The most active price ranges were ($350,000 to $399,999) and ($600,000 to $699,999) with 8 and 4 transactions, respectively.  The volume for this month is slightly down from Janaury which will leave us wondering how March will fair as we approach the busy Spring season! 

Please visit my agent home page at:  http://www.bostonrealestate.com/agents/BrettNeumeister or email me with any questions or comments at brett@bushari.com

In a decision today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court backed the Legislature’s 2007 tidelands bill to issue exemptions from certain waterfront licensing regulations.

The state Department of Environmental Protection had exempted most filled tidelands from such statutes, but the SJC’s 2007 ruling found that only the Legislature could issue such exemptions. A group of Cambridge residents had challenged the validity of the 2007 tidelands bill. Today’s SJC decision puts that challenge to rest.

“Although we are not unsympathetic to the plaintiff’s view, we ultimately agree with the defendants that the act does not extinguish and relinquish public trust rights in landlocked tidelands,” the decision reads.

Source: Banker and Trademan

The program:

• Uses a borrower’s financial and hardship information collected in conjunction with HAMP to determine eligibility.
• Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sale terms prior to the property listing.
• Prohibits the servicer from requiring, as a condition of approving the short sale, a reduction of the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement.
• Requires that borrowers be fully released from any future liability for the debt.
• Provides financial incentives to borrowers, servicers and investors.

The guidelines become effective April 5, 2010. A complete description of the program can be found on the HAMP Web site.

The agreement would extend and expand the credit to include current homeowners who want to move, according to the sources.

The original credit in the stimulus bill is set to expire at the end of November and offers a tax credit of $8,000 to first-time homebuyers.

Senate sources told CNN they have tentatively agreed to extend that $8,000 credit for first-time buyers until the end of April. In addition, they are adding a $6,500 credit for some current homeowners who buy a new residence by then.

To qualify, current homeowners must have lived in their primary residence for five continuous years.

Senators have not agreed on how the tentative deal would come up for a vote, but sources from both parties said they are considering adding the housing credit to a bill that would extend unemployment benefits.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated she also is interested in extending the homeowner credit, but House leaders have yet to endorse any one bill.

Cambridge Tax Bill

It’s tax time in Cambridge! If you’re a home-owner in Cambridge, you probably received a letter from the Cambridge tax collector’s office asking for the first payment (out of two) for Fiscal Year 2010. A “fiscal year” is usually used for tax purposes. In Cambridge, Fiscal Year 2010 began on July 1, 2009 and ends June 30, 2010. Real estate taxes in Cambridge are due on November 9th, for the first payment, and May 3rd, for the second payment.

The amount you owe is based on the “assessed value” of your home or condo. For example, if your property is assessed at $533,700, and it is a residential property, your tax bill would be $4,120.16. The tax assessor is the one who assesses the properties in Cambridge for tax purposes only, so don’t be disappointed if he thinks that your property’s value is less than the real market value… In fact, in order to pay less real estate taxes, you want your assessed value to be as low as possible.

The formula to calculate Cambridge real estate taxes:

YOUR ASSESSED VALUE   X   0.001   X   $7.72   =   YOUR ANNUAL TAX BILL

But what if your property is overvalued?

The tax assessor’s office allows Cambridge home and condo owners to abate taxes. What is a tax abatement? Tax abatement is a reduction of taxes or an exemption from taxes granted by a local government on a piece of real property for a specified length of time. In our case, you, as a property owner, can argue that your property was overvalued by the tax assessor’s office and request the property be re-assessed. If granted, your property’s assessed value may be reduced and your real estate tax bill will be lower.

How To Abate Cambridge Real Estate Taxes?

First, you need to know your property’s assessed value. To check the most recent assessment, go to the tax assessor’s website and perform a search. If you feel that your property was overvalued, it’s time to abate the taxes.

To abate real estate taxes in Cambridge, you will need the proper Application For Tax Abatement Of Real Estate Tax Form. All applications must be submitted no later than November 9th 2009! So, if you don’t act quickly, your next chance will not be until be next year. Forms may be faxed (with a cover sheet) to the tax collector’s office at 617-349-4357.

What’s next?

Now you just need to wait for a response from the tax collector’s office. In most cases, they will send an appraiser to preview your property and will re-assess the property’s value. You will receive the final decision in the mail. Please note that you still need to pay your first payment as quoted to avoid 14% annual interest rate, if your property’s assessed value will be reduced, your second payment will be adjusted.

Your property’s assessed value may go up, if the tax assessor believes it should… so make sure you have a strong case. You may want to consult with your CPA, attorney, or real estate professional. If you have further questions, simply call the tax assessor’s office at 617-349-4343 or send an email to: assessors@cambridgema.gov

The report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities,” found that in 13 of the 15 markets examined, higher levels of walkability, as determined by a walk score, were directly linked to higher home values. Walk scores are calculated based on a home’s proximity to community amenities, such as schools, retail shops, parks, libraries, banks and restaurants.

The study found that in a typical metro area, a one-point increase in a walk score could increase a home’s value by an average of $700 to $3,000, depending on the market. The gains were larger in denser, urban areas such as Boston, Cambridge,  Chicago and San Francisco, and smaller in less dense areas like Tuscon, Ariz., and Fresno, Calif.

The Cambridge metro is much larger than you might expect. Also, since Forbes Magazine exclude Harvard graduates from counting toward either Cambridge or Boston’s young professional rankings, this city ranks only 22nd in that measure. Top scores of sixth for small companies and second for big companies’ concentrations help land it in this position. Two pharmaceutical companies helping to lead the way: Biogen and Genzyme.

Top 10 best places to begin a career:

1. San Jose, Cali.
2. Cambridge, Mass.
3. Houston, Texas
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Boston, Mass.
7. New York, NY
8. Philadelphia, Pa.
9. Minneapolis, Minn.
10. Dallas, Texas

The Federal Reserve is buying Treasury’s and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in an attempt to keep borrowing costs low and to provide the financial system with money for lending.

However, there is some concern about the amount of borrowing needed to fund the campaign, which has resulted in the purchase of $130.5 billion in long-term Treasury debt and $481 billion in MBS so far. Yet the market still believes the central bank will expand its purchases in order to restrain long-term rates.