2012 Wellfleet Oysterfest - October 13th & 14th

This year will be the 12th annual Wellfleet OysterFest. The weekend (and the village) will be filled with fun things for the whole family to do and see. There is a 5K run, a tennis tournament, arts & crafts, a guided walk across Uncle Tim's Bridge, and the all-important oyster shucking contest.

Go to http://www.wellfleetoysterfest.org/ for more information, a schedule of events and for instructions on how to shuck an oyster.

Just for Fun - Cape Outhouses

I stumbled upon this video and I thought it might be fun to catch a bit of the early Cape 'experience'. Check out this video.

 

Photo of the Day - Great Pond Sunset

This was today's sunset on Great Pond. Amazing!

My October 2012 Newsletter Is Available Now!

My October 2012 newsletter is available now! This issue of my newsletter has a market update for Eastham through August. Additionally, you'll find articles about Eastham's 2013 assessments, Wellfleet's Oysterfest, the Orleans Water Fest, refinancing your mortgage, and 2 new listings.

This newsletter has been published every month for over 9 years. My aim, with my newsletter, is to provide accurate sales and market information about the Eastham housing marketplace, to add commentary and opinion (as appropriate), and to keep it interesting. Download your copy of my October newsletter now.

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

This is a to-be-built 1550 sqft contemporary Cape-style house, just about 1 1/2 miles to Nauset Light 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://5Wonderstrand.robertsheldon.com for more information and photos. There, you'll also be able to download floorplans and elevation views.

2013 Eastham Assessment Information

I met with Gail McAleer, the Town Assessor, on Friday and learned that Eastham's 2013 assessment data will be available soon. She gave me the 'highlights'. A few data points...

• The assessment is intended to represent home values as of 1/1/2012
• The median single family residential home assessment for 2013 is $386,450, down 0.7% from the 2012 median assessment
• The average assessed value is $449,647
• There were 5081 single family homes in Eastham as of 1/1/2012  (up 7 from 2011)
• The total assessed value for Eastham's single family residences is $2.28 Billion (down about 1%)

The 2013 real estate tax rate for Eastham is $6.53/thousand (up 2.8%).

The assessments for individual homes will be available online, on the Town of Eastham website...Here. You can also pick up a newspaper-like copy of the town assessments, next week (I think), at Town Hall and at quite a few of Eastham's commercial establishments (e.g. the Eastham Superette).

2012 Eastham Windmill Weekend - September 7th - 9th

Windmill Weekend is the biggest and best weekend in Eastham and is held the weekend after Labor Day. The town puts on a party with lots of events and it's always fun for the whole family. The 35th annual Windmill Weekend includes an art show, a craft show, a car show, sand 'art' at First Encounter Beach (my favorite), concerts, a clam chowder contest, square dancing, a parade, 5 mile and 2 mile runs, and much more.

Go to the Windmill Weekend website for a schedule and more information. This year's theme is "Eastham Celebrates Eastham". Come - come join the fun!

Two items of special note. First - the sand art contest will be held Saturday morning to be at low tide, and second - the parade route on Sunday has been shortened and will start at Arnold's Restaurant and proceed to the Windmill Green.

2012 Old Timers Longboard Competition

The 2012 Old Timers Longboard Competition was held last week at White Crest Beach in Wellfleet. The weather was spectacular and the crowds were bigger than they've been in years. The waves, on the other hand, were disappointing.

This is a unique event on the Cape, held the last weekend in August and intended to be an end-of-summer get together for Cape lifeguards, surfing crazies, and 'oldtimers' of any age. Although a light-hearted event, the surfing 'rules' are taken seriously. The key rules are..

• all boards must be at least 9 ft long
• participants must be 21 years old (except lifeguards, who can be younger)
• no wetsuits or tethers
• no whining

Go to the competition's website for the results and for photos of the event.

Eastham's August Sales Preview

Eastham's August sales continue on a 'normal' path after a huge June.  August's sales reflect the activity during the late-late spring and early summer. The details.. 

• There were 6 homes sold in Eastham in August, down from July's 9 sales.
• Total sales were approximately $3.2M - the average home sale price was $541K
• The median sale price in August was also $541K.
• There are currently 127 active single family listings in Eastham, with an average list price of $645K and a medium price of $470K.
• The average days-on-market is currently 227 days.

For more details, graphs, and commentary, download my latest monthly Eastham newsletter -- here. I've been publishing this newsletter for over 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!