The REALTORS® of Pinehills Brokerage Services share today's relevant insights
There was no way to predict how a global pandemic would affect the housing market. When the market took off, the REALTORS®, marketing, and support teams at The Pinehills successfully adapted with virtual showings, ramping up online marketing and appointment setting, implementing new protocols, and more.
Post pandemic, property values in The Pinehills continue above pre-pandemic levels, with a growing-but-still-tight inventory of homes for sale on the resale market. Competition continues among buyers for homes that are priced in line with these strong market values, but without the bidding wars experienced in 2021 and early 2022.
To quote Ellen Stratton, long-time Pinehills Brokerage Services lead REALTOR®, “No one has a crystal ball to predict tomorrow, but right now it’s still a great market for sellers, and becoming a much less frustrating market for buyers who recognize good home values – or are working with REALTORS® who do!”
While not making promises or predictions about the market ahead, (thanks for that reminder, Ellen,) we asked the REALTORS® of Pinehills Brokerage Services for their insight into the market right now.
As a team whose sole focus is helping you navigate the ins and outs of buying or selling a home in The Pinehills, we know you’ll find advantage in their perspectives, advice, unmatched resources, and expertise on our market.
A Q&A with the REALTORS® of Pinehills Brokerage Services
Behind the Pines- In the last 2 years we’ve seen competing offers, bidding wars, and homes going for more than asking, but more recently, real estate news suggests a cooling. What are you seeing right now in The Pinehills?
Ellen Stratton – Comparing the current (2023) sales activity with the same time last year, the Pinehills Brokerage Services (PHBS) Resale Team has sold nearly the same number of homes. We ended 2022 with 96 closings, fewer than the record setting pace of 125 homes we sold in 2021. (Boy that was a year!) But buyers were plentiful in 2022, and continue to be in 2023. The biggest difference from 2021 is the number of homes available for sale.
Because of the continued tight inventory, less than 1/3 pre-pandemic levels, property values are holding, and they are very strong.
The average selling price for homes sold this year by The Pinehills Resale Team is $846,932. That’s up 17% from $772,027 in 2022, up 25% from $676,032 in 2021, and up 46% from $578,470 in 2020. The numbers are remarkable.
With inventory still low, we continue to see some homes get above asking, but pricing is important. Sellers who take the pricing advice of an agent knowledgeable about the market, and price their home appropriately, have seen multiple offers that drive the final selling price over asking. There is a large pool of buyers who have been trying to get to The Pinehills. Those who understand the value of this market, or are represented by agents who do, quickly make offers on properly priced homes.
Another difference we see right now, compared to 2021 and 2022, is the average days on market has increased since the pandemic boom. But when comparing 2023 to 2019, the time it takes for homes to sell today still far outpaces pre-pandemic sales. As I mentioned, well priced homes are still getting offers quickly, but buyers are no longer willing to give up inspections or contingencies out of the gate, so the business of buying a home is taking a little longer than the crazy pace we saw in the last few years. (That’s actually a good thing.) For all PHBS MLS Resale transactions so far this year, the average days on market for single-family homes is 40 days (compared to 89 in 2019.) For condominium homes, it is 56 days (compared to 70 in 2019.)
No one has a crystal ball to predict tomorrow, but right now it’s still a great market for sellers, and becoming a much less frustrating market for buyers who recognize good home values – or are working with REALTORS® who do!
Ellen Stratton is REALTOR® with more than 38 years of real estate experience, and 20 years as part of The Pinehills team. A licensed Massachusetts Salesperson since 1984, a member of Plymouth and South Shore REALTORS®, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, and National Association of REALTORS®.
Behind the Pines- Ellen mentions MLS (Multiple Listing Service.) For sellers, what are the benefits of having their home listing in MLS?
Karin Cruz Bianchi – I’m so glad you asked this! We have heard potential sellers ask if listing on our “Local MLS” really benefits them. Without doubt, listing on MLS is in a seller’s best interest and it’s among the most important tools for selling your home. I really want potential sellers to understand the power of MLS, and that a non-exclusive listing cannot be shared on MLS and therefore will have a very limited buyer outreach.
Our job is to get your home in front of as many homebuyers as possible, and there is no question that listing your home on MLS gets your home the most exposure to buyers and the real estate agents representing them. MLS is the information network that facilitates cooperation between competitive real estate agents. According to the National Association of REALTORS® more than 80 percent of homes sold in the U.S. are on MLS.
