Yes things are down, and they are up. HUH?!?!

Today's Brookline TAB Blog piece about May home sales highlights a continuing trend in Brookline. Single family homes are not selling(only 5 in May). Condos are selling well(78 now, 74 last year). Pricing is down in condos slightly, but some of that is tied to a difference in data between MLSPIN and the Warren Group (taken from the Registry of Deeds). I've consistently kept my analysis tied to the information available on MLS as it allows a slightly broader selection of search options.

So, in response to Neal, what the heck is going on out there?

From the beginning we've always identified supply and demand as the one and only constant in a real estate market. Brookline has always had demand. Whether it's tied to the proximity to the Longwood Medical and Academic Areas, the Biotech Corridor in Cambridge, or plain and simple, downtown Boston, Brookline has always had the benefit of strong desirability.

Which of those things has changed in the last year? Call me when one of them does, because that will be HUGE news.

The one thing about demand is we can't really control it. It ebbs and flows, is tied to financial hardships, and can swing as quickly as the publication of MCAS scores.

What about supply?

That's a simple measure. We have none right now when it comes to single family homes. In the last month we saw 25 properties on the market, 10 of them went under contract, and only 3 sold.

When we compare that to last year, that's about 1/4 of the volume in all categories.

So, why? Single family homes in Brookline are expensive. Even when compared to our lofty reality, only a small segment of the overall population can ever think about buying them. Does it surprise anyone, in an era of 50% declines in the Stock Market that we're talking about millionaires not moving frequently?

Condos on the other hand have been feed by a sudden, and somewhat shocking, construction and conversion boom this spring. From St. Aidan's, the projects on Sewall, St. Paul and Green, North Brookline has seen an amazing influx of new supply.

Remember, the factors that drive demand have not changed dramatically since the boom days of 2003-2006. So, if anything limited our marketplace last year it was a lack of good stuff to buy. Now, we're seeing great new condos sell after less than a week on the market. We're seeing people who still yearn to live in our great community. As a result, pricing has stayed pretty steady.

So, what's on the horizon?

Remember those three single family home sales? We've already seen 16 more in the 25 days of June so far. So, I look forward to Neal being able to write " Home sales up 500% since last month.

Condos are a little more complex, and I'd rather wait for the numbers to come out at the end of the month. At the end of the day, our market is hanging in there. Your local real estate offices are amazingly busy. Our schools are still amazing, and if we could ever have a sunny day we might all be able to get away from our computers and out around town to enjoy the amazing, demand-driving benefits of Brookline.

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Greg Kiely is the Operations Manager for both the Newton and Brookline offices of
William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance. He works regularly with many of the area's most accomplished agents and deals personally with the marketing and sale of every transaction in each office. Greg also serves on the Government Affairs Committee of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Brookline TAB Guide to the Override

Your guide to the Brookline override - Brookline, MA - Brookline TAB

Neal Simpson over at the TAB put together this wonderful article (link above) in advance of this Tuesday's vote. Please please PLEASE take a second to think about these issues. I hope that because of this pending override question voter turnout will actually rise above 10% in Brookline. We also have three candidates for two Board of Selectmen seats, so there are many issues that deserve our attention.

The St. Aidan's Override and Other Things I'm Trying to Avoid on These Pages

I know there is a lot of attention being directed to the Proposition 2.5 Override vote about one month from today. It's politically contentious enough that I am going to keep my opinions to myself on the matter. What should be noted is there is an important vote and all Brookline residents should be aware of each side of the argument. There is a "Yes for Brookline" group as well as a few dissenting opinions. The TAB is doing an admirable job (even without Jessica Scarpati) covering the story and the editorial and opinion content they are printing seems strong.

The second big issue is the now progressing redevelopment of St. Aidan's Church in North Brookline. This is a new condo complex with an affordable housing element. The neighborhood is rallying against the demolition process and I know the Town has many times over added taxpayer funds to subsidize the construction, so it will be interesting to see the final result. It's almost as if this property is Brookline's own version of the Big Dig. Normally I would worry about the damage the public relations backlash would have on the initial sell-out, but I have a new theory that I'll expand upon in another post that not many people buy a second time in Brookline because of the interesting demographic mix we have here. It's not a negative, it's just the type of person who buys in Brookline either buys very long-term or buys short term and needs a next step up that would require a 100% increase in purchase power.

Anyway, I'm going to try to stay away from St. Aidan's and Prop 2 1/2 for now unless something really compels me to jump in. I welcome any comments on either issue, because they're significant goings on in our community. To comment just click on the little text balloon icon to the upper right corner of this post.

