Four Columns Realty Blog

Four Columns Realty #1 Office in North Quabbin Region Last Year

Four Columns Realty was the #1 real estate office in the North Quabbin Region in 2010, according to the MLS Property Information Network, based on the office's dollar volume of real estate sales in the region.

In today's market, real estate agents work hard for their clients. Deb and I congratulate our hardworking agents: Liza Hurlburt, Rachelle Knight, Paul Riendeau, Bill Rogers and Richard Sheridan.

Offices are rated on the total dollar volume in 2010 of real estate sales by office in the 9 towns of the North Quabbin Region of Massachusetts (Athol, Orange, Erving, New Salem, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick and Wendell), based on information provided to and compiled by MLS Property Information Network, Inc., covering the period from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010.

3 Reasons to Use Four Columns Realty for Better Real Estate Searches

Would you like to see more information about the properties you're interested in?

Now you can. The North Quabbin Region's Best Real Estate Search (TM) just got better.

Four Columns Realty has added over 35 new pieces of information to each single-family home listing on FourColumnsRealty.com. Each listing for land, multi-family homes, condos, mobile homes, commercial property and industrial property also shows added information. And Four Columns Realty now gives you information about sold properties, too.

Here's what you get:

1. More Information. Days on market. Original list price. Interior and exterior features. Descriptive remarks. You get over twice as much information about a home or other property after you log in.

2. Multiple ways to search. While many people like the easy to use map search, you may prefer to search by town, zip code or address. To do so, click City/County or Address/Zip just below the Active Listings tab. In the City/County search, you can add and remove the towns listed in the right-hand box to target the towns you want.

If you know an MLS number, just insert it into the Listing Number box in the upper right and hit Go.

3. Sold Properties. If you are thinking about a house, wouldn't you like to know how much buyers recently paid for similar houses? Let Four Columns Realty tell you. After you log in, click the Sold Properties tab and use any of the multiple ways to search. For each sold listing, you can find out the sale price, original list price, days on market and more.

How to Get It All

To gain free unlimited access to all this information, log in. If you have not yet set up your account, it only takes a couple of easy minutes. Just enter a valid email address and create your password. Click to submit and follow validation instructions. Don't fret, we will not spam you or disclose your email address to others who might spam you.

After you log in, whenever you search for real estate in Orange, Athol, the North Quabbin Region or anywhere in Massachusetts, you can count on Four Columns Realty to show you more information.

Armed with all this information, you will be ready to make your choice. But how can you tell if you're making the right choice? Simple. Call or email a Four Columns Realty agent. We know the community. We know the real estate market. And we are happy to talk with informed buyers like you.

North Quabbin Region Prices Still Falling

Home prices continued to fall in the North Quabbin Region of Massachusetts during the first half of 2010.

 The average price of a single-family home sold in the nine-town North Quabbin Region* between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2010 was $129,893. That's 8% lower than the average price in 2009 and a whopping 36% lower than the average price in 2005.

As the chart above shows, 2010 will mark the fifth consecutive year of declining home prices in Orange, Athol and the surrounding towns if prices stay at current levels.

Last year the average price of a single-family home sold in the North Quabbin Region was  $141,405. As recently as 2007, the average price was $188,049. The regional average reached its high of $203,151 in 2005.

There is some good news for sellers. The average single-family home sold in the North Quabbin Region during the first half of 2010 was on the market for 143 days before it went under contract. That's the lowest number of days on the market since the boom years of 2005 and 2006.

With homes selling faster, why are home prices still going down?

One answer is that the mix of buyers in the first half of 2010 skewed the average downward. The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit brought out buyers looking for starter homes. The abundance of foreclosed properties enticed bargain hunters while higher-priced homes generated less interest.

* Note: The North Quabbin Region of Massachusetts includes the towns of Athol, Erving, New Salem, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick and Wendell. Statistics analyzed in this post are derived from information supplied to and compiled by the MLS Property Information Network, Inc.

