month I have decided to add a feature to a few of my listings - Floor Plans.
The floor plans give an internet consumer a better perspective. Combined with the virtual tour, the site allows the user to click on a particular location on the floor plan to stand in the room.
Click here for 80 Dalton Rd, Holliston tour
Click here for 82 Fisher St Medway tour
I feel that I have to be selective when using the tool, since the rooms have to be large enough to be highlighted. Doing a floorplan to show a small layout home means less visitors, not more!
This tool falls within the Presentation category. Success selling in this market requires the 3 P’s:
Pricing
Presentation
Patience
There is a report done every year to evaluate Buyers of real estate and determine how they are looking for homes. The statistics from this report tells me that internet presentation is the most efficient use of real estate exposure. Since over 90% of home buyers look to the internet to start the process, this is where your home needs to be.
For this and additional tools that I use in my marketing plan, please call and we can share them with you. A challenging real estate market requires experience and proven marketing ideas to get a home sold.
Ed Daniels is a Realtor with The MAhome Team of Re/Max Executive Realty. He can be reached at 508-341-7880.
Categories: Featured Listings, Holliston, Real Estate
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Top 5 Celebrate Holliston Day Events…
October 15th, 2008
Do I need an example of why Holliston is the town I choose to raise my family? I look no further than Celebrate Holliston Day at the end of Sept. These are the top 5 best things from the day:
- The Parade - Doriane, my wife, and daughter Lara participated in the Newcomers Club pirate ship float down Central Street. How did Lara get convinced to throw candy instead of eating it, I don’t know!
- Meeting a Fireman - Walking in full gear, Lara was a bit scared but amazed at a fireman up-close. Plus she boarded the firetruck for a tour.
- Face Painting - Not me, but again Lara was happy, so Dad is happy.
- Meeting Local Business People - What a great bunch of business owners out there! There is a renewed drive for our family to spread the word about these good people doing great service.
- Community Service Groups - The Masons table had videotaping of the kids, along with teeth impressions and fingerprints as a great service we never want to use. Putting off this important step of safety is easy, but they made it a fun activity! Thank you Masons!
Don’t miss it next year. We will see you there and make sure you say hello!
Ed and Doriane Daniels are residents of Holliston and part of The MAhome Team, real estate agents with Re/Max Executive Realty. Call them at 508-341-7880 for any community insights or real estate help.Categories: Events in Community, Holliston
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Holliston Community Plays Together
September 11th, 2008
The Town of Holliston has a very busy schedule for the month of September. If you are looking for fun on the weekends, there is no lack of events when you live in this town.
Sept 13th The Holliston Senior Center has a Fair and Yard Sale from 9-2pm
Sept 14th Holliston Farm Day takes place from 10-4pm at area farms. Go farm hopping and check out the local flavors.
Sept 21st This is a busy day… the following are all taking place:
“Celebrate Holliston” Family Day at Stoddard Park
5K “Mission Possible” Road Race and Fun Run starting from the Holliston High School
The 28th Annual Harvest Fair takes place at the Holliston Historical Society from 10-4pm.
Sept 22nd Newcomers Club Activities Fair at 7pm at the Holliston Historical Society
Sept 27th Celebrate Holliston Day: Parade 9am and Goodwill Park starts at 10am
Ed and Doriane Daniels are local residents and Realtors in Holliston.
If you need any further information on the events or on real estate,
please don't hesitate to call us at 508-341-7880.
Categories: Events in Community, Holliston
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How to Judge a School System?
August 26th, 2008
I received my Community Newsletter from the Holliston Public Schools last week. It is the type of information that I hope every town resident receives. I do not have kids in school, but it is an interesting read.
A client looking for a home in the area turned me on to another school website that you may find interesting.
Prior to using this site, my wife turned to www.SchoolMatters.com. She passed it along to our real estate clients as a good resource. It was attractive for the clear and concise information laid out to the reader.
The data from the state website is more thorough and up to date, but it is a jumble of data.
Massachusetts Department of Education
and the Individual school district’s No Child Left Behind Report Card data:
As a Realtor, I am always asked about whether a town has a “good” school system. The answer is
a tough one to come up with. Do I give the wishy washy answer of “a school system is as good as your child makes of it.”?
I personally think this is statement is true, since disciplined study and striving for knowledge usually will lead to high scores on standardized testing and many extracirricular activities can be accomplished outside of a school system. Granted, the poorly run schools will have many more distractions socially, and perhaps less modern tools at the students disposal.
I attended Holliston Public Schools. My father was a science teacher in Framingham. His larger school system allowed students to have more opportunities to take unique courses. Subjects offered were Astronomy, Geology, Oceangraphy, et al. This was in addition to the typical Biology, Physics, and Chemistry we had in Holliston.
Was Framingham a better school system for this reason? It certainly makes me consider a larger school system for my child’s education.
When I first started real estate in Framingham, I had many clients voicing reservations about Framingham and the school system. Sometimes the reason for this were concerns that their child would get “lost” in the large system.
I came across a stat back then that Framingham offered the lowest student-teacher ratio out of all the area communities. This handy fact helped me to present the perceptions people have compared to the reality of the situation.
I am greatful we live in a region that has very good opportunities in public education. I feel that these schools are offering a great education to our children and will keep the area growing strong.
Where do you find school data? What data is important to you? Write me a comment to shed some light!
Ed Daniels of The MAhome Team can be reached at 508-341-7880. Ed is a Full-time Realtor with Re/max Executive Realty, a leading brokerage in the Metrowest Boston area.
Categories: Framingham, Holliston, School Info
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Crystal Ball on Holliston Real Estate
May 15th, 2008
The market in Holliston is showing signs of life. OK, not out of the woods yet, but there are certainly some indications that the slide has ended.
Take a look at this market report graph on Median Price:
Since January, the 90-day trend line has jumped up… stay tuned.
Combine that with a dip in Days on Market data since January:
I have a full analysis of several area towns, and would be happy to share this with you. Just contact me to learn about the particular town or towns, and I will send it over to you.
I am a numbers junkie, so if you are too, I can help with your addiction.
Categories: Holliston, Market Conditions
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