This week I received my first really nasty comment on my blog.

Image via Wikipedia

My first instinct was to delete and ignore.  My mother always warned me that engaging with angry people is fruitless and much like poking a tiger.

My second thought was, wait, there is a blog post here.  It might be a sort of blogger’s illness that I want to turn everything into a blog post, but I really want to explore the question that this nasty comment brought up and I want your input, too.

Do me a favor, though?   Make the comments a bit less nasty.  On second thought, maybe I find nasty comments inspiring.

Without further ado, here is the aforementioned comment:

The fact that you have facebook, twitter and a blog doesn’t make you tech saavy it makes you like everyone else in the world including my 10 year old nephew. Do you know XML? PHP? C+? Ruby on Rails? CSS? I didn’t think so. You real estate agents are pathetic.

I used that quote directly via cut and paste and left the bad spelling in place but I do know how to spell SAVVY.

Now, I CAN actually do some amateur coding, but I really don’t see how that is relevant to being a tech savvy real estate agent.  Is Ruby on Rails going to assist me when negotiating a contract?  Do I need to know CSS to assist a buyer client in finding their perfect home?

I use technology to be a more efficient and effective real estate agent in Western Massachusetts.

I define tech savvy as the ability to use technology to perform my job in a better way than I could without the technology.  I think my effective use of iPhone, iPad, a blog, cloud applications and social media does make me tech savvy.

How do you define Tech Savvy?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The economy is creating a strange situation.  On the one hand, people are in tight spaces and are being forced to face reality and leave their homes via distressed sales like a Short Sale or Foreclosure.

On the other hand, home prices in Western Massachusetts have hit what many consider the bottom and interest rates are the lowest we are likely to to see in our lifetime.  This creates a great buying environment, especially for investors and first time buyers.

Here are some interesting facts that were brought up at the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS state conference earlier this fall…

- They just raised the “Right to Cure” in Massachusetts…. It’s a minimum of 150 days before and bank/lender can start foreclosure proceedings… (This is due to the volume of foreclosures)

- 1 out of every 3 properties in Massachusetts are distressed…

- 34% of all sales (2010) were first time home buyers…

- 13% of all sales are short sales …

- 27% of all sales are foreclosed properties.

- 22% of all sales are investment properties.

- 35% of all sales are cash sales.

If you are a homeowner in Western MA that needs help with a distressed sale, I have the experience it takes to get your home sold and help you move on with your life.

If you are a home buyer in Western MA, I can help you to find the best opportunity for you no matter if you are a first time buyer, investment buyer or move up buyer.

Contact me, Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty at 413-575-3611 or use the contact me button to the left of this post.

Related articles

• Foreclosure Properties for sale in Westfield, MA 01085 (westernmahomes.net)
• Why NOW is the right time to sell your Western MA Home (westernmahomes.net)
• FREE Short Sale Seminar in Western MA (westernmahomes.net)

There are still a lot of changes in the housing, real estate and mortgage sector and these can be confusing to most people.

Today while driving to show a house, I listened to “On Point”, on NPR. Their interview with three authorities proves that real estate is local and that mainstream national media figures are not usually reflective of what is happening here for real estate in Western MA.

Most areas of Western MA were not driven as high during the boom. As such, they didn’t feel as much of the crash, either. There are, however, areas in Western MA that were heavily impacted with foreclosures. It pays to have a local expert who can discuss the facts as they apply to your home.

If you are curious about the housing market and what the future may hold, I recommend that you listen to this story…I found it very informative.

Based on Park Square Realty’s Showdesk Tracking, during the same 3 month period from 2010 and 2011:

2011 showed 22 more pending sales (+ 61.1% increase).

This year, we had 262 fewer recorded showings on Park Square listings (40.4% decrease).. This means that we are experiencing less showings yet more sales.

The average Sale Price of a home represented by Park Square Realty in Western Massachusetts is up from $153,750 (in 2010) to $ 192,927 (in 2011) which is a 25.5% increase.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS TELL US?

Things are getting better in the Western MA real estate market!

- More Park Square Listings are selling… (great sign)

- Less Showings yet More Sales – this means buyers are buying quicker… (great sign)

- Average Sale Price is up 25.5%… (great sign)

This also means that it’s a really great time to put your house on the market (inventory is down and buyers are buying).

There is a basic SUPPLY & DEMAND issue… Less Supply = More Demand and the home sellers that move fast will be the ones to capture the market.

If you are thinking of selling your Western MA home, I hope you will give me an opportunity to interview for the job.

photo credit

I love everything about gardens. I love exploring garden centers, selecting my special new additions to the landscape, getting into comfortable gardening clothes and spending a day in the sunshine getting muddy and tired. I even like the soothing monotony of weeding, once in awhile!

Here in Western Massachusetts we have lots of inspiration and ideas to be found in area gardens in parks, historic estates and neighbor’s yards.

My weakness is perennial flowers, but my daughters love annuals and we usually focus on the flowers that butterflies enjoy. Our favorite shopping destination is Meadowview Nurseries in Southwick , MA which is only open a few short months, but has a huge selection and good prices. We can spend hours (and a lot of money) bonding over our flowers and I tell them what each flower is best used for and what the names mean. It can get busy, but the check out lines move fast and the selection is worth it! Just remember to bring your checkbook or cash, no credit taken here.

