Below, find my summary from 2nd Quarter data retrieved from the multiple listing service (MLS).

*Sales in Chittenden County, VT 2nd Quarter 2011 (*MLS statistics)

For properties listed over $750K, there were 5 sales: 2 in Charlotte, 2 in Shelburne and 1 in South Burlington. For properties under $750K, there were 372 sales across Chittenden County with most sales occurring in South Burlington (70 sales), Burlington (66 sales), Essex (57 sales), and Colchester (43 sales). Overall sales in Chittenden County declined slightly with 377 residential properties sold in the 2^nd Quarter of 2011 as compared to 475 sales in 2nd quarter of 2010. This is not surprising given the tax credits that were offered last Spring which were a large incentive for a great number of buyers, especially in the lower price brackets.

Burlington, VT Sales 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 66 sales in Burlington this past quarter with 2 sales over $500K. Both were luxury condominiums with Lake & Adirondack views. Click here to view current Burlington listings!

Burlington, VT Hill Section Sales 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 4 sales in the Hill Section this past quarter (one of which was my listing), and new listings have increased, as is common for this time of year. Click here to view current Hill Section listings!

Lake Champlain Waterfront Sales 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 4 waterfront sales over $500K in Chittenden County this past quarter with 3 in Shelburne and 1 in Colchester. The highest waterfront sale (which was my sale!) was for $1,780,000 in Shelburne. Click here to view current waterfront listings!

Charlotte, VT Sales 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 10 sales in Charlotte this past quarter with 5 sales over $500K (one of which was my listing which sold at $550K). The highest sale at just under $838K had waterfront access with dock & mooring rights. Click here to view current Charlotte listings!

Shelburne, VT Sales 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 26 sales in Shelburne this past quarter with 11 sales over $500K. The highest sale was the waterfront sale as listed above. Click here to view current Shelburne listings!

Condo Sales in Chittenden County 2nd Quarter 2011

There were 132 condominium sales in Chittenden County this past quarter with most sales occurring in South Burlington (34 sales), Burlington (32 sales), Essex (24 sales), and Colchester (16 sales). The 5 highest condo sales, ranging from $530K – $625K, were in Burlington (2), Shelburne (2) and South Burlington (1). Click here to view the most recent condo listings in Burlington and Chittenden County, VT!

Contact me for more information on any of the above information, or to start your property search today!

*Does not include For Sale By Owners, direct sales, transfers, etc. This information is from the multiple listing service of Northern Vermont.

A couple of months ago, I was approached by the Editors at SmartMoney Magazine to have staff reporter, Alyssa Abkowitz, shadow myself and several other staff in my company for an article on real estate agents working in today’s market. Alyssa  earned her real estate license in Vermont, and was then allowed to accompany me on several showings of property, to meetings with clients upon listing their properties, and even to a closing or two!  Click here to read the article in full.

I recently had the opportunity to share my opinion on the quality of life in the Lake Champlain region of Vermont.  The natural beauty of the region attracts many visitors, while the carefully monitored growth preserves this beauty for generations to come and for those fotunate enough to live here.

You can view the original article online by clicking here or click below to view and download a pdf version:
 Robb Report’s Exceptional Properties Magazine Article

If you’re considering the purchase of a second home in Vermont, be sure to explore this extraordinary Charlotte Vermont property. It’s a seasonal cottage — but certainly not a typical Vermont “camp”.  Built in 2003, this classic cottage features custom details throughout. And the location on Thompson’s Point offers you the best of Lake Champlain Real Estate:

• Water frontage on Lake Champlain
• Seclusion and privacy on a 1 acre lot
• 5 Miles to the Essex Ferry to NY
• Located in one of Vermont’s classic towns

This is an very interesting insert from the book “SHIFT” By Gary Keller.

BUYERS to SELLERS
“A buyer’s market should be just that—-a buyer’s market. It’s not a fence-sitting, waiting, loitering, delaying, dawdling, postponing, vacillating, hesitating, wavering, faltering, pausing, foot-shuffling market. By its very name, buyers should be doing one thing and one thing only-buying. So where are the buyers and why aren’t they buying?

The great irony of a buyer’s market is that even though the opportunity to buy is high, buyer urgency tends to hit an all time low. The media becomes the excited purveyor of negative news and uninformed advice, and buyers buy it all. Actually, it feels like the only thing they’re buying. Their reluctance is ironic since no so long ago buyers were incredibly excited about buying—when it was a seller’s market. Prices were escalating and it was perhaps one of the most difficult times to buy value and yet people were buying like there was no tomorrow. Buyers were afraid of losing out by not buying even though the advantage was all to the seller. Now a shift has occurred—it’s a true buyers market and what happens? Fear is in the driver’s seat!!

When they should have been afraid of paying too much they weren’t and now that they shouldn’t be afraid of paying too much they are. Its one of the most paradoxical moments of any market and the herd instinct at is most pure. Reluctance in the face of great opportunity becomes an agonizingly defining characteristic of a shift. “

Facts: The headlines are not going to tell you to “buy now”
You can’t time the market—you don’t know when the bottom really is!! History supports– that if you’re always in the market, actively paying attention, although you may never sell at the highest peak or buy at the absolute bottom, you can buy right and always do well over time. Logic says that you can’t predictably time the market at the exact top and bottom.

SELLERS to BUYERS
SELLERS ARE IN THE SAME SITUATION YOU ARE IN! They know prices will come back up some day but they don’t know when. Genuine sellers want or need to sell now, but they have fears too. They don’t know if prices will go lower either so if they can sell today, they will. That means they are ready to deal because they’re afraid today might be the best price they get. This makes most very willing to consider reasonable offers.