New Condos near Coolidge Corner

The TAB did a short piece about a meeting that will be held tonight regarding the planned new condo development on Sewall Ave. For those who don't know the players involved, the developer is the same company that currently owns The Warwick at Coolidge Corner as well as two other multi-family lots in and around Coolidge Corner with planned condo/townhouse developments underway. While the Sewall Ave properties are getting the most press, they are the farthest away from actual work. Look for new townhouse developments, possibly by the end of the year, first.

What we do know about the developer is they've got a pretty consistent track record with their Brookline properties. From the 11 Atherton Rd development two years ago to many others, primarily excluding the Warwick because of its unique size and nature, this developer will most likely provide a building that fits in with the aesthetic styles of the neighborhood and helps maintain the overall property value of surrounding homes. I personally think Coolidge Corner could use some more housing, but I always hope that the housing we add comes with on-site parking and at a price point accessible to the many young professionals who desire to call Brookline home. This development will be a quick walk to the Longwood Medical Area and it would be a shame if that community couldn't be served by new property.

Brookline delays demolition of Frank McCourt mansions.

Brookline delays demolition of Frank McCourt mansions - Brookline, MA - Brookline TAB

This will most likely be the most viewed story on this site today. This decision is hardly a surprise, as I'm not aware of any demolition requests that were immediately allowed by the Preservation Committee. The article also provides us with quotes from Committee members which prove they were aware that many valid arguments exist for allowing the demolition to happen, yet they want they stay.

I've already provided my take on this. This is a structure which almost none of us will ever see. This is not a case where the owner is hoping to change the zoning category, increase the number of units on the property, or dramatically change the feel or use of the neighborhood. This is simply a single homeowner who wants to use the property he owns to build a house which suits his needs. I think this exercise is a collective waste of time and it's unfortunate. The Preservation Committee needs to focus on the multi-family homes which get knocked down and replaced by property clogging large developments. Let Mr. Henry build himself a house.

Brookline home values down, taxes likely up - Brookline, MA - Brookline TAB

Brookline home values down, taxes likely up - Brookline, MA - Brookline TAB

Jessica Scarpati, one of the TAB's great local government reporters, wrote the linked article in this week's paper. It takes some knowledge of the terms she dances around to understand that she is making reference to the "assessed value" of property in Brookline. While I know writers normally don't write their own headlines, I do have to take some issue with a glossing over of a few of the details in this article. One will notice, if they go to the Town of Brookline Assessor's Office website, that even in condo buildings with identical units assessments differ pretty significantly. For example, in my building I know the value of the condominiums (all identical) varies by over 10%. I know that there is nothing in any of our condos to warrant a 10% difference, so this "value" that Jessica refers to is somewhat ambiguous.

What cannot be ignored is the "sales value" of condominiums and homes in Brookline. We've gone through all of the numbers many times, and as we approach the end of the month we should see even more news on the state of our Brookline-specific housing market. Please read below to follow the sales history from the past few months and if there are any specific numbers I can provide to you, please ask and I will do what I can to provide.

Finally, it is important to be aware of what our "assessed values" are for our individual homes. I know from looking at my building I need to request a tax abatement from the Town. If you have any questions about this process, or need help defending your case, please consider me a resource. There are many times when we can look at relevant sales statistics and get the town to more appropriately designate their assessed value at what the market is actually bearing. This can lead to substantial tax savings (which cuts all of our monthly mortgage payments!)

LDS Church Update

Jessica Scarpati from the TAB had an update last night on the meeting between Mormon Church officials and Fisher Hill residents on the proposed meetinghouse development on Catlin Rd. According to Jessica's report, the church officials have agreed to move the entrance to their meetinghouse from small, private Catlin Rd to an entrance to be built on Route 9 instead.

For those who aren't familiar with the property, it's a large single family home on Fisher Hill overlooking the reservoir with a sub-dividable lot along Rt. 9. It is the property on the corner of Catlin and Boylston. This home was on the market for most of the past year until the LDS officials stepped in and purchased it hoping for Dover Amendment protection. We shall see what happens here, because Fisher Hill residents are extremely protective of their neighborhood. The TAB should have a full story on the meeting last night with some diagrams of the proposal, so stay tuned...

While you're reading the TAB, take a look at this article.

