aware that technology has changed how a buyer shops for a new home. According the National Association of Realtors and their most recent “Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers” for the past 3 years, 92% of all buyers have used the internet to search for a home. The report also revealed that 95% of those buyers shopping online for a home actually purchased their home through a real estate agent/broker or from a builder of builder’s agent. A minimal 2% actually purchased the home directly from a seller, without knowing them ahead of time. The buyers are searching online for their new homes, but still rely on the agent to find that specific home that fits their needs, negotiate the terms of the sale, negotiate the price and to help guide them through the process. There is so much information now available for a buyer to check out, research and read online, that the buyers are finding that they need to reach out to a real estate professional in order to sort through it all and connect the relevant dots! This is obvious as the percentage of overall buyers who used an agent to buy their home has steadily increased from 69% in 2001 to 95% in 2015. The bottom line is clear. If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role a real estate agent/broker can play in the process. They will be there to help you price the home, show the home, market the home and finally guide the seller through the offer, the purchase and sale and finally the closing. Having an agent/broker by your side has become crucial to the speed and efficiency in which your home can sell. Call Foran Realty today to see how they can help you sell your home. ]]>
New Eastham Listing
Located on a sandy lane this new Eastham listing is a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch that offers a fireplaced living room, eat in kitchen, 3 season porch and 1 car garage. The finished lower level provides for additional entertainment space. A new roof was installed in 2007 as well as a high efficiency gas furnace in 2015. This home also offers a central vacuum system. Situated on 0.46 acres this home is centrally located and is also located in Phase 1 of the town water hook up. Only a short drive to Coast Guard Beach (voted by Dr. Beach to be the 5th best beach in the country again this year!!!) and the Cape Cod National Seashore! For complete details click here.]]>
City's Quality of Life
The State of American Well-Being: 2015 Community Rankings annually weighs each City’s quality of life in five categories– purpose, social, financial, community and physical–to determine the happiest and healthiest places in America.Choose to live in one of the 10 cities for overall well-being! Guess what our very own Town of Barnstable is number five on the list! Soak in the sun on some of the Cape’s best beaches, like Craigville Beach and smell the salt air as the sea breezes sail in through the harbors. Take a scenic drive down Route 6A or visit the Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary. Take in some history and visit the Kennedy Museum and the US Coast Guard Museum. Barnstable is the largest community on Cape Cod and in 2010 had a population of just over 45,000. The Town of Barnstable is made up of several villages including Hyannis, Centerville and Osterville. To the north of Barnstable lie the dunes of Sandy Neck along Barnstable Harbor shines Sandy Neck Light. The central part of the town is dominated by the pines and oaks around Wequaquet Lake. The south is where the bulk of the population lives, many along the beaches of Centerville and Hyannis Harbors. When it comes time to choose where you would like to live full time or part time, wouldn’t you want to live in one of the top 5 cities for overall well-being in the US?! Let the staff at Foran Realty help you find the home of your dreams in one of the happiest and healthiest areas in the country! Here are the top 10 cities for overall well-being:
- Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida (Pat Foran’s favorite vacation spot!!!)
- Salinas, California
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California
- Boulder, Colorado
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Anchorage, Alaska
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, California
Where to Relocate
As they say real estate is about 3 things: location, location, location. Finding the perfect city, town, or village to live can be difficult especially if you have a family to take care after. If you are still midst-career and not looking to retire you probably want to live close to work (maybe not too close) , family, and to what is important for you to live in town. The first tip is simple, you can use sites such as city-data.com to find out more about the area. City websites with a .gov domain can provide a lot of insight, but don’t forget to do a simple google search or look at the Wikipedia page of that place when they are available. You can find out just about anything these days: population, school systems, cost of the average house, and even average city income of the residents. Most of this information is available thanks to the census of course, so this is a great time to do research as the information was last collected in 2010 as part of a 10 year cycle. Google maps has a great feature called my places. Other maps offer similar features if you prefer another, but essentially what you do is create your own map. There is a link to take an interactive tour underneath the big red create map button if you need help. It is a very well made tour. After all of your important locations are marked and labeled you can zoom out a bit and see all of the locations clearly. There are certain exceptions such as highway access, but somewhere in the middle is generally a good place to start looking. Combine this with the town information you can find and suddenly you are well on your way to being an expert on the area. You can even generate driving directions and estimates to and from each location. This is great news of course, because the more you know, the better your decision will be.]]>