The Value of Education - 2007 MCAS Results

Whether relocating from out of state or making a move from school district to school district MCAS is one benchmark used to compare communities in Massachusetts and these rankings are one of many factors to consider when evaluating school districts.

It is important to note that Harvard Elementary and Bromfield (the town's public high school) typically perform very well on the MCAS standardized test and generally rank between 1st and 15th in the state depending on the year and the grade level. Boston.com has compiled a great section of their Website devoted to MCAS. Check out our district's 2007 10th grade ranking.

Congratulations to the teachers, children, teens, parents, and families that all contribute to our continued MCAS success!

Harvard Farmer's Market

Three Cheers for the new Harvard Farmer's Market! Open Saturday mornings 9:00-12:00, Labor Day Weekend through October. The event takes place rain or shine in front of the Elementary School on Route 111 and sells mainly local produce, eggs, meats, baked goods, flowers, and herbs. This is a great way to support local farmers and spend time with members of the community! Did I mention there is music?! It's a great cause, just be careful parking, this attraction draws quite a crowd!

What's a Seller To Do?

If you have read recent headlines you would know one thing for sure, that credit right now is TIGHT. The financial markets have been rocked by investment fallout due to what analysts like to categorize as "sub-prime lending" in the real estate market. What had recently become America's new favorite investment is now turning into many Americans biggest nightmare.

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that sub-prime lending is only one part of this difficult story. It seems that a majority of qualified homeowners also took advantage of the "easy money" financing and refinancing days and are now finding themselves with zero equity or even worse upside down. It turns out that borrowing equity to remodel a kitchen, pay a college tuition, consolidate other debt, or worse by a second home, might not have been the best idea.

What does all of this mean for sellers in towns like Harvard? Back to basics really - location, price, and condition. Borrowers today see the market declining which means that they won't be able to refinance and borrow from their equity anytime soon. Therefore, basic affordability and condition is paramount. Where once a borrower could refinance to update a kitchen, a bath, or install a new furnace, they now need to use their own cash. Since utilizing credit/equity is no longer possible, pricing is everything. So buff up that 1970's Colonial and price it as best you can, and remember, top dollar days where a home sale could augment your retirement is now "so 2005".

Where's My Move Up Home Index?

I really look forward to reading the Wall Street Journal's Dow Jones Real Estate Indeces. They can be a fascinating snapshot of the market as it goes up and even as it comes down. I'm especially interested in the index known as the "Move Up Home Index" highlighting our little town of Harvard, zip code 01451, as one of their selected zip codes for monitoring mid-career professionals and executives.

During the real estate hay-day this index was published quite frequently, especially while values were heading upward. Now that values are heading downward, I haven't seen the Index since December of 2006.

With the absence of the WSJ Index, I will share with you my own data. In December of 2006 the YTD median sales price for Harvard was $597,500. As of June 15, 2007 the YTD median sales price is $569,900 - a 4.75% drop over six months. We shall see what September brings...

A List of Local Restaurants

The next question after "Where do we shop?" is usually, "Are there local restaurants?" and the answer is yes. I could bore you with a long list of fast food franchises within 20-minutes, but instead here are some of the local restaurants (those starred are my favorites).

Acton
The Acton Jazz Cafe
Atlantic Sea Grille
Savoury Lane*
Scupperjacks
O'Naturals

Ayer
Nashoba Club Restaurant*
Tiny's Restaurant

Bolton
Nashoba Winery

Concord
Colonial Inn
Pappa Razzi
Quarterdeck Seafood
Vincenzo's*
Walden Grille

Groton
Gibbet Hill Grill*
Filho's Cucina*
Herb Lyceum

Harvard
Fruitlands Museum
Sorrento's Pizzeria*

Littleton
Ken's American Cafe
Yangtzee River

Marlborough
Firefly's BBQ

Stow
Nancy's Airfield Cafe*
Quarterdeck Seafood

Westford
Bamboo*
Kimball Farms* (Ice Cream)
The Outlook (at Nashoba Valley Ski Area)

Where Do People Shop?

"Where do people shop?" is a question fielded daily in our office and the quick answer to that question is most area shopping is a 15-minute drive from Harvard.

If you head east to Acton on route 111 you will find places like Starbucks, Roche Brothers, CVS, TJ Maxx Home Goods, and KMart. Or if you head east to Acton on route 2A/119 you will find Donelan's, Trader Joe's, Pier One, Ann Taylor, Chico's, Eastern Moutain Sports, and just about every bank in Massachusetts including: Citizen's, Bank of America, Sovereign, and Middlesex Savings.

Taking route 2 west to Leominster you will find places like Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Home Depot, and Circuit City. You will also find grocers like Hannaford's and Market Basket.

Heading north to Ayer on route 2A you will find a Hannaford's or north to Groton on 119/225 you will find a Shaw's. Alternatively, heading south to Marlborough on route 495 brings you to the Solomon Pond Mall, with many of the usual mall stores along with a Best Buy, DSW, and Barnes & Noble. You will also find the sometimes controversial Walmart.

If you are thinking to yourself, "But what about the farm stands and country stores?" well, we have those too! Some of my favorites are: Westward Orchards on route 111 in Harvard, Carlson Orchards on Oak Hill Rd in Harvard, Willard's Farm Stand on route 110 in Harvard, Bolton Orchards on route 117 in Bolton, Great Brook Farms on route 117 in Bolton, and Idylwilde Farms on Central St. in Acton.

So rest assured, there is shopping around. It is all just a 15-minute car ride away!