Bringing Down the House (Again)

Front page article in today's TAB about how a Newton developer wants to tear down three properties in "North Brookline." This is my neighborhood, so I take a strong interest in following these stories. The article references two key points in my mind. Also, see my earlier post.

1) This developer has a track record in Brookline when it comes to these projects.

2) My neighbors want to impose a historic district on our neighborhood so we can create our own review committee.

On the first point, I have been in the most recent Brookline work by this developer and I have to say, while the exterior seemed decent enough, I felt like he was making the same house over and over again with "nice" finishes but nothing special. Also, the layouts as I saw them were not as well thought out as they could be leaving me to prefer projects like the 99 Winchester development.

On the second, and much more important and interesting, point, I am all for it. Tell me where I can sign up! Don't get me wrong here, I am all for responsible development. Any time we can take a house that is in complete disrepair and turn it into a neighborhood gem it becomes an extreme benefit to us all. However, looking down my street (Winchester) and seeing super-modern exterior condo buildings on top of classic old Victorian houses upsets me. I know of one group of developers who are currently lying in wait to get the house next to them so they can tear down three houses in a row and build a massive development. Developers all impact most of our lives, whether we like them or not. I look at the buyer clients I see who want stainless kitchens, upgraded baths, parking garages, etc... and I know that they will most likely find them in a property that has been improved by a professional developer.

The project we represented on Atherton Road last year is proof of this. The developer took a completely run down house where the whole front portion was sinking into the ground, totally renovated it into amazingly beautiful condos and helped turn around that part of the neighborhood. As a show of thanks to his immediate neighbors, he also paved their driveways and parking areas for them.

My consistent theme when talking about these projects is to encourage the developer and his agent to get out and meet with the community to let everyone feel involved in the project. Being a successful developer is a lot like being a politician and you need to be great at public relations. It is the charismatic people who do well in this world, and I encourage the parties involved in this to start getting together and talking. Good, responsible development is needed to sustain EVERY neighborhood. Bad, irresponsible development is the easiest way to kill a neighborhood. It's a fine line, and maybe we need a committee to discuss it. Hildy Grossman, you know where to find me!

While I was away

Last week I took some time to pursue my life passion of competitive sailing in Marblehead, but while I was away Jessica Scarpati of the Brookline TAB wrote a great article about the Permit Parking situation in Brookline. The article was a result of my comment on the TAB Blogs. Many people don't know that the town has started offering $25 annual on-street daytime permits. I went to a few of the Transportation Board meetings to help shape this policy, but a lot of the shaping was done by the Coolidge Corner Merchants Association.

Here are the important details:

On Monday (10/1) they will start enforcing the two-hour limit for non-permitted cars.

The permit allows you to park for more than 2 hours at a time on your street ONLY.

The permit still does not allow "overnight (2 AM - 6 AM)" parking on the streets. ("Never in our lifetime" - Michael Sandman - Transportation Board Chairman)

You have to go to the Transportation Department on Hammond St. to get your permit. Make sure they do not write your full home address on the sticker.

Major Controversy

Both the Sunday Globe and the Brookline TAB today had major articles about the recent purchase of the 12 Catlin Road property on Fisher Hill. Now, if you want the overview of the story, the links cover it. Why is this such an interesting story? This is not a social or political blog, so I'll let everyone make their own decisions on this.

Where this story gets interesting is with the application or more correctly the protection of the Dover Amendment. In certain cases communities have exempted businesses and organizations from "Dover" protection. Harvard is no longer protected in Cambridge, for example, because of their size and ability to purchase land necessary for their uses.

Would it be possible for Brookline to step in here? First, I find it very unlikely because we're dealing with a house of worship and not a business entity or educational monster. I believe the Mormon Church is smart enough and large enough that they can get plans to the town and the community that make them realize that this is not a huge disruption.

Now, I happen to have a tiny bit of inside insight here. I did a listing presentation at this property a while ago. My indication is this is a very proud neighborhood filled with people very protective of their privacy and their exclusivity. One thing they are forgetting is there's a college in the middle of their neighborhood too. Now, the college is not on Catlin road, but it's in the middle of Fisher Hill, and the traffic implications of that institution are a lot greater than this property which is as far on the outskirts of the neighborhood as possible.

Again, my guess is plans will be submitted, the neighborhood activists will speak their piece, and the project will be settled amicably between the neighbors and the Church. Let's face it, we live in Brookline, one of the most unique communities around. It would be very unlike us to start excluding a religious organization.

In closing, Happy New Year to all of those celebrating today, and as always please keep the Breast Cancer Research Fund in mind.