A great resource for learning some fun facts about flowers is this post from The Gardening Channel, for example, did you know that Tulip bulbs can be substituted for onions in a recipe?

As a real estate agent in Western MA, I can tell you that an attractive landscape will go a long way in the saleability of your home. If you are currently selling your home it has been proven that yellow flowers attract more buyer attention.

Do you like gardening? What kind of gardening do you do in Western MA? Where is your favorite place to buy plants?

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Mortgage rates are on the rise and home buyers and home sellers in Western Massachusetts need to know what the changing rates mean to their buying and selling power.

Let’s take a look at a specific example in a post that I wrote for Masslive.com:

Susie Buyer wants to purchase a $200,000 house. Her current loan is set at 5% with $10,000 down over 30 years. Her monthly payment is approximately $1,230.

She waits on making her purchase and interest rates rise to 6% changing her monthly payment to $1,350.

Now, you may say to yourself, “well, that is only $120 a month, not a big deal”. However…this change will affect her debt to income ratios and in many cases will reduce her buying power. It is very possible that Susie will now have to reduce her purchase level to $184,000 or lower to meet her guidelines and keep the monthly payment at about $1,230. Now I think we can all agree that $16,000 or more is pretty significant.

Susie qualifies for less home, which will surely be disappointing to her when she starts to comparison shop, but is also significant for home sellers.

When rates go up the pool of buyers who qualify to purchase your home goes down.

What can you do about it?

Buyers can get qualified now and lock in their rate for as long as possible.

Sellers can make sure that their home is priced competitively to attract as many qualified buyers as possible.

The important thing is to understand that 1% is more than you think.

I began my real estate career with my mom who was broker/owner of a small office in Westfield, MA for decades.  She retired and closed her office while I was on maternity leave.  When I decided it was time to re-enter the real estate profession I picked Park Square Realty because they run their company with the same values and concepts that my mother and I believed in.

Another reason that I chose Park Square Realty was because of their high standards for full time REALTORS.  These standards have created an environment of excellence and high production.  Our team is small, about 55 agents (compared to our nearest competitions over 200 agents), but mighty.

I am proud to report that our company remains the top company for our service area in 2010.

PARK SQUARE REALTY IS:

#1 Real Estate Company for home sales in Westfield Sales in 2010.

#1 Real Estate Company for home sales in West Springfield, Agawam/Feeding Hills, Southwick & Westfield Quadrant Sales in 2010.

#1 Real Estate Company for home sales in Agawam, Feeding Hills & Westfield Sales in 2010.

The final standings for the agents in the company aren’t out as of this post, but I was the #1 agent for the first half of 2010.  This has been a good year for Park Square Realty and for me and I look forward to another year of helping people in Western Massachusetts buy and sell homes.  Please let me know if you have any questions or need help!

OK, so it is possible that the following tale was an accident, but I seriously doubt it.

A client of mine is purchasing a home for her children and herself and found a good deal on a bank foreclosure in Western Massachusetts.  We have gone through all the hoops and are at the end run hoping to close before the end of the year when we get a call from her attorney telling us that there is a title issue.

It seems that when the survey was done by the bank, it was discovered that the next door neighbor’s driveway and fence is a bit more than three feet onto the property we are trying to purchase.

Well, these things happen, you say (as did I) until we recalled that the driveway and fence in question appear to be brand spanking new.

I am speculating here, but am fairly sure of myself in thinking that these people next door took advantage of the vacant property status to enhance their own property holdings.

My buyer still wants the home, so now we have embarked on an attempt to reach the neighbor to get the proper paperwork signed to protect my buyer from liability, etc.

But seriously, assuming that my guess is right: what gall!

Foreclosure is enough of a problem in your neighborhood without causing easement, title and legal disruptions.  Reducing the size of your neighbor’s yard will not increase your property values as their sale is the current comparable for value and if you lower their value you lower your own.  If you can’t do the right thing just because it IS, indeed, the right thing, then at least consider your own property values.

I would be happy to provide you with a FREE Western MA Real Estate Market Report with no obligation. You can see a sample of the report I send. To receive your customized report please fill out the form below:

What a year it has been for the Westfield, MA real estate market! We started off a wee bit slow, then got hectic with the first time home buyer credit. We spent the summer wondering where the buyers were even as interest rates went to all time historic lows and now when it is usually slow for the holidays we are hustling to help buyers get into homes for the New Year!  As a real estate agent with Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA I have experienced a lot of difficult markets, but this year really takes the prize.

It can’t be described as a normal year in the real estate market of Western Massachusetts, but Westfield came out with good news at the end of the year.

This report will show you that home values are up in Westfield, in fact they are significantly higher than Agawam, West Springfield and Holyoke. Additionally, distressed home sales and foreclosure filings are down in Westfield. These two factors combined forecast improved conditions for Westfield, MA home owners.

If you would like more information on the Westfield, MA real estate market conditions, a market report for your home or information on buying or selling a home in Westfield, MA 01085, I am here to help!

Lesley Lambert, Park Square Realty, Westfield MA a real estate agent in Westfield, MA since 1988! 413-575-3611 or lesleylambert@parksquarerealty.com