Teens Available for Shoveling in Cambridge

With so little snow this year it’s quite possible that you haven’t lined up a snow shoveling crew yet.  Years ago, it seemed easy to find a neighborhood teen to shovel, mow the lawn, babysit, etc.  But nowadays willing teens are sometimes difficult to find.

The Cambridge Council on Aging compiles a list every winter of teenagers who are looking for snow shoveling jobs.  The COA matches elderly or disabled residents with teens looking for work.  The resident and the teenager negotiate the rate and the teen is paid directly by the resident.

Interested teens can pick up an application at the Youth Employment Center at the high school (459 Broadway, Room 2101), the Senior Center (806 Mass Ave Cambridge), or the Office of Workforce Development (51 Inman Street).  The application is available online but must be returned to one of the three offices.

If you’re unable to shovel and need a referral you can contact the Cambridge Council on Aging at 617-349-6220.

There's pent up demand in the Cambridge real estate market

Contrary to what many people might expect, given pessimistic newspaper headlines and doomsday forecasting, there’s a lot of pent up demand in the Cambridge real estate market.

We’ve been working with low inventory for a while, as sellers hold back from listing their properties for sale in what they perceive to be a down market.  January is always a challenge – buyers are ready but new listings are slow to come on the market.

But if recent sales activity is any indication, the buyers are out there, ready to make an offer if they can find what they want.

Here are some recent examples from the Cambridge real estate market:

A Cambridgeport house that could be used as multi-family or a single family came on last week for $900,000 and received 16 offers.

A triple-decker in the Riverside neighborhood priced at over $1,000,000 received multiple offers.

An unrenovated (unspoiled is a better word – it still had lots of original charm) North Cambridge triple-decker recieved a dozen or so offers and sold for more than $100,000 over asking.

If you’ve been thinking of selling now may be a better time than you think.  If you want to find out what’s possible, you can reach me at 617-504-1737 or email me here.

Liz Bolton, Coldwell Banker

Cambridge - Healthiest City for Women

We recently posted about Cambridge and Somerville superlatives.  Here’s the lastest kudos:

Self magazine, in its December 2011 issue, ranked Cambridge as the “healthiest city overall” for women.

Cambridge got great scores in nearly every category the magazine looked at including wellness, safety, and how many women walk to work.

“Plus it’s easier to afford the doctor in a place where 97% of women have insurance, thanks in no small part to a state that requires residents to be covered by law and chips in to help.”

Look for the December issue of Self on newsstands.

Cambridge Pothole Hotline

I’m not sure why it took half a dozen jaw-clacking trips over – through – into the pothole on Sherman Street before I remembered the Cambridge Pothole Hotline.

Cambridge makes it super simple to report a pothole.  You can fill out the form online like I just did or call the Cambridge Pothole Hotline at 617-349-4854.  When you fill out the online form you’re given the option of providing your email address and / or phone number in order to be updated on the pothole’s status.

I’ll be delighted to get that call – that Sherman Street pothole is a doozy!

Nov 8, 2011 Election results in Cambridge

This morning, whether it’s reading the Boston Globe or watching Morning Joe, you’d be tempted to think we didn’t have an election yesterday.

But we did.

Wondering who won in the Cambridge school committee and city council voting?

From the City of Cambridge here are preliminary results for the city council election and the school committee election of Nov 8, 2011:

Cambridge City Council Election Results

Cambridge votes by proportional representation.  You can vote for multiple candidates but you rank your choices – only one candidate can get your important #1 vote and you vote in order of preference for other candidates. 

15,393 votes were cast and counted last night.   Candidates who received 1540 #1 votes were elected on the first count.  Tim Toomey, David Maher and Leland Cheung each received enough votes to win re-election on the first round.  Frankly after that I get a bit lost in how votes are apportioned but we do know who won.  We think.  Cambridge calls all election results “preliminary”.  The results aren’t deemed final until November 18th after write-ins, absentee ballots, etc are counted.

That being said, per the preliminary results, in addition to Toomey, Maher and Cheung; Henrietta Davis, Denise Simmons, Marjorie Decker, Craig Kelley and Ken Reeves were reelected. 

Sam Seidel did not win reelection.  That meant we had one seat change – Minka vanBeuzekom won and is the newest member of the Cambridge City Council.

Cambridge School Committee Election Results

 Preliminary school committee election results show that Alfred Fantini, Patricia Nolan, Alice Turkel, Mervan Osborne, Richard Harding and Marc McGovern won.  Nancy Tauber did not win reelection.  Mervan Osborne is the newly elected member of the Cambridge School Committee

Cambridge MA Real Estate Market

How’s the real estate market in Cambridge?  People are always asking.  Let’s pause a moment, before we head into the holidays, and look back to see what kind of year we’ve had so far.  Here’s a review of Cambridge MA real estate market activity for January through October 2011.

For comparison, the numbers for the same period in 2010 are in parentheses.

2011 looks a lot like 2010 in the Cambridge real estate market.  The number of properties sold is up by 3% despite the low inventory.  The median price has barely budged for the market as a whole and the average time it takes to sell is unchanged.  Median price changes by property type may be due to the mix of what’s been available for sale.

On October 31, 2011, 221 properties were listed for sale in Cambridge.  That’s a huge drop in inventory levels from last year at this time when 373 residential properties were on the market.  Cambridge real estate agents have been grumbling about low inventory and with numbers like these  it’s no wonder that buyers are having a challenging time finding what they want.