Listing information posted to MLS is also syndicated out to influential real estate websites where it has the potential to be seen by hundreds of thousands of buyers. Sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and more, are the online destinations for people actively looking for homes. Zillow alone saw an average of 60 million visits per month last year.
Bottom line: Homes listed on MLS sell faster because buyers and their agents find them more easily. To give your home the broadest exposure possible when it’s fresh on the market, it simply makes sense to list on MLS. Once a listing is perceived as stale, it’s just not good for the selling price.
Welcome Karin Cruz Bianchi, the newest member of our team, but far from new to The Pinehills. She’s a REALTOR® who has represented buyers and sellers of resale homes at The Pinehills for more than 15 years, as well as new construction homes for a Pinehills homebuilder. She’s been a licensed real estate agent for 28 years and is a member of Plymouth and South Shore REALTORS®, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, National Association of REALTORS®, and a Plymouth resident of more than 30 years.
Behind the Pines – The covenants here at The Pinehills require homeowners to list their home with [the REALTORS®] of Pinehills Brokerage Services, either exclusively or non-exclusively, for the first 60 days that it’s for sale. This information is part of The Pinehills community documentation given to every new homeowner, but we sometimes hear from sellers who are surprised by that requirement. You feel passionately that this team offers the best seller (and buyer) representation for anyone transacting real estate at The Pinehills. Tell us why!
Roz Desmond – First off, homeowners may have friends, family members or agents that they have worked with in the past for whom they have loyalty. We understand and appreciate that loyalty. To them we ask, trust us. Trust the process. The Pinehills is a master planned community, which makes for a unique and multi-layered real estate market. We have built a strong brand, and a team of experts that know[DS1] it inside and out, and whose sole focus is this 5 square mile slice of Plymouth. With us, your home sale is in the best hands!
When a home is listed exclusively with Pinehills Brokerage Services, sellers benefit from having their home listed in MLS – which as Karin explained, is critical for home sale success. They also have a REALTOR® team on their side – while one agent leads as Seller Agent, the others are fully versed on the property and available so there is support for you 7 days a week. We can also act as Buyer Agents for our deep pool of prospective buyers and leads that come in from our marketing of your property and The Pinehills as a whole.
We also offer a dedicated marketing department focused on selling both the homes and lifestyle of The Pinehills. When marketed by us, your home is seen by an incredibly engaged audience. Our website, Pinehills.com, is where people who want to live at The Pinehills come first. In 2022 there were more than 720K website visitors and we received more than 8000 online inquiries – ALL from people interested in life at The Pinehills specifically. In addition, our marketing team sends out weekly lifestyle emails to our active subscriber list of more than 20,000 readers and “New Listing” emails to more than 5,000 people who have asked to receive weekly listings. An investment is always made in high-quality professional photography, and for homes listed with us exclusively, videography and 3D tours. Not to mention, paid search advertising, targeted social media advertising, print advertising, PR, and event marketing to promote The Pinehills lifestyle and homes for sale. Marketing like this, and The Pinehills-specific buyer audience, simply isn’t available from anyone, anywhere else.
Last but not least, we have The Summerhouse. Not only is it a destination for the most motivated Pinehills buyers, it’s also full of welcoming, helpful Pinehills pros, available to ensure a smooth experience and successful home sale. If there isn’t a Pinehills Brokerage Services REALTOR ® with the answer to your question, someone else here will help you find it. And our Summerhouse Greeter team ensures that buyers learn the important details and benefits of living here before they even get to your home.
I’m very proud of our team and the work we do. I know we are the best representatives for selling your home in The Pinehills!
Roz Desmond is a REALTOR® who started her real estate career in The Pinehills 20 years ago at Great Island. In 2015 she came to work at the Summerhouse assisting the Pinehills Brokerage Services team and with a deep knowledge of The Pinehills real estate market, neighborhoods, and lifestyle, she quickly transitioned to her current sales role with the Resale team. She’s a member of Plymouth and South Shore REALTORS®, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, National Association of REALTORS®.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a solicitation, nor does it guarantee any specific outcome for real estate transactions. Past real estate market performance does not necessarily predict future results.
