The Year-End 2012 Pinnacle Report for Wellesley and Weston Real Estate is here, and we would love to share it with you…. Our team at Pinnacle Residential Properties writes this report in an effort to help you make the most informed decisions about buying and selling property. Not only does the Pinnacle Report detail what has happened in these markets by price range, it also provides you with a look at year-end comparisons 2012 vs. 2011, offers the average ratio of sales-price-to-assessment data, conveys what may be on the horizon for 2013 and so much more.

If you would like to receive the latest Pinnacle Report, there are two ways to do so. Either email me by clicking here so I can get your information and send you the Pinnacle Report or sign up on the Pinnacle website by clicking here.  I hope you find the report to be as “intelligent” and “insightful” as other readers have, and please contact me with any questions or need for additional information.

The Pinnacle Report for Needham and Dover will also be released soon so please let me know if you would like a copy of this too.  Enjoy, and happy reading…. And for more information about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

Have you ever seen tree faces? I absolutely love them. To me, they add so much character, fun and whimsy to a yard. I also believe that they shed some light on the personalities of those who proudly feature them in their yards (a.k.a the homeowners). And so I explored the towns of Weston and Wellesley to find and share some fabulous tree faces with you and get your thoughts as well….

Just for reference, tree faces can be purchased at various retail and online locations, including Walmart, Amazon.com, Garden.com and GenuineTreePeople.com, and they range in price from $10 to $40 (at least according to my research). My tree face was a gift from Elaine Bannigan, owner of Pinnacle Residential Properties in Wellesley, who gave me one because I admired the three that were in her front yard (some of which are pictured here). Often I forget about my tree face, but as soon as I see it and remember that it’s there, I smile and my mood brightens….

My questions to you are: 1) if you were buying a home, and it had a tree face in its front yard, would that make you feel good about the owners or would it not make a difference at all?  And 2) if you were selling your home and had a tree face (or two), would this be something you would exclude and take with you?  You can tell I’m a fan of these tree faces. Are you as well? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

We are thrilled at Pinnacle Residential Properties to introduce our new video, which tells the story about who we are and about what sets us apart from the rest. Based in Wellesley, MA, Pinnacle Residential Properties is a full-service, residential real estate firm specializing in Wellesley, Weston, Needham, Dover and the surrounding towns. Please click here to watch our video….

In sum, we’re about:

• Understanding your needs
• Providing you with accurate market knowledge
• Enabling you to make informed decisions
• Supporting you with superior technology tools
• Sharing our local expertise with you
• Effectively negotiating for you
• Exceeding your expectations
• Bringing ethics and integrity into everything we do for you
• Listening to you, providing you with excellence service so you want to tell other people about us

The bottom line is… “At Pinnacle, we’re all about you!” And I can honestly say that after a decade in the real estate business, I feel honored to be a part of a team and locally-owned company that operates in these ways. I hope that you feel the same and contact us to help you with your real estate needs.

For more information about Pinnacle Residential Properties and/or the real estate market in Wellesley, Weston, Needham, Dover and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Williams (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or provide you with additional information.

So this question is really asked from a New England perspective and presumes that you have some kind of wood siding since the predominant exterior in these parts is wood.  And so assuming this, what color is your favorite for your home’s exterior – white, beige, grey, green, yellow, blue, red, brown or another hue?  Or do you like a mix of two colors?  Or a stone with a colored clapboard?  The possibilities are endless….

I did some online surfing and found a great article about picking paint colors for your house.  Interestingly, it says that “white is the favored color for traditional classical architecture,” which is mostly the kind of architecture we have here, especially in Wellesley.  It also says that dark colors (think brown) “will make your house seem smaller, but will draw more attention to details.”  This makes sense because I have often heard that a dark brown home is the hardest to sell.

I wanted to do some of my own empirical research, and so I looked at the exterior colors* of all of the active properties on the market in Weston and Wellesley to do so.  Here’s what I found:

- Of the 51 homes** on the market in Weston, MA:

• 15 or 29% are beige/tan (or a related hue like cream or taupe)
• 14 or 27% are white
• 6 or 12% are brown
• 5 or 10% are brick
• 4 or 8% are yellow
• 4 or 8% are shingle
• 2 or 4% are grey
• 1 or 2% are stone

- Of the 89 homes** on the market in Wellesley, MA:

• 26 or 29% are beige/tan
• 19 or 21% are grey
• 15 or 17% are white
• 9 or 10% are yellow
• 7 or 8% are brick
• 4 or 4.5% are blue
• 2 or 2.25% are brown
• 2 or 2.25% are green
• 2 or 2.25% are red
• 2 or 2.25% are to be built/to be determined
• 1 or 1% is pink

Interestingly, beige/tan is the winner in both Weston and Wellesley though grey is much more popular in Wellesley than in Weston – at least according to what is currently on the market in these two towns as detailed above.  And Wellesley has a much broader array of home colors than Weston does.  This is due in large part because Wellesley consistently has a much higher inventory than Weston.

So what color is your favorite for the exterior of your home?  And if you knew that a certain color was more appealing to a higher percentage of buyers would you paint your home’s exterior before putting it on the market?  I can’t wait to hear….

* Note that some homes feature two colors or a material other than wood combined with painted wood siding.  In those instances, I used the predominant color or the predominant material.  So if a home was brick and had an addition with grey wood siding, I classified the home as brick and not as grey.

** As of January 9, 2012.  These total inventory numbers are low due to the time of the year, and they do not include any “pending” properties or those with accepted offers.

The September 2011 Pinnacle Report for Wellesley and Weston real estate is here, and you may have gotten the postcard in the mail saying that it has been published….  Pinnacle Residential Properties is going green, and so for the first time ever, the report will not be mailed automatically to households.  We write this report in an effort to help you make the most informed decisions about buying and selling property.  Not only does the Pinnacle Report detail what has happened in these markets by price range, it also provides you with the average ratio of sales-price-to-assessment data, conveys what may be on the horizon and so much more.

If you would like to receive the latest Pinnacle Report, there are two ways to do so.  Either email me by clicking here so I can get your information and send you a copy of the Pinnacle Report OR sign up on the Pinnacle website by clicking here.  I hope you find the report to be as “intelligent” and “insightful” as other readers have, and please contact me with any questions or need for additional information.

The Pinnacle Report for Needham and Dover will also be released soon so please let me know if you would like a copy of this too.  Enjoy, and happy reading…..