Residential real estate sold in Cambridge – Jan-Oct 2011 (2010)

• 743 properties sold (720)
• Average days on market = 79 (78)
• Properties sold for an average of 97%  of asking price (97%) 
• Median price of $465,000 ($462,000)

Cambridge Single Family Sales – Jan-Oct 2011 (2010)

• Total sold: 94 (95 )
• Sale prices ranged from $280,000 – $3,750,000  ($275,000 - $4,250,000)
• Median price: $844,250  ($862,500)
• Average days on market: 74  (70)
• On average, houses sold for 97% of asking price   (97% )

Cambridge Condo Sales – Jan-Oct 2011 (2010)

• Total sold: 600  (569)
• Sale prices ranged from $164,000 – $3,450,000 ($175,500 - $4,250,000)
• Median price: $423,875  ($430,000)
• Average days on market: 81  (81)
• On average, condos sold for 97% of asking price   (98%)

Cambridge Multi-Family Sales – Jan-Oct 2011 (2010)

• Total sold: 49  (56)
• Sale prices ranged from $282,000 – $1,900,000  ($200,000 – $6,651,100)
• Median price: $775,000  ($707,500)
• Average days on market: 69  (71)
• On average, multi-unit houses sold for 97% of asking price  (96% )

SEARCH FOR CONDOS FOR SALE IN CAMBRIDGE MASS

SEARCH FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES FOR SALE IN CAMBRIDGE MA

Info about Cambridge MA real estate market in 2011 (2010) from MLSpin

What's Up With Traffic as Mass Ave Goes Into Arlington?

Somethings wrong on Mass Ave going into Arlington…

I’ve done my best to keep Centers and Squares rant-free  - not always easy for a natural born ranter.  But today I’m going to indulge myself.

In the 90s I  lived in New Hampshire for a few years and with my city-bred impatience was often aggravated by New Hampsherites’ odd behavior in lines (aka queues).  Inefficiency was the norm – lines that didn’t move, lines formed for no good reason, etc.

I’d tap my toe impatiently as the line at the post office failed to move despite the 6′ space that had opened up between waiting customers.  I’d bang the steering wheel as cars waited behind a stopped car  in traffic despite the wide expanse of pavement on the right that allowed for plenty of room to drive around.  “This would never happen in Massachusetts!” I’d exclaim.

Except, now it is.  Inefficiency rules.  At least on Mass Ave at the Cambridge / Arlington line.

I’ve driven through the intersection of Mass Ave and Route 16 countless times.  Never had a problem.  But now the intersection has become the source of intense aggravation.

Mass Ave approaching Route 16 has three lanes – the left lane to turn to go to Route 2, the middle lane to go straight into Arlington on Mass Ave, and the right lane to go straight onto the two-lanes of Mass Ave in Arlington or to turn right to go onto Route 16.

Something’s fallen apart.

Drivers line up in the middle lane despite the empty right lane.  Traffic backs up further and further as we get closer to rush hour.  Always the right lane remains empty or close to.  Fewer and fewer cars manage to make it through the light cycle.

I’ve steamed.  I’ve honked.  I’ve even tweeted for cripes sake.  I rant out loud “Two lanes!  Not one – but two!”  But the dozen cars in front of me don’t budge.

Today I left a message for a traffic engineer at the Cambridge Traffic and Parking.  My suggestions so far – maybe repainting or adding another set of the white lines on the pavement that show the 3rd lane as a straight / turn right lane may help.  Even better – one of those neon yellow signs that show the lane configurations should be installed.

Something’s gotta give.  Don’t make me get out there with my flag to direct traffic.

Cambridge and Somerville - Most Walkable MA Cities

Cambridge and Somerville Most Walkable Cities in Massachusetts  The popular site Walkscore just came out with its 2011 50 Most Walkable Cities.  Boston was #3 in the country with a Walkscore of 79.2, behind only top ranked New York City (Walkscore of 85.3) and San Francisco (84.9) .

Dig a little deeper, however, and you realize that the Most Walkable Cities list only included big cities – it’s a ranking of the walkability of the 50 largest cities in the US. 

When you look at the Walkscore rankings for Massachusetts you discover that Cambridge is the most walkable city in Massachusetts, followed by Somerville.  Using Walkscore’s methodology (Walkscore has a complicated algorithm meant to measure how easy it is to live without a car.  For the city-wide rankings the scores are weighted for population density throughout the city.) Cambridge and Somerville handily outrank Boston in terms of walkability.  Here’s the ranking of the top five cities in Massachusetts:

• Cambridge 89
• Somerville 84
• Brookline 83
• Boston 79
• Everett 77

And here are the 2011 Walkscore rankings for some other towns in Centers and Squares territory:

• Arlington 67
• Belmont 63
• Medford 64
• Watertown 74 (ranked 6th in Massachusetts)

You have to take Walkscore rankings with a grain of salt – sometimes the amenities included in a location’s ranking are a little funky.  Also, for these aggregate scores realize that some parts of these cities are much more walkable, while other neighborhoods are more removed from shops, schools, etc.

No question though – many real estate buyers are looking for properties in close proximity to shops, restaurants, public transportation, pubs, etc. In a time of high gas prices and traffic congestion the option of living car free is very appealing.  It’s not surprising that Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline continue to be popular with home buyers.