Local Real Estate Market Seeing Improvements

Despite a report earlier this week about the housing market continuing to stall, two real estate agents in Sudbury say things haven't been so bad this year.

According to agent Lesley Harries of N.B. Taylor and Co. Realtors, it's been a busy season, especially the last couple of weeks.

"The report was shocking," she said. "It's been a good year. It slowed in July and August. But they are out looking again. The number of open houses is high."

Low rates have helped keep agents busy. In the latest survey from real estate giant Freddie Mac,  interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate contracts dipped from 4.42 percent with an average of 0.7 points, to 4.36 percent, a 39-year low.

Harries said Sudbury has 137 active listings, and 12 are flagged with accepted offers.

"It's not a bad time to buy," she said. "I'm not sure what buyers are waiting for."

Jan Pitzi, a Sudbury resident for 33 years and an agent for William Raveis Real Estate for 31 years, agreed business has picked up.

"The Sudbury market is not doing that badly," she said. "It's up from last year. Houses that weren't selling last year are selling this year."

According the latest report from William Raveis, sales of homes ranging in price from $500,000 to $1.5 million are up from this point last year. In 2009, William Raveis sold 60 homes in that range. This year, they have sold 78.

Overall, they are 10 ahead of the pace from last year.

The median price of sold homes has also increased by $33,750.

"Buyers have remarked more about the market than the sellers," Pitzi said. "It's still a buyers market."