Captains Golf Course Webcam

I'm a total sucker for a good webcam. This one, in particular, will be a constant reminder of how nice it can be to take an afternoon playing one of the many outstanding golf courses on the Cape. This one, 'the Captians' is in Brewster. It's actually 2 courses, the Port and the Starboard. What we see in this webcam, is the practice green in the foreground and (I believe) the 9th green and 10th tee of the Port course.  We'll have to wait for the snow to melt to be sure.  Click here to get the currect view.

 

New Listing - 2012 To-Be-Built Cape Style Home

This is a to-be-built 1550 sqft contemporary Cape-style house, just under a mile to Campground Beach. This 2 bedroom, 2 bath home will have hardwood floors, solid surface counters, gas fireplace, natural gas, full basement, rear deck, and an outdoor shower. You will find this an exceptional home with quality features and exceptional trim-work. Buy it early enough and be a part of the selection process for kitchen counters and pick your own paint colors.

Go to http://15BradfordLane.robertsheldon.com for more information and photos. There, you'll also be able to download floorplans and elevation views.

Robo-Signing Settlement - Homeowners Q & A.

The long awaited mortgage foreclosure Robo-signing settlement has finally been agreed-to by the Federal government and the 5 key banks. The $25 billion (thats Billion with a B) settlement, announced yesterday, is expected to help many borrowers who are struggling to make their loan payments, owe more than their homes are worth or have lost their homes to foreclosure.

A lot has been written about this deal, but the Wall Street Journal has compiled a Q&A that should be very helpful. Check it out....

Rescuers Help Stranded Dolphins

This has been an different kind of year on the Outer Cape with far more dolphin strandings than usual. So far, we've had about 200 strandings, with only half being saved by the dedicated rescue teams that brave the cold and the cold water. The experts are baffled by the sheer numbers. They want to connect the increased strandings to the warmer weather we're having.  One theory (which I think makes some sense) is that we normally have an ice shelf the covers the low tide 'flats', preventing the dolphins from getting too close to land. With the ice missing they stray too close to shore and get surprised when they no longer has enough water to swim in.  Just a theory...

Check out this video from WHDH, Channel 7.

World War II Sunken Treasure

Treasure hunters are believed to be on the brink of recovering an estimated $3 to $5 billion in platinum, diamonds and possibly gold from the wreck of a British merchant steamer, the Port Nicholson, sunk off the coast of Cape Cod by a German U-boat in June 1942. The wreck is about 50 miles east of Provincetown in 700 feet of water. This may turn out to be the exciting story for 2012. Read the story on the Cape Codder website... Here.

Another article, with a lot more information, can be found on the SubSea World News website...Here

It's a Buyer's Market!

The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch website ran an article this weekend that makes the case that Buyer's have it pretty good this winter. This is certainly true in Eastham and the Outer Cape. We have over a year's worth of inventory and super-low mortgage rates. If we only had a more positive economic outlook, then we'd have a dynamite spring. Here's hoping!

Read the Wall Street Journal article ... here.

Eastham's January Home Sales

Eastham's January sales started the year on a good trajectory with 11 sales, up from January 2011's 7 sales. The details....

• There were 11 homes sold in Eastham in January, up 5 from December. 
• Total sales were roughly $4.3M - the average home sale price was $388K
• The median sale price in December was $370K.
• There are currently 126 active single family listings in Eastham, with an average list price of $593K and a medium price of $439K.
• The average days-on-market is currently 224 days.

For more details, graphs, and commentary, download my latest monthly Eastham newsletter -- here. I've been publishing this newsletter for almost 9 years with the goal of providing market information to my clients, so they may approach the market from a more informed position. Check it out!

Three years, 3,500 miles - Neat Story

A story that no one expected to actually end has had a sort-a happy ending.  Apparently a boat lost at sea off Nantucket Island during the summer of 2008 has been found off the coast of Spain. That was almost 3 years ago. The 'good' part of this story is that nobody lost their life when the boat 'got away'.

Read this story in the Boston Globe's bostom.com website..... Here.

Dolphin Strandings On The Outer Cape

This last week or so has seen an unprecedented number of dolphin strandings on the bay beaches of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet. So many, it seems, that the national news has picked up the story. Sadly, most of the approximately 85 dolphins expired before the tireless volunteers of IFAW's rescue efforts could save them. They were able to save about 35 animals by transporting them to Provincetown's Race Point, where they released them safely into the open ocean.

The following video is from Fox News, broadcast this morning.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages - Time to Reevaluate Your ARM

With 30 year fixed rates at historically low rates and the likelihood of higher rates in the future on the rise it's time that you reevaluate your adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). It might make sense to refinance to a 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage

Check out this article for some background and ideas relative to your ARM evaluation.