Massachusetts Real Estate Podcast with Paul Brouillette

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access Friends, The 2021 holiday season has officially begun! We hope you are as excited as we are. We’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of you this Thanksgiving. We have met some truly wonderful people, and we’re proud to have helped so many reach their real estate goals over the years. We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of your support. Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner—that’s what we plan to do! In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any real estate questions. We would be happy to help you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are the latest news and notes from our local real estate market. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access The real estate market is currently experiencing a boom. Our clients have seen many showings, multiple offers, and increased sale prices—much more than expected. The average sale-to-list-price ratio is about 99% right now. Both inventory levels and days on market are at 20-year lows. Mortgage rates are at 50-year lows—though they’re slightly increasing, so we’re keeping an eye on them. We currently have a list of buyers who are ready to purchase and just waiting for new homes to hit the market. So if you’re considering selling your house, now is the time. Your property is worth much more than you think it is. If you have any questions or would like a complimentary comparative market analysis, please feel free to reach out to us via phone or email. We would love to be your real estate resource.

Here’s what you can expect from the rest of our 2021 real estate market. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access What’s the market forecast for the rest of 2021? It was anticipated that between 5 and 5.25 million units would be sold nationwide throughout the year, which would equate to about 10.5 million transactions among buyers and sellers. Strong sales were also anticipated, and we’re finding that even though interest rates are low, they have a tendency to move upward, which will prompt people to move quicker. In the summertime, as more people receive their vaccinations and we’re able to further bypass the COVID-19 hurdle, we expect inventory to flow into the marketplace. People who’ve been staying inside for the past 18 months and held off on their home-selling plans due to COVID-19 will most likely finally list their properties. As the moratoriums are lifted for rent evictions and foreclosures, we also expect to see a surge of buyers.  If you’d like to talk more about what the future holds for the rest of the 2021 market or have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to call or email me. I’d love to speak with you.

Today we’ll discuss the status of the current real estate market. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access As we move into the spring market, we’re finding that low inventory still prevails. That means there just aren’t enough homes for the number of buyers attempting to become homeowners. Low interest rates are still very attractive, but there’s upward pressure on them, meaning that buyers will want to move quickly if they want to take advantage of them. Our robust economy notwithstanding, many people have suffered the consequences of the pandemic and many businesses have been adversely affected. Still, well-priced homes are selling at a brisk clip. It’s not unusual for appropriately priced homes in good condition to be generating multiple offers. Buyers are waiving contingencies to stay competitive. That’s why having a skilled agent by your side is so important—you’ll want professional help to navigate the waters of a multiple-offer situation. That way, if you’re selling a home, you’ll be able to optimize your sales price and terms. In some cases, buyers are waiving inspection, appraisal, and financing contingencies in order to make their offers highly acceptable in an extremely competitive environment. If you have any questions about the market or real estate in general, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d be more than happy to provide you with answers.

Here are just a few of the benefits of working with us at LAER Realty. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access Hello, I’m Pamela Sherpa from LAER Realty Partners, and I’m a closing manager. My job is to make sure your closings are successful. However, the thing that is most crucial to us is ensuring our clients are satisfied with our services. It’s always a great pleasure when past clients want to buy or sell again, or they want to refer us to someone they know. So today I’m sharing the benefits of working with our team. We are a four-member team: Paul Brouillette, Maureen Kelly, Joanne Meridian, and me. We are all licensed real estate agents and work 160 hours a week prospecting, looking for buyers for our sellers, and searching for home matches for our buyers. When you have an appointment or showing, we’ll work around your schedule. Since there are four of us, someone is always available to assist you. Paul is also in Business Network International, which means he diligently networks with business professionals every week and has been doing so for over 15 years. This means that whenever our clients need help from a plumber, electrician, painter, handyman, etc., we can call someone in our network, and they’ll be there to assist with whatever you need. The thing that is most crucial to us is ensuring our clients are satisfied with our services. Additionally, we are part of a community of over 500 agents who share listings before they come onto the market, which is potentially a $1,000 to $10,000 savings for buyers in a seller’s market. In a seller’s market, information is valuable; if you know a house is coming onto the market, you can do a drive-by, and if you’re interested, you can schedule a showing and be ready to submit your offer immediately. On the flip side, we have at least 60 buyer leads coming in each week that we process, and any of them could lead to a showing or be a prospective buyer for our seller clients. I could keep naming advantages to working with us, but what we truly want is to ensure our clients are happy with our service and attention to detail. We care about our clients, and we hope that comes through in our interactions with you. If you have any questions about our team or how we can help with your real estate needs, call or email us. We would love to speak with you.

