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Single-family home sales in Massachusetts jumped
nearly 14 percent in October from a year ago, the
second consecutive month that sales increased,
according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker &
Tradesman. But home prices failed to recover, with
the statewide median home price falling by more than
10 percent during the month compared to a year ago.
Single-family home sales rose 13.7 percent to 3,698
from 3,253 in October 2007. Year-to-date sales,
however, are 12 percent lower than they were in 2007.
A total of 34,668 single-family home sales
transactions were recorded in the first 10 months of
2008, down from 39,383 a year earlier.
"The uptick in home sales for two straight months is a
hopeful sign," said Timothy Warren, CEO of The
Warren Group. "But the light at the end of the tunnel is
still a long way off. What we saw in the early 1990s
during the last housing downturn in Massachusetts
was that the number of sales increased for at least
eight months while prices continued to decline. The
lower prices are a key factor driving sales volume up.
My expectation would be that the number of home
sales will have to climb for several more months
before price declines start to level off. Another factor to
keep in mind is the impact of the collapse in the stock
market. Our October data reflects sales that were
negotiated over the summer and closed in October.
Our data cannot tell us if people were still shopping
for homes in October."
Plymouth, Berkshire and Suffolk counties experienced
the biggest boost in single-family home sales in
October. In Suffolk County, sales surged 71.2 percent
to 125 from 73 in October 2007. Berkshire County
home sales climbed 35 percent to 139 from 103,
while Plymouth County saw its sales increase 24.7
percent to 379 from 304.
Meanwhile, the median single-family home price in
Massachusetts tumbled 13.9 percent to $285,000 in
October from $331,000 a year earlier. The year-to-date
median home price has fallen to $310,000 - 11.2
percent lower than last year's $349,000 median price.
The steepest declines in median home prices so far
this year have occurred in Barnstable, Bristol and
Worcester counties, where prices are off by about 13
percent from 2007.
Condominium sales in October fell but not as sharply
as in previous months this year. Condo sales were
down 7.4 percent to 1,660 from 1,792 in October 2007.
Year-to-date condo sales have sunk 22.7 percent to
17,665 from 22,854.
The median condo price dipped 5.5 percent to
$260,000 in October from $275,000 last year. The
year-to-date condo price is $278,000, 1.5 percent
lower than $282,255 in 2007.
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ASAP Environmental
HEALTHY HOMES FOR BETTER LIVING
1 Arcadia St. Dorchester, MA 02122
inspections@asapenvironmental.com 800-349-7779 www.asapenvironmental.com
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The December membership meeting will take place
on December 18th at The Lantana in Randolph, MA.
Registration will open up at 4:30 with dinner being
served at 5:00.
After dinner, join us for
our Roundtable Discussion during which we will play
a couple of lively rounds of Home Inspector Jeopardy
and test your knowledge of home inspection. Then,
we turn our focus to Structural Failures in Residential
Construction, a two-hour presentation lead by Michael
Berry of Consulting Structural Engineer, Inc. Berry
provides expert technical consulting services based
on more than thirty years of structural engineering and
project management experience with a background in
engineering, design and business development in
private and public sectors. He teaches a forensic
engineering class at UMASS Lowell. His presentation
will describe a failure and then provide a diagnosis of
the failure based on the following considerations: a
home's structure is a complete system; structural
failures can be catastrophic; design errors; site
factors affecting structure; errors in the construction
sequence subtle clues can point to hidden problems
and failure in acceptable building practices. Berry is a
registered professional engineer/structural and holds
licenses in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Connecticut. He is the secretary/treasurer
of the Boston Association of Structural Engineers and
is a member of the American Society of Civil
Engineering.
I look forward to seeing everyone at this last meeting
of the year.
Bob Mulloy, Education Chairman
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FREA
E&O Insurance for Home Inspectors
800-882-4410 www.frea.com |
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If you have an employee who wants to become a
home inspector or you receive one of those weekly
telephone calls from a "wannabe" home inspector,
please tell them that there is now a place to go to
attain the 75 hours of educational training credits as
required in 266 CMR, section 4.00.