Fred Bulman Is Back

Fred Bulman, a banker held in high regard by many Athol-Orange area residents, has accepted a new position as a mortgage loan officer with the Workers' Credit Union. He will be in the Credit Union's Orange office.

Fred is a lifelong area resident with over two decades of experience in local bank lending. The Athol-Clinton Cooperative Bank was foolish to let Fred leave. Their loss is the Workers' Credit Union's gain.

Fred told Four Columns Realty that he is ready to talk with mortgage loan customers now. He is looking forward to working with North Quabbin Region home buyers again.

In an era when many lenders who claim to serve our area couldn't even find us without Google, we're lucky to have actual community-based loan representatives, such as Brian Hunton, who stay loyal to the Athol-Orange area. The return of Fred Bulman gives Athol and Orange borrowers another good choice.

Homes Are Sensibly-Priced in the North Quabbin Region

People ask how they can find a good home they can afford. It turns out the key is knowing where they look.

A recent Four Columns Realty study shows that homes in the North Quabbin Region are more affordable than homes in nearby areas.

I wrote about this in today's Athol Daily News Spring Real Estate Guide:

Look east, west, north or south from Athol and Orange. Home prices are higher in every direction. A recent Four Columns Realty study of single-family home prices over the past 12 months found that the North Quabbin Region is a pocket of opportunity for sensibly-priced real estate.

This pocket of opportunity is a mixed blessing. Athol-Orange area sellers find that their house sells for less than the price it might sell for in other parts of the state.  As investors say, you make your money when you buy.

There is some good news for local sellers. Since the previous Four Columns Realty study last summer, average sale prices in the North Quabbin Region have moved up a bit. Still, by comparison, homes in our area remain a bargain.

The bottom line: Buyers searching for sensibly-priced homes should search in the North Quabbin Region.

Get the facts in the latest Four Columns Realty study.

Read the March 30, 2010 Athol Daily News article.

Lean about the Buy North Quabbin Now program.

Search for homes in the North Quabbin Region.

Athol Bird and Nature Club 2010 Calendar

When was the last time you sat down and read a calendar?

The Athol Bird and Nature Club 2010 Calendar celebrates what's special about the North Quabbin Region with hundreds of nature notes (January 3: "Last Black bears go into hibernation"), a monthly quiz ("If you traveled at a snail's pace, how much ground would you cover in one hour?") and local photos. GREAT local photos!

If I had to choose a favorite photo, it would be July's pair of young loons riding on their mother's back. But it's tough to choose just one. Each month displays another captivating close-up of birds or other wildlife in the North Quabbin Region. Orange, Athol, Royalston, New Salem, Phillipston, Warwick and the Quabbin itself are all represented.

Collect all 12 months.... Buy the calendar for $9.95. The price is reasonable for all you get and, besides, the profits go to local environmental groups. The calendars make great gifts. Paul Riendeau bought ten.

(Full disclosure: Four Columns Realty likes the calendar so much that we purchased ads in it. Please see our ads on the March and August pages.)

Quiz Answer - According to September's quiz, a snail's pace is about 25 feet per hour. Sounds like a Boston traffic jam. Living is better in the North Quabbin Region.

Orange Farmers Market: Still Great

Farmers Market, Orange, Massachusetts

In September of 2007, I blogged about the Orange Farmers Market:

Should you buy a home in a town because the town has a great farmers market? Perhaps not, but it helps.

Orange has a great farmers market.

Two years later, the Orange Farmers Market is still great.

Every Thursday through October, from 3 PM until 6 PM, at Butterfield Park in Orange, Massachusetts (map), local vendors sell fresh fruit and vegetables - blueberries, raspberries, apples, corn, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Fresh flowers, jams and pastries, too. And more.

It's a fine place to get healthy food, meet friendly people and buy locally. See you there.

Own This View

Nestled between two ponds (just look at the map), this contemporary Orange MA home offers a view of Tully Pond and Tully Mountain. Plus you get deeded access to both Tully Pond and Packard Pond.

