Market Overview  Cape Cod
 

 

    

 General Market Overview

 

As 2012 ended, every indicator showed vast improvement in the real estate  market especially for Cape Cod. A 29% increase was recorded in the number of residential sales units up to 4786 from 3709. Also Cape Cod

 MLS sales show a 3.5% increase in the average sale price. Inventory levels on Cape Cod have dropped 19% from the same time last year, with some areas having shown even higher reductions in available inventory. Pending sales continue to grow from previous years. 2013's forcast is for sales prices to inch up slightly.
 

For 2012 our company showed above market growth on Cape Cod with sales up 44% over 2011, substantially higher than the market average for Cape Cod. Our average sale was up 8% over 2011, again substanially higher than the Cape Cod average. The company currently has 16 offices on Cape Cod with over 300 agents from Provincetown to Falmouth.

 

 

 

 

The Residential Market

 

Single family and condos - in 2011, 3709 properties were sold with an average price of $430,300. In 2012, 4786 properties were sold with an average sale price of $445,500. This indicates a 29% increase in the number of single family units sold on Cape Cod and an increase of 3.5% in the average sales price of a single family unit on Cape Cod. The average days on market has also dropped from 228 days to 209 days.

 

Residential Properties          2011             2012  

Sales                                          3709             4786

Average Price                      $430,300.   $445,500.

Days On Market                         228                209

Active Listings                          3514              2844

    

                            

 

The High-End Market

 

Residential Sales over $1M- In 2011, 219 properties on Cape Cod over $1M were sold. In 2012, 278 properties on Cape Cod over $1M sold indicating a 24% increase. The average sales price increased from $1,824,600. to $1,998,700. in 2012 for property on Cape Cod over $1M, a 9.5% increase in the average sales price. The average days on market has also dropped from 418 days to 310 days.

 

High End Residential                 2011               2012  

Sales                                                219                 278

Average Price                        $1,824,600.    $1,998,700.

Days On Market                               418                310

Active Listings                                  474                473

 

 

Remember all real estate is local - Cape Cod is internationally famous as a summer resort area and is increasingly popular for retirement living. It has miles of beaches, natural attractions, historic sites, art galleries, and four star restaurants and hotels. It also offers great outdoor activities such as world class boating, coastal and deep sea fishing, numerous public and private golf courses, and a wide variety of other summer sports. The Cape is also located less than 100 miles from Logan Airport in Boston, or T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island.

 

 

 

 

When purchasing real estate, the old standard rule applies - LOCATION-LOCATION-LOCATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite day-to-day volatility, the broader mortgage market has been in a 3-week standstill, as 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates went unchanged again this week according to data from Freddie Mac.

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage remained at 3.53%; the average 15-year fixed held at 2.77%.

The mortgage refinance boom continues.

 

30-Year Fixed Rate : 3.53 percent

 

 

Freddie Mac's analysis of more than 125 banks showed that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate went unchanged this week, posting at 3.53 percent.

Home buyers and refinancing households wanting to lock this low rate should expect to pay, on average, 0.8 discount points to their lender plus a complete set of closing costs.

The 0.8 discount points is a one-time, closing cost equal to 0.8% of the loan size and paid at settlement.

A mortgage applicant borrowing at the local mortgage loan limit of $625,500 in New York City, for example; or Orange County, California; or Loudoun County, Virginia should expect to pay $5,004 in discount points, therefore, for access to the 3.53% rate.

The Freddie Mac also showed the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate registering 2.77% nationwide, on average, with an accompanying 0.8 discount points required plus closing costs. As with the 30-year fixed-rate product, mortgage rates were unchanged from last week. However, the number of discount points required for a 15-year fixed rate loan increased by 0.1 discount points.

Applicants who prefer low-closing cost or no-closing cost mortgages may opt for a 30-year or 15-year fixed rate mortgage with zero points, but should expect receive a slightly higher mortgage rate in return.

Typically, loans with zero points are +0.125% from loans with discount points; loans with zero closing costs are often +0.250%..

    

 

 

Blizzard blasts away parts of beaches, dunes, cliffs

 

  Dramatic dune erosion at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham

 

 

 

The weekend blizzard savaged the coastline of Massachusetts, with many communities on Cape Cod reporting that 15 to 20 feet of beach disappeared. The bluff coast - the 20 miles or so from Eastham to Truro with steep dunes soaring up to 140 feet -- suffered some of the most visible, and dangerous, erosion. The ocean scoured out the bottom of the bluffs, leaving sandy cliffs jutting over the beach with no support.

 

While many residents and coastal experts were expecting erosion and flooding, the powerful nor'easter still managed to stun them.

"The town took quite a beating,'' said Chris Miller, natural resources director in Brewster. He said the town's entire coastline experienced at least 15 feet of erosion, and the storm washed away dunes, twisted stairs to homes from their bolts, and devoured the foundations of three houses. Longtime residents, he added, "say they haven't seen anything like this."

Beach erosion

  

On the Outer Cape, coastal experts said the perilous bluffs could give way as snow melts and weighs down the top material -- or if gawkers, unaware of the danger, stood on them. Authorities were placing barricades and signs at many beaches to warn people away. No injuries were reported.

"For the uninitiated, they are quite dangerous,'' said George Price, superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore. He said one slump 15 feet deep already occurred on Marconi Beach, which also had its stairs washed out. Officials in some communities said they would likely wait for the cliffs to fall in coming weeks.

  

New opening near the Southway, Chatham Cape Cod

Mark Adams, the national seashore's geographical information specialist, said Hurricane Sandy and other storms had already taken most of the beach, so the bluffs were extraordinarily vulnerable by the time the blizzard hit. Normally, about three feet of bluff are eroded each year. In some places, last week's storm took 20 feet.

 

"If you walk to the bluff you can see below that shrubs and small trees went sailing down to the beach," said Adams. "From the top it looks steady."

In Eastham, portions of parking lots were gone at four beaches, and the storm moved a shipwreck -- the tugboat Hammer, which sank in 1965 --