Sherman Price and Bob Mulloy are teaching a two-
term Associate Home Inspector Training Program at
Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School. The two
term, 75-hour continuing education class (code V312),
meets Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:15 pm, cost
$500 per term. The fall semester has already begun
and the winter semester will be begin on February
4th. A student may register for either semester first
and make up the other next semester.
Contact information: Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School 940 County Street Taunton, MA 02780 508-823-5151 ext. 123 http://www.ssreg.com/bptech/classes/results.asp ?string=v312 www.bptech.org For complete information on trainee requirements,
visit the MA Board of Home Inspectors Web Site at:
www.mass.gov/dpl/boards/hi
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CORCORAN & HAVLIN INSURANCE GROUP
THE SUPERIOR HOME INSPECTOR ERRORS &
OMISSIONS INSURANCE PROGRAM!
Underwritten by AIG's Lexington Insurance Company - Rated A++ by A.M. Best Home Inspector E&O Coverage offers these features:
For a quote or more information, please call Debi
Drury (x244 or ddrury@chinsurance.com) or
Mike Curtis, Marketing Manager (x243) or visit
website at www.chinsurance.com
287 Linden Street, Wellesley, MA 02482 800-304-8242 Fax 781-235-7190 |
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The state Department of Housing and Community
Development (DHCD) has submitted plans to
distribute $43.4 million to help Massachusetts
communities stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by
foreclosures.
The funds are part of an overall award to
Massachusetts of $54.8 million and a nationwide
$3.92 billion program announced in September by the
U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development for
communities to acquire and redevelop foreclosed
properties.
"These funds will greatly enhance our already
aggressive efforts to lift up the neighborhoods across
Massachusetts that are struggling with the harmful
effects of wholesale foreclosures," Gov. Deval Patrick
said in a statement.
Funding comes from HUD under the Housing and
Economic Recovery Act of 2008, legislation
Congressman Barney Frank, D-MA, helped lead
through Congress. The funds will be used to
purchase foreclosed homes at a discount and to
rehabilitate or redevelop them in order to respond to
rising foreclosures and falling home values.
Following criteria developed by HUD, the Patrick
administration has identified neighborhoods within 39
communities as areas hardest hit by foreclosure and
most in need of financial assistance, including Boston
($4.23 million), Brockton ($2.15 million), Springfield
($2.57 million) and Worcester ($2.39 million).
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CRACK-X
Got water in your basement?
Since 1985, CRACK-X has been a full service company specializing in residential and commercial foundation welding of cracks and other concrete repairs such as bulkheads, penetrations, cold joints, elevator pits, and slabs. We are committed to 100% customer satisfaction and back up all vertical wall crack repairs with an unconditional 10-year warranty. 25 Washington Avenue, Natick, MA 01760
877-272-2539 www.crackfx.com |
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B-Dry Systems
20 YEARS OF SOLVING WATER PROBLEMS
Written warranty for the full life of the structure. 800-320-2379
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InspectionWorld will take place on January 21-24,
2009 at the Disney's Contemporary Resort in Lake
Buena Vista, Florida.
InspectionWorld is the largest annual professional
gathering for Home Inspectors.
InspectionWorld speakers are your peers. They know
and understand the issues and challenges facing
you. And they deliver the real-world case studies and
presentations that will inform, assist and help you to
better succeed.
InspectionWorld is an exceptional value - three days
of education, networking and vendor access for less
than $200/day.
InspectionWorld education can earn you up to 20 ASHI
CEs, as well as apply to your state continuing
education hours.
InspectionWorld vendors are industry leaders,
providing you with the BEST available products and
services to enhance your business.
InspectionWorld Orlando will prepare you to face
professional challenges in a changing world. Shape
your future by taking advantage of quality continuing
education programs and networking opportunities at
this valuable must-attend event! As always,
InspectionWorld is sure to cover the entire spectrum
of what you need to succeed in building a first-rate
business.
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Vent Master
ATTIC VENTILATION SPECIALISTS
Inspectors, when you see signs of:
Recommend Vent Master For a FREE consultation, call Don Marcoux at Vent
Master
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General Power Products, in cooperation with the
CPSC, has recalled about 13,000 portable generators
because the generator's fuel valve can be damaged
by the cover plate during shipment and cause a fuel
leak and fuel spillage during use, posing a fire hazard
to consumers.