Open concept home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a comfy Vermont Castings propane stove, a secluded one-acre lot and a really nice view. $239,000. Find out more.

Update July 2, 2009: This property sold for $224,500.

Life as a Walmartian

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers and employers in Orange MA. What's it like to work there? Is it like this?

Charles Platt writes about his life "as a Walmartian":

Everyone at every level was friendly and decent toward me. No one had the slightest clue that I might write about my experiences; no one even knew that I had a former career as a journalist. Still, they behaved like poster children for enlightened capitalism.

His conclusion:

Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It's the best friend we could ask for.

Then why does Wal-Mart get such bad press? Charles Platt has a theory. Read the article to find out.

Teaching Tech Skills in Athol MA

In my last post of 2008, I pointed out how Athol High School students are learning about technology from Chris Dawson, a respected authority on education technology who is the Technology Director of the Athol-Royalston Regional School District.

Take a look at the revamped technology curriculum that Chris is proposing for the Athol MA High School.  From Microsoft office to Google Docs, from web design basics to Web 2.0, CSS and XML, from programming to database design, these Athol courses will teach students up-to-date technology skills. Students who graduate from Athol schools will be prepared for today's careers.

I wish I were back in high school.

Starrett Cuts Its Work Week

L.S. Starrett Company, Athol's biggest employer, "will reduce its work week for most of the 600 workers at its Athol factory and offices," according to today's Greenfield Recorder.

Ouch! While Starrett deserves credit for keeping everyone on board (although with less hours) instead of socking some of its workers with layoffs, the cutbacks are going to hurt.

The ups and downs of Starrett have been intertwined with the prosperity of Athol for more than a century. Starrett's web site says "it is not uncommon to see devoted generations of toolmakers with 30 or more years of experience" employed in its Athol MA facility. Those of us who have lived here a while know this is true.

Will the big stimulus bill coming out of Washington produce a rebound for companies like Starrett and towns like Athol? Probably not as much as all of us would like. The bill is bloated with wasteful spending, like 200 million dollars for grass replacement on the National Mall.

For so much money, we deserve better.

Athol Ranks #16 in Technology

The Town of Athol ranks #16 in the state in its support for technology development and growth, according the Massachusetts High Technology Council's latest MassTrack municipal rankings.

The High Tech Council ranks all 351 Massachusetts towns "to measure the support of state and local officials for the priorities of the technology economy."

While Athol slipped a bit, from #8 last year, Athol stayed in the top 5% of all Massachusetts towns. Neighboring Orange ranks #32, placing it in this year's top 10%.

Our friends in Somerville (#73) are astonished. Noting that Cambridge ranks #213, they ask, "How is the home of MIT behind Athol?"

A long time ago, I lived in Somerville. My home was in the Winter Hill section, a gritty neighborhood where they understood towns like Athol. For the benefit of those who have forgotten that there's intelligent life beyond Route 495, let me help you:

• Do you know which of the 3 towns has the highest percentage of its workforce engaged in technology? If you guessed "the home of MIT", you blew it. According to MassTrack, over 28% of Athol's workforce works in technology, compared to a bit more than 22% in Cambridge and less than 10% in Somerville.  

• The tech jobs are close to home, too. According to MassTrack again, the typical Athol worker spends 24.2 minutes commuting to work, only slightly more than the typical Cambridge worker (22.5 minutes) and less than the typical Somerville worker (27.1 minutes).
  

• Athol High School's most recent MCAS scores were 77% in reading proficiency and 72% in math proficiency, comparable to Cambridge Rindge and Latin and 10 points above Somerville High.  

• Athol High students are learning about technology, not just testing. Chris Dawson, the Technology Director of the Athol-Royalston Regional School District, is a nationally respected authority on education technology.   

• Athol gives you something Cambridge and Somerville lack: sensible real estate values. Just take a look at Athol real estate prices, Orange real estate prices and similar deals in other North Quabbin Region towns.
  

Hey Somerville - Athol is just 86 minutes away. Come on out.