Welcome to Centers and Squares

As a Cambridge real estate agent, the city squares of Cambridge, Somerville and Medford and the town centers of Arlington, Watertown and Belmont, Massachusetts are my home turf. And as a lifelong New Englander who’s lived within twenty miles of Boston most of my life, I can introduce you to other nearby towns as we search for your new home. If you’re planning to sell your home in Cambridge, MA or nearby you’ll find plenty of info about the home selling process here too. Questions? Send me an email or call me at 617-504-1737.

Sergi Farm in Belmont

Sergi Farm Belmont MA

Sergi Farm Belmont MA

Did you know that there’s a working farm in suburban Belmont?  Sure enough, Sergi Farm in Belmont, MA is a working five acre farm close to the Cambridge line.

One of the area’s best kept secrets, the folks at Sergi Farm sells vegetables, herbs and flowers that they grow themselves.

We stopped by on Wednesday after our weekly tour of new listings. I bought some fresh picked broccoli for supper.

Check out the Sergi Farm website to find out what’s fresh and for sale in the stand, info about volunteer opportunities, and their blog that will keep you up to date on what’s going on at the farm.

See you in line when the corn’s in!

Sergi Farm is located at 34 Glenn Road, Belmont, MA. Take Blanchard Road to Glenn Road and watch for the sign.

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Website Wednesday – Hippie Kitchens

But where are the hippies?

It can't be a Hippy Kitchen without any hippies

Website Wednesday: Hippie Kitchens  

Getting a little burnt out on granite and stainless steel kitchens? 

I’ve found the perfect antidote:

Hippy Kitchens is an amazing photoblog of 1960s – 1970s kitchens.  I’ll confess to looking at all 45 pages of photos on my first go-through.

Nothing fancy in these kitchens.  Lots of happy people.  Lots of funky kitchens.

Just take a look at all those meals getting cooked without benefit of the newest and shiniest kitchen gizmos.

Makes me nostalgic for the 1970s. 

 

PS: the Hippy Kitchens website is sometimes a little funky but keep fiddling with the links and it should work for you.

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Somerville Homes Sold In June 2010

Welcome to the Somerville Real Estate Report

Welcome to the Somerville Real Estate Report

Here’s the last of the monthly real estate reports with a quick look back at Somerville homes sold in June 2010.

Somerville Real Estate on the Market 

281 residential properties were listed for sale in Somerville in the MLS on June 30, 2010 for asking prices between $118,500 and $1,600,000.  Average days on market for these properties was 107. 

Somerville Homes Sold in June 2010

99 residential properties sold in Somerville in June with a median sales price of $390,000.  That’s  an increase of more than 50% over last year’s sales in June when just 65 homes sold.  It seems that Somerville real estate buyers took advantage of the home buyer credit.  It will be interesting to see if sales in the next few months lag behind last year’s numbers since some have suggested that the credit simply pushed sales into the earlier part of the year.

13 Somerville single family houses sold last month for prices between $282,000 and $975,000.  The median sales price was $480,000.  On average, houses sold for 100% asking price with sale prices ranging from 97% to 106% of the list price. 

It was a good month for condo sales – 68 condos sold in Somerville during June for prices from $210,000 to $765,000.  These condominiums were on the market an average of 50 days. The median condo sales price was $372,000.  On average, condos sold for 98% of the asking price.

18 multi-family houses sold during June for prices from $316,000 to $940,000. The median sales price was $508,000. On average, multi-families sold for 98% of the list price and were on the market 78 days.

Total value of Somerville homes sold in June 2010 was $44,114,200.

 

See also:

Somerville Real Estate Sold in May 2010

  

somerville-ma-real-estate

 

Info about Somerville homes sold in June 2010 from MLSpin

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Treegator – Watering Solution for Cambridge Street Trees

Treegator Bag Waters Cambridge Street Tree

Treegator Bag Waters Cambridge Street Tree

Treegator – Watering Solution for Cambridge Street Trees and Your Trees   It’s so dry out this year that you really need to pay extra attention to your yard and to the trees on the street by your house.

Transplanting a tree is not an inexpensive endeavor.  It’s an investment in time and money.  Time in the sense that it takes years for  a tree to mature – so start that clock!  You don’t want to be back to go two or three years down the road.

It’s sad and frustrating to see city trees that die after a season or two.  Too often the tree are planted but then not given the care they need to survive the critical early days and years after transplanting.

One solution that I’ve spotted around Cambridge and Somerville is the Treegator bag.  It’s a simple solution for watering – not drowning – newly planted trees.  A newly planted bush or tree will really benefit from a  Treegator bag.  Odd looking but effective from everything I’ve read.

My street trees don’t have Treegator bags so I bought a bucket on wheels.  This reminds me – time to water the trees!

