End The Override Addiction in Hamilton & Wenham, MA

It is time to put an end to the Proposition 2 1/2 overrides in Hamilton and Wenham, Massachusetts. When Prop 2 1/2 was enacted in 1980 it had provisions to allow towns to pass overrides, but those overrides were intended for emergency purposes. Overrides were not intended to be used to subsidize school funding on an annual basis as has become the norm in our two towns. If override supporters in Hamilton and Wenham believe that "emergencies" have existed in our towns for 10 out of the past 11 years, then the answer lies with a broken system that obviously has not and can not be fixed by simply throwing more money at it.

Here's a little something that unfortunately many of our citizens do not realize: Each override is not one-time cost event. Each override is added to the basis of our tax cost and continues in effect year, after year after year. So we will be paying for last year's $1.8 mil override amount again this year and again in 2010 and 2011 and so on. We have been paying the $660k override passed in 1999 each year for 9 years now! That override alone has cost the taxpayers over $7 million.

And here's a FACT about ALL the overrides we have had to pay since 1998: The individual override amounts add up to $7,707,000. But hang on to your seats (and your wallets!) because compounded over the years, with the 2 1/2 % standard annual increase, and the real cost of those overrides has been whooping $39,518,000! Let me repeat that: $39,518,000!

If our national economy's meltdown has taught us anything, it's that we can not, and should not support a system that does not work. $39 million has not fixed the so-called "emergencies" in Hamilton and Wenham and another override certainly will not either. And did you know that we are the ONLY two towns in the Commonwealth with this kind of outrageous history of overrides? Just last year, out of 356 towns and cities in MA, only 102 sought override attempts...and two-thirds of those were rejected.

Residents must stop the override addiction in our two towns this year... By just saying NO! $39 million is enough! Help make a difference in 2009. Start on the local level.

Thank you,

Jay Burnham

Hamilton, MA

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Ranks Number One On North Shore

The Beverly, Gloucester, Ipswich and Manchester Offices Catapult Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage to the Number One Slot Regionally (North Shore, MA) in 2008.

WALTHAM, Mass. (January 23, 2009) – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England is pleased to announce its ranking as the number one brokerage in total dollar volume and transaction sides for the combined towns of Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester, Rockport and Wenham in 2008, according to the MLS Property Information Service. The success of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage offices in Beverly, Gloucester, Ipswich and Manchester contributed to the company’s regional standing and total sales volume of more than $260 million in these towns.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the largest residential real estate company in New England and has the dominant market share in Massachusetts and in New England*. The company’s Beverly, Gloucester, Ipswich and Manchester offices are home to a combined 137 real estate experts, specializing in residential re-sale, new construction, waterfront and luxury homes.

“Our ranking as the number one brokerage in this area is a testament to the hard work, dedication and high-quality service our sales associates provide,” said Rick Loughlin, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England. “In any market, success can be achieved with the necessary resources and tools. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage remains committed to supporting our sales associates with innovative tools, expert knowledge and varied resources to best serve their clients.”

The managers of these offices, Linda Morey, Alyson O’Hara, Katharine Pickering and Joan Wogan strongly believe that their sales associates’ expertise and local market knowledge along with Coldwell Banker’s national and international presence provide the best possible experience in the buying and selling process.

[* Source: MLS Property Information Network]

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the largest residential real estate brokerage company in New England. With more than 4,000 sales associates and staff in more than 90 office locations, the organization serves consumers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company.



Congratulations to all my colleagues and friends at Coldwell Banker, North Shore! Another great year as number one!

...Jay Burnham, VP

Coldwell Banker Agent Attends CyberStar Summit Conference

Jay Burnham, VP of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Beverly, MA, recently attended the 3-day CyberStar® National Conference in Scottsdale, AZ.

The CyberStars® is an invitation-only group of 200 top real estate agents from the US, Canada, Australia and the Bahamas, chosen for their ability to meet the needs of today’s consumers through the use of technology and personal service. Jay Burnham is one of only five agents selected for membership from Massachusetts and he is the only CyberStar® from the North Shore region.

The annual CyberStar® Summit brings together top agents for a 3 day event where technology focused real estate professionals present, share and network with one other. The meeting’s purpose is to enable CyberStar® members to provide ever-improved customer service to their buyers and sellers. Summit participants were exposed to the newest and most effective cutting-edge technology tools.

