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.

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.

News from Four Columns Realty

Time to get blogging again. Much has happened.

You may be interested to know that Four Columns Realty ranked #1 in Orange for the first half of 2009, just as we did in calendar year 2008.

Thanks to our loyal friends and clients, Four Columns Realty sold more Orange MA real estate than any other real estate office, based on information provided to and compiled by the MLS Property Information Network, Inc., covering the period from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009.

Here's something else that might interest you. Four Columns Realty has launched a mobile real estate search app.

Our new app lets you to search for property from an iPhone, Blackberry or just about any other smartphone. If you want instant info about a home you're standing in front of, just bring up our app. Install it today!

We're working on new ways to meet your needs. The new Four Columns Realty Twitter feed on our home page gives you our latest updates, plus another way to communicate with us. Follow us on Twitter now.

Finally, we have some interesting market research on how real estate prices in Orange and the North Quabbin Region compare with prices in nearby areas. I'll be blogging and twittering about that soon.

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.

Paul Riendeau Ranks #1 in Real Estate Sales

Paul Riendeau of Four Columns Realty in Orange ranked #1 in 2008 for real estate sales in the nine-town North Quabbin Region, topping a list of local agents released last week.

Among active real estate agents, Riendeau sold the most North Quabbin Region property and was involved in the most North Quabbin Region transactions during 2008, based on information provided to and compiled by the MLS Property Information Network, Inc., covering the period from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 for the Massachusetts towns of Orange, Athol, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Warwick, Wendell, New Salem and Erving.

Read the full announcement...

Mahar Regional Earns Silver Medal Ranking

Mahar Regional High School, which serves the Massachusetts towns of Orange, New Salem, Petersham, and Wendell, has earned Silver Medal status in a national rating of best high schools, according to this report in the December 24th Athol Daily News (subscription required):

Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School has been ranked among 2009's best high schools in America, according to the U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best High Schools" annual rating of more than 21,000 public American high schools.

Mahar was one of 27 high schools in the state to receive the prestigious "Silver Medal" ranking, and the only high school in the Franklin County. Only two Massachusetts high schools received a "Gold Medal" ranking.

The Orange MA Real Estate Blog congratulates the students, teachers and staff of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District for their good work. Keep it Up!

(The announcement from Dr. Reza Namin, Superintendent of the Mahar Regional School District, is available here. The U.S. News & World Report data for the school is available here.)