A closer look at what listing manager Maureen Kelly does for our team. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access Hello, my name is Maureen Kelly, and today I want to introduce myself and explain what I do at LAER Realty. I’m the listing manager on Paul Brouillette’s team, and it’s my job to work with Paul before a listing is taken all the way until it’s under contract, at which time it’s handed to our transaction coordinator, Pamela, who you can get to know here. Before a listing is taken, I look into the home’s area, history, comps, and more. Paul will compose a comprehensive market analysis, and I’ll help him gather supplemental materials that might be necessary for the house or client. Before a listing is taken, I look into the home’s area, history, comps, and more. Once we take a listing, I meet or speak with the owners and set up a timetable that’s both comfortable for them and gives us enough time to prepare—this means ordering a sign, having a professional photography session, and having a professional stager assist with arranging the property for sale. The day the listing is launched, we’ll have a full package of marketing materials, photographs, etc., that are shared with the public. Once the listing is up, I’m in touch with the sellers at least once per week (often more), and send them a meticulous report explaining how things have been going, what we can improve upon, and more. Everyone here works together and helps one another with their duties, so though the above is my main job, it takes a team to sell homes on the professional level we do. If you have any questions about my role or real estate in general, call or email us. We would love to help you.

Here’s our short holiday message of thanks and good tidings to all of you. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access Today we want to say thank you for your support this year as we usher in the holiday season. This has obviously been a strange year with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, but thankfully, the real estate industry has maintained a steady course. We hope you and your family have a very happy and healthy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and new year. I’ll leave you with these quotes to help lift your spirits in this season: “Christmas is not a time nor a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” - Calvin Coolidge “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.” - Andy Rooney If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Happy holidays!

Here’s why the holiday season is a fantastic time to sell your home. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access Here are the top 11 reasons the holiday season is a great time to list your home: 1. People who look for a home during the holidays are more serious buyers. 2. Buyers have fewer houses to choose from, which means less competition for you and (likely) more money in your pocket. 3. The supply of listings will increase dramatically come January, which means if you wait until then to put your home on the market, there will be less demand for it. Less demand means less money for you. 4. Houses show better when they’re decorated for the holidays. 5. Buyers are more emotional during the holidays, so they’re more likely to pay your asking price. 6. Buyers have more time to look for homes than they would during ordinary work weeks. By selling now, you have the opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during springtime when many more houses are on the market for less money. 7. Some buyers must buy before the end of the year for tax purposes. 8. January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since transferees can’t wait until spring to buy, you have to be on the market now to capture this demographic. 9. Once your home is listed, you have the option to restrict showings for six or seven days when you don’t want buyers walking through it. 10. You can sell now for more money, and we can mandate a delayed closing or extended occupancy until next year at your convenience. 11. By selling now, you have the opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during springtime when many more houses are on the market for less money. This will allow you to sell high and buy low. If you’d like to know more about why you should take advantage of the market now or if you’re ready to start the listing process, don’t hesitate to call or email me today. Feel free to reach out to me as well with any other real estate questions. I’d love to speak with you.

We’re taking a moment today to express our gratitude for your support. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access We are approaching Thanksgiving, and I wanted to extend a sincere message of thanks to all of you on behalf of our entire team. Thank you for your friendship, your business, the trust you place in us, your referrals, and all of your support in general. We very much appreciate the opportunity to help you determine where you want to live, how you want to sell your home, and more. We hope that we’ve made a positive difference in your lives like you have in ours, and we look forward to helping you in the future if you need us. To hear our full Thanksgiving message, watch the short video above.

Here’s what my job as the closing manager at LAER Realty entails. Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value reportBuying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access My name is Pemala Sherpa, and I’m the closing manager at LAER Realty Partners. My job is to make sure that your real estate transaction goes from the offer stage to the closing stage in a smooth, stress-free manner. So what exactly does that entail? To explain, let’s go through what a real estate transaction looks like after an offer has been signed. The first step after the offer is signed is to schedule a home inspection, which is done by the buyer and their home inspector. The inspector’s job is to uncover any issues with the property. Usually, there are issues with the home because most of them aren’t brand-new. Whatever issues are uncovered, we help clients navigate them. The next step is to sign the purchase and sale agreement, which is prepared by your real estate attorney. The language of the agreement is there to protect your interests. After the purchase and sale agreement is signed, a copy is submitted to your lender, and we also make sure that your application is done and that you’ve ordered your appraisal. The appraisal is done by your lender to ensure that the property is worth what you’re paying; the lender never wants you to pay more for a home than it’s worth. Whatever issues are uncovered, we help clients navigate them. When the appraisal comes back correctly, the next step is for the lender to review all of your financial documents. If those documents are approved, the lender will then issue a commitment letter, which will allow you to have the funds for the house at the closing. Finally, once the commitment letter comes through, then we can go to the closing table where we’ll help make sure that whatever needs to be done for the closing is completed in a timely manner. If you have any questions about my role or how to navigate a real estate transaction, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.