The CyberStars® have successfully marketed homes in the midst of what is considered the most difficult real estate market ever experienced. Burnham sees his CyberStar® membership as an important part of his success. “I am honored to be part of such a wonderfully helpful and sharing group of real estate professionals. Our networking activities keep me up to date on the best ways to help my sellers and buyers, an advantage not available to other agents”, said Burnham. “I returned from Scottsdale with a renewed enthusiasm and with unique technological tools and systems I can use to elevate my level of service.”

For more information about Burnham or his team, call 978-233-2828, send an email to jay@northshorerealestate.com or visit his website at http://www.northshorerealestate.com/.

Introducing REMV...Not heard of it yet?...You will.

REMV, or Real Estate Music Video, is the newest and hottest way of video marketing homes. Like the music videos you see on TV and Youtube, this application can range from hard-hitting impact marketing to soft (think James Taylor) and smooth video marketing.

To give you an idea of what an REMV can look like, here's a sample:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spj8xa9lIGA&fmt=18

If you think this marketing application is cool, you should see what you can do with a single property REMV. A key component to creating this kind of video is looking at your photography in a different way. It's no longer just about posting pictures and adding a soundtrack, it's about telling a story and creating a sequence of photos that take the viewer on a ride complete with images of the area as well as the individual property.

Best regards,

Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Direct: 978.233.2828
Text: 978.578.5590

is in Dallas. Anyone want to trade places? It's about 80 degrees here.

is headed back to Boston from Phoenix and will miss being able to dine outside. Anyone know the current temp in Boston?

has wrapped up the final day of the CyberStar Real Estate Summit. Now for some R&R and Italian food w/my fellow C'Stars!

"It's not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change"...Charles Darwin

wants to thank CyberStars Alan Mah and Mike Parker for a great educational morning session at the this year's Summit.

is attending day-two of the annual CyberStar RE Summit conference in Scottsdale. The brightest, most innovative minds in the industry are here.

The Complete 2008 North Shore MA Real Estate Update

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my Complete 2008 Report of how the real estate market fared in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston. The area of observation consists of 22 towns on the North Shore and considers only SINGLE FAMILY homes for comparison.

So how did we do in December and thus far this year? In December, 145 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 148 homes went under contract. That marks the first time in 12 months that more homes SOLD in a single month than came on the market. Unfortunately, this is proving to be common for the month of December as last year and the year before we experienced the same occurence in December and it is likely a result of sellers taking their homes off the market for the holidays or waiting until the new year to place their homes on the market.

Except for December, every month in 2008 showed more homes coming ON than going OFF the market. In January, that difference was +150, in February, +188; in March, +226; in April, +262; in May, +199, in June +175, in July +148, in August +99, in September +167, in October +113 and in November +40.

That's 1,767 more homes that came on vs. went off during the year 2008.

At first glance, this seems like good news because in 2007, 2,146 more homes came on vs. went off the market. So 2008 showed a drop of almost 18% in the delta. Unfortunately, upon closer examination we see that the overall number of new listings for 2008 was down by 847, or nearly 17% less than in 2007. Likewise, the number of Under Agreements for 2008 were down 468, or about 16% over 2007. So overall, 2008 was nearly identical to 2007.

So, what does this mean in general for our market area?

It means that we will likely continue to remain in a DEPRECIATING market and will continue to remain there until this trend reverses...but there is "light in the tunnel"...it's just faint.

Here's a recap of the previous 12 months:

In December, 145 single family homes came on the market on the North shore and 148 homes went under contract.

In November, 190 single family homes came on the market on the North shore and 150 homes went under contract.

In October, 308 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 195 homes went under contract.

In September, 374 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 207 homes went under contract.

In August, 317 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 218 homes went under contract.

In July, 374 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 226 homes went under contract.

In June, 444 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 269 homes went under contract.

In May, 497 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 298 homes went under contract.

In April, 518 single family homes came on the market in the North shore and 256 homes went under contract.

In March, 454 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 225 homes went under contract.

In February, 357 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 169 homes went under contract.

In January, 313 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 163 single family homes went under contract.

The solution? Sellers need to continue to price their homes ahead of the declining price curve. As noted above, many homes are selling, but they are the ones that are priced properly and AHEAD of the declining value curve.

I will continue to provide updates throughout the year and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.

Regards,

Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
North Shore, Massachusetts

http://www.thecoldwellbankerguy.com/