It is not typical for our agents to be out showing properties all day during January. But this year, most of them are! In the normal seasonal flow of New England real estate, the period between Thanksgiving and the middle of February is the slowest time of year. The "January thaw" this year bodes well
Last week, the Joint Committee on Housing met to hear testimony about Governor Healey’s Affordable Homes Act. Speakers were held to 2-minute talks, and the talking went on from 11 AM to 10 PM. Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Housing Secretary Edward Augustus spoke (in person). As did Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston (by
Yesterday, I walked to the dentist (about a half mile) and experienced twenty or more different kinds of wet conditions on the ground. At that time of day, it was raining on top of an inch or two of snow. Some was slushy, some was puddles on top of snow, some was untrodden snow (my
Whether you are a renter or an owner, the fear is there. Is your wall about to pour ice water into your living space? Where do you look for leaks? Which icicles are a problem? Theory: Water is, literally, mindless. All it wants to do is get to earth. Water will go down by the
Happy New Year! In the future, passive housing will need to be part of, if not all the housing we live in, more and more of it. As we look towards 2024, I would like to celebrate the growth in know-how for building houses that are energy independent, or nearly so. Maine is doing it.
During the last week of the year, schools are closed. Some people are away, others are hosting out-of-towners. You are not paying attention to real estate. As the winter begins, so does the more-at-home time of the year. Your yards are lying fallow for the season. Your outside water spigot is off – it if
December is full of holidays. People from cultures throughout the northern hemisphere developed customs to celebrate the point where days are the shortest and then begin to lengthen. That’s when the coldest part of the winter months still lies ahead, but the light is returning. Some cultures call solstice “midwinter” since light is returning. This
Tenants, here are things you can do to increase the heating efficiency of your apartment. Yes, I know that you are stuck with the heating system, doors and windows that your landlord chose. You can still improve your comfort and lower your energy bills. Where do you start? Most of the heat loss will be
Even though it isn’t winter yet, housing prices begin to drop this time of year. Winter is a bargain-hunter’s paradise, but it is also house-hunting hell. Between Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Day, demand dries up, but so does inventory. The drain on demand is usually higher than the drain on supply. Sellers who can
Anyone following real estate in the past three years or so has run into people who think that home inspection is (or should be) optional. Waiving home inspection has become a negotiation tool. This thinking plays into the interests of professional investors and hurts people who plan to owner-occupy their homes. It particularly harms first-time