The Advent of Zillow - Valuation is Not Just a Formula

So what does Zillow™ have that real estate agents like myself don't have other than than two founders from Expedia.com and a snappy company name with products like Zestimator™ and Make Me Move™? Well, let's see:

I just performed a value search on a property in Harvard and Zillow came up with a Zestimate™ value of between $403,886 - $551,977, or a range of almost $150,000. In fairness, it is probably just a formula utilizing public record sales data crunched with overall market data.

Just to be sure, I performed a second value search on a property in Shirley and the Zestimate™ value of between $295,482 - $386,400, or a range of just over $90,000. From my perspective a value estimate plus or minus 13-15% is not really all that helpful to consumers. Sure you can spend hours customizing your valuation with things you know about your house, but honestly these tools can never provide you with a truly accurate assessment of value that a trusted professional real estate agent can.

Zillow is great because you can see exactly what your neighbors paid for their houses or what their tax assessments are. However, when you are looking to determine a real value for your property your best bet is to work with a professional because assessments of value require experience.

Of course real estate professionals take into consideration the regular Zillow-type facts like recent sales and assessments, but they also go further to consider things like location, condition, age, quality of construction, road noise, useable land area, particular improvements, selling timeframe, current market trends, abutting property information, etc. A professional will consider all of the details with you and provide you with a much closer range and detailed market data to support that range. Like pricing artwork, you really want someone who knows the market and understands what you are selling. Zillow is a tool, but a trusted agent is the real asset.

Commuting to Work from Harvard

"This place is really beautiful, but how will I get to work from here?" We may seem like we are way out in the sticks, but Harvard is about 38 miles northwest of downtown Boston at the intersection of Routes 2 and 495, making us pretty well connected for the majority of commuters. A commute in the car downtown can be over an hour, but Harvard is certainly closer to places like Burlington, Marlborough, Maynard, Lexington, and Waltham.

Directions by car from the center of Harvard to The Prudential Center downtown today are estimated at 54 minutes. Directions from Harvard to Kendall Square are estimated at about 42 minutes. I would add 15 to 20 minutes to account for traffic, unless you commute during off hours.

Another viable option is the commuter rail. Harvard is close to the Fitchburg/South Acton Line and you can take the train from a few different stations nearby. The closest stations to Harvard are the Ayer, Littleton, and South Acton. Parking at the stations can be a little tricky so you should call each municipality and find out parking availability for non-residents. The MBTA estimates 1 hour and 8 minutes from the Littleton Station to the Prudential Center via North Station and 55 minutes from Littleton to Kendall/MIT via Porter Square.

I often suggest that folks interested in in the move west try the commute in order to get a sense of what it is actually like. I can certainly describe the traffic at the Fresh Pond Rotary, but one should really experience this themselves. ;-) As an aside, one tool that I use frequently to check traffic all over the region is SmarTraveler or their automated phone information system at (617) 374-1234. I have called this number countless times when I'm trying to figure out the best route to the Cape on a friday night!

What Devens Means to Harvard

"What is happening to Devens?" is a question heard in our office frequently. The most recent article in the Globe sums it all up: "The Future For Devens is Clouded" and for people considering a move to Harvard, the Devens cloud can be a little unsettling.

So first, what is Devens? Devens is what remains of "Fort Devens" an Army training facility built during World War I to train more than 100,000 Army soldiers. The facility was located on more than 5000 acres of land purchased from 112 land owners in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster and Shirley. Over the years this facility had been expanded and activated as necessary during wars and military actions.

In 1995, under the national Base Realignment And Closing Act Fort Devens was closed and the State appointed The Massachusetts Government Land Bank (now known as MassDevelopment) to oversee redevelopment efforts. In 1996, MassDevelopment took title of the land with the power to sell and lease the property. Since that time commercial, residential, recreational, and municipal redevelopment has taken place.

This year, after two years of deliberation and upwards of 70 public meetings, the Devens Disposition Executive Board (DDEB) proposed "Scenario 2B". This scenario would apportion some lands back to the surrounding towns and incorporate "Devens" into a municipality by the year 2010. However, this proposal was voted down by the towns of Ayer and Harvard so it is back to the drawing board for the DDEB. Meanwhile, MassDevelopment continues their development efforts and citizens anxiously await the next proposal.

The good and bad news is that the deadline for a decision on the disposition of Devens is not until the year 2033. One hopes that it does not take 29 years for a consensus, but it is difficult to predict. And if the development in Devens continues over the next three decades and proves to be valuable then the question of, "What is happening to Devens?" will be an even more difficult subject for the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster, and Shirley to agree upon.

I wonder how many public meetings will have taken place by the year 2033?.

Halloween Night - On The Common

Harvard residents enjoy quite a spectacle each year on Halloween night. Children trick-or-treat all over town and a large number of hearty souls venture to the town center where from 5 to 8 pm gracious homeowners, the fire department, and our own office open up the doors for hundreds of trick-or-treaters.

It is a community event like no other, where kids of all ages tromp through the center of town for the opportunity to see their friends and classmates in costume. Even parents get into the act with all kinds of hilarious get-ups.

We look forward to this community event each and every year. It gives us a chance to see the new residents that we have relocated to Harvard and connect with people that have lived in town for years.

We give away hot dogs, popcorn, apple cider from Carlson Orchards, donuts from Dunkin' Donuts, and more. Next year we expect we'll need more than 1000 hot dogs! One suggestion - arrive early, or you'll have to wait in line for the popcorn!