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Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Friday, December 9, 2022
MassCEC Seeking Applicants for Triple Decker Retrofit Pilot
Saturday, January 8, 2022
02038.com: "Million dollar homes shock no more in Franklin, MA"
"Highest home sale in 2021
The highest price paid for a single-family home in Franklin during 2021 was $1,677,900. While decidedly small potatoes in many of the affluent communities throughout Greater Boston, it was the highest price ever paid for a home in Franklin listed on MLS-PIN.
Before 2021, Franklin’s record-high sale price on MLS-PIN was $1,577,000, which was set in 2020.
Franklin’s sale price record broken five times in 2021
What’s most noteworthy about 2021’s housing market in Franklin is that the town’s record-high sale price set in 2020 was surpassed FIVE times just one year later in 2021!"
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The number of single-family home sales in Franklin recorded on MLS-PIN during 2021 was significantly higher than the previous year’s total |
Monday, November 29, 2021
Franklin, MA: FY 2022 Tax Rate Information (Franklin Matters view)
The Town Administration and Board of Assessors prepared the following to present the FY 2022 tax rate info for the public hearing at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021.
My version shares the information with some chart views that I think help tell the story better (my 2 cents).
The official data and presentation copy -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/6._tax_classification.pdf
My view -> https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13BJB50G7qg3nU2_cS74HGxAFkgJMwJ8Syi_znlkcgSc/edit?usp=sharing
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tax rate chart vs. net change in property valuations 1988-2022 |
Saturday, July 24, 2021
"Affordable housing projects often draw resistance from neighbors"
"Housing costs are soaring across southern Maine, driving families from the towns where they were raised and bringing tensions to a boil as young residents and retirees struggle to compete against an influx of out-of-staters and well-off buyers.
That dynamic, which has intensified across the country during the pandemic, has unsettled quiet Cape Elizabeth, an affluent coastal community just south of Portland, where a proposal to build the town’s first affordable housing project in 50 years has pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised hard questions of who can afford to live here.
“This is a community of tremendous privilege and wealth, but there are other people in this town who are not well-off,” said Jamie Garvin, the Town Council chairman who supports the 49-unit project. “People are being priced out of the community they’ve lived in for a number of years.”
Sunday, February 28, 2021
New York Times: "Where Have All the Houses Gone?"
"This picture is a product of the pandemic, but also of the years leading up to it. And if half of what is happening in the for-sale market now seems straightforward — historically low interest rates and a pandemic desire for more space are driving demand — the other half is more complicated.“The supply side is really tricky,” said Benjamin Keys, an economist at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. “Who wants to sell a house in the middle of a pandemic? That’s what I keep coming back to. Is this a time you want to open your house up to people walking through it? No, of course not.”A majority of homeowners in America are baby boomers — a group at heightened risk from the coronavirus. If many of them have been reluctant to move out and downsize over the past year, that makes it hard for other families behind them to move in and upgrade."
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New York Times: "Where Have All the Houses Gone?" |
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Your input is needed for this Short Housing Survey
1 - Please take a few moments to respond to our short housing survey. You can find it HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11ntyxG2AYmXct2kvHRct1r_UioDqQjh6KQrAV2LKmjs/viewform?
2 - In addition, if you have not yet responded to our Economic Development Survey, please find it HERE: https://forms.gle/6SJpXeWPvg2H37A96
Both surveys close on December 13.
Thank you in advance for your time and input!
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Your input is needed for this Short Housing Survey |
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
In the News: home sales, virtual school
Driven by high demand and a shortage of houses on the market, more single-family homes were sold in Massachusetts last month than in any January since 2007, two organizations that track the real estate market reported Tuesday.
Median prices also shot up, according to analyses by The Massachusetts Association of Realtors and The Warren Group.
"The continued combination of buyer demand and a shortage of inventory resulted in prices rising in January," Realtors' President Peter Ruffini said. "Buyer demand also drove sales up, which puts emphasis on the need for more home sellers to enter the market. Rising prices mean more equity for homeowners and therefore a greater number may be in a better position to sell."Read the full article here:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140225/NEWS/140227791/1994/NEWS
The state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this morning approved a regional education collaborative’s plan to open a virtual school next year.
The Education Cooperative, which is based in Dedham and has Framingham and several other MetroWest districts as members, will be able enroll up to 2,000 students in grades K-12 from around the state at the new TEC Connections Academy.
The school will join the Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield as the only two public virtual schools operating in the state.Read the full article here:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140225/NEWS/140227776
Saturday, May 4, 2013
"a foretaste of things to come"
Realtor Warren Reynolds writes:
Demographic trends are very powerful forces in the social and economic development of any society. In every decade of the latter half of the 20th Century, the US experienced the profound influence of the Baby Boom generation (both for the good and the bad). Now we may stand poised to benefit in coming decades from the economic and social vitality about to be unleashed by the Millennial Generation as they come of economic age. There are many reasons for optimism about our futures!Read more about the increase in housing prices and why this is a good thing
Why housing may stay on the rise
Monday, May 17, 2010
Franklin MA Holds Steady

While the town of Franklin, Massachusetts has not escaped financial struggles just like most metro west of Boston towns, it appears to have really held its own on the housing front. Homes in Franklin have only marginally lost value during this recession compared to other surrounding towns and informed buyers still seem to choose Franklin over other towns due to a variety of reasons. Most cite the easy commute to highways including Routes 495, 95 and the Mass. Pike. Others focus on the strong school system or the commuter rail service with two Franklin stops. Many agree that the lower property taxes and a wealth of services were contributing factors in their decision.
A 9 month review of five area towns from the Multiple Listing Service reveals the following data:
Community | Within 2% of SP | Avg SP | # Homes |
Franklin | 98% | $403,410 | 180 |
Wrentham | 96% | $413,992 | 65 |
Bellingham | 97% | $279,942 | 109 |
Milford | 96% | $272,015 | 117 |
Medway | 96% | $362,435 | 88 |
Note: SP is "Selling Price"
This data is all very interesting and although someone would expect that the lower priced towns would attract more buyers, it is clear that the town and what it has to offer make all the difference. Franklin posted higher priced average sales over the past 9 months but had 180 homes sold!
Franklin, MA remains a great value and presently homes are selling rather quickly with at least 3 homes over the past few weeks selling during their first day on the market. If you have questions about the local real estate market, please feel free to email or call me at 508-369-5131. For more resources and information, check out my website.
Authored by: Kathy Stankard, of The Kelly & Colombo Group at RE/MAX Executive Realty.