Inspectors seeing these generators being used as
stand-by powerloss generators in a home should
inform their client about this recall and advise the
homeowner to immediately stop using the generator
and contact General Power Products to determine if
the generator's fuel valve is damaged and, if it is, to
receive a free repair kit and instructions.
Name of Product: Portable Generators
Importer: General Power Products LLC, of Loveland,
Ohio
Incidents/Injuries: General Power Products has
received 14 reports of damaged fuel valves. No
injuries have been reported.
Description: This recall includes the General Power
Products 6000 Watt portable generator and the
Poulan Pro 6000 Watt portable generator with serial
numbers 060400483 through 060600725. The serial
number is stamped on the engine block which is
located on the front of the engine below the
generator's control panel. "General Power Products"
and "6000 Generator" are printed on the side of the
General Power Products generator. "Poulan Pro"
and "6000 watts" are printed on the side of the Poulan
Pro generator.
Sold at: Hardware and home improvement stores
primarily located in Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio
and Texas from June 2008 through September 2008
for between $600 and $800.
Manufactured in: China
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact
General Power Products toll-free at (877) 428-3769 24
hours a day, seven days a week, or visit the firm's
Web site at www.generalpowerproducts.com
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Peter Greifer Enterprises
ASBESTOS REMOVAL & MOLD REMEDIATION
Serving Eastern Massachusetts & Rhode Island 800-582-5288
401-946-4506 (Rhode Island) peter.greifer@verizon.net |
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The ASHI NE Chapter maintains a library of
educational books, video tapes and CD's for Chapter
members and candidates to utilize for personal and
business growth. Those who wish to sign materials
out may do so for a fee of $16 per item ($10 per
tape) which covers two-way shipping and handling.
Library materials may be used for a two week period,
beginning on the date of shipment. Those who fail to
return library materials on time will be assessed a
fine
of $1 / day. If the materials are not received back
within two months of date of shipping, you will be
charged the cost of replacement. To sign materials
out, there is a form that is posted on our web site
that is to be completed and sent to the executive
office. It is always recommended that you call the
executive office to check on the availability of an
item. Once this form is received, the executive office
will ship the items out with a postage paid return
envelope. The list of the materials that are currently
available in the chapter library is on the web site as
well.
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Rene Mugnier Associates
When in doubt, refer to a structural engineer
specializing in the investigation of homes and
commercial structural problems.
REHABILITATIONS & INVESTIGATIONS
777 Concord Ave., Ste. 201, Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-7773 |
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The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Home
Inspectors holds meetings on a regular basis that are
open for home inspectors to attend. These board
meetings are usually held at 239 Causeway Street,
2nd Floor, Room 204 in Boston from 10:00 am to 3:00
pm.
The meeting dates for 2009 are as
follows:
January 30, 2009 March 18, 2009 May 13, 2009 July 15, 2009 September 16, 2009 November 18, 2009 You are encouraged to call the board office at 617-727-
4459 for any posssible changes in location and time
of these meetings.
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Atlas Watersystems
WE DON'T MAKE THE WATER.
WE MAKE THE WATER BETTER!! Residential & Commercial Water
Filtration & Purification Water Testing & Analysis
Radon & Arsenic Remediation Softeners * Filters * Purification 800-215-9966 www.atlaswater.com "Bringing Technology to Water"
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President
Lisa Alajajian-Giroux /
homequest1@comcast.net
Vice President
Mike Atwell /
m.atwell@rcn.com
Secretary Donald Bissex /
dbissex@comcast.net
Treasurer
Paul Kristenson /
absinspections@comcast.net
Directors
Paul Cornell / pcornell@inspecthouses.com Paul Rogoshewski / paul@harmonyhomeinspection.com Council of Representatives
Paul Kristenson / absinspections@comcast.net Lisa Alajajian / homequest1@comcast.net Bill Sutton / wsuttoninspector@hotmail.com Committee Chair
By- Laws: Mike Atwell / m.atwell@rcn.com Communications: Education: Bob Mulloy / rmulloy@verizon.net Legislative: Membership: Executive Director
Walter Perry /
wperry@choiceonemail.com
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We look forward to seeing you at our Annual Meeting on December 18th !
Sincerely,
ASHI New England
email:
clough@choiceonemail.com
phone:
800-248-2744
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