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Medford Homes Sold In June 2010

Welcome to the Medford Real Estate Report

Welcome to the Medford Real Estate Report

Here’s a quick look back at Medford real estate sold in June 2010

Medford Real Estate On the Market 

On June 30, 2010 194 Medford homes were on the market priced between $159,900 and $1,300,000.  Inventory level bears watching – that’s a significant increase – more than 20% – over this time last year when just 157 properties were listed for sale.

Medford Homes Sold In June 2010

51 homes sold in Medford during June 2010.  The median sales price was $380,000.  Properties had been on the market an average of 64 days and sold for an average of 99% of the list price.  Medford didn’t seem to get a homebuyer credit bump this month – fewer houses sold this June than did in 2009 when 56 properties sold.

23 single family houses sold in June  for sales prices between $170,000 and $535,000. The median sales price for a single family home was $382,000.  Houses were on the market 56 days on average and sold for an average of 98% of the asking price.

21 condos sold in Medford last month priced between $178,000 and $490,000.  The median condo sales price was $347,000.  Condominiums sold for an average of 97% of the list price and were on the market an average of 78 days.

multi-family houses sold during June in Medford for $323,900 to $635,000.   Six of the seven sold for between 96% and 101% of asking price.  One two-family – a fixer-upper on Winthrop Street – sold for an eye popping  157% of asking price.  The house sold for an even $500,000 after coming on the market with an asking price of $319,000.  Difficult as it can be to believe, higher prices are often achieved when the asking price is set low.  

Total value of Medford homes sold in June 2010 was $19,342,988.

Also see: 

Medford Real Estate Sold In May 2010 

SEARCH FOR PROPERTIES FOR SALE IN MEDFORD MASS

 

Information about the Medford homes sold in June 2010 from MLSpin

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Hong Kong Monument In Harvard Square

Tribute to Sen Lee - founder of the Hong Kong in Harvard Square

Tribute to Sen Lee - founder of the Hong Kong in Harvard Square

Hong Kong Monument In Harvard Square   Wander around Harvard Square and you’ll stumble upon memorials –  to the Colonial days, to the Revolution, to various classes at Harvard, and to modern day Cantabridgians too.

I was tickled to come across the monument on the right while walking through the Square recently.

It’s a tribute to Sen Lee, the founder and long-time proprietor of the Hong Kong restaurant across the street.  Sen Lee opened the Hong Kong more than fifty years ago.  It’s a Harvard Square institution and  a  popular place to see comedy shows. 

My Hong Kong experience is limited to the Faneuil Hall Hong Kong where I briefly waitressed while in graduate school.  Now that was an easy waitressing gig – plop down the scorpion bowl, stick some straws in it, and collect the tip. Sweet!

The Hong Kong in Harvard Square

The Hong Kong in Harvard Square

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Arlington Homes Sold in June 2010

Welcome to the Arlington Real Estate Report

Welcome to the Arlington Real Estate Report

Here’s a quick look back at Arlington homes sold in June 2010.

Arlington Real Estate On The Market 

There were 153 Arlington homes  for sale on June 30, 2010 priced from $164,900 to $1,195,000.  Average days on market for these properties was 82.

Arlington Homes Sold In June 2010

68 Arlington homes sold in June. That’s a 21% increase over 2009 sales when 56 sales closed in June. The median price paid was $481,750.  Homes sold on average for 97% of the list price. 

40 single families sold in June for $245,000 to $1,000,000.  The median price paid was $499,500.  Houses were on the market an average of 55 days and sold on average for 96% of the asking price.

26 condos sold in Arlington in June 2010 for prices from $120,000 to $575,000.   The median sales price was $396,000.  Condominiums sold for an average of 98% of the asking price and were on the market an average of 47 days.

Just two Arlington multi-family houses  sold in June for $560,000 and $639,000. 

Total value of Arlington homes sold in June 2010 was $32,149,513.

SEARCH FOR ARLINGTON MASS REAL ESTATE

ARLINGTON Real Estate Sold in May 2010

 

Information about Arlington homes sold in  June 2010 from MLSpin

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Watering the Plants

Watering the plants on Newport Road

Watering the plants on Newport Road

Watering the Plants  We spotted this ingenious setup while on our weekly tour of new Cambridge real estate listings today.

Somebody at the Newport Road condos had rigged this up – it’s a camera tripod holding up the hose sprayer.

As we drove around you couldn’t help but notice how parched it is around here – so many of the lawns are brown and flowers, bushes, even the groundcover are  drooping. Time to break out the hoses!  And don’t forget the street trees – with just a small patch of dirt those trees are even thirstier.

I still don’t have a tripod for my camera or my Flip. But if I end up with an extra I’ll put it to work with the landscaping.

Here’s the newly listed Newport Road condo we were looking at (click on the small photo for details):

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