Menu

Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

Real Estate

2023: The Year in Review

12/19/23  |  Liz and Ellie Local

With 2023 winding down, our team at Liz & Ellie Local is pausing to reflect on the year. We’ve been with Compass for seven years, and Stephanie has been with us for the past two—and we are ever so happy she joined us! We've gotten to know many of our talented, knowledgeable, and experienced colleagues in the Compass network all over the US, including Edgartown, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and the Bay Area. Our team meetings at Panera kept us sustained with egg sandwiches and caffeine, and our yearly retreat to Maine helped us deepen our connections as humans, not just real estate advisors. Nevertheless, since we do work in real estate, we’re proud to report that we've been involved in over 30 transactions helping our wonderful clients buy, sell, and rent homes throughout the Greater Boston Area in 2023.

In the spirit of the ubiquitous "Best of" and "Year in Review" lists that pop up this time of year, we've put together some of our own statistics and fun facts:

 

Where did we work?

We spent most of our time in Cambridge and Somerville, with Arlington, Medford, Brookline, and Boston not far behind. All in all we worked in 13 different communities, ranging as far north as Tewksbury, as far west as Natick, and as far south as West Roxbury.

 

What did we do?

We helped people sell their home or find a new place to live. We did many consultations, market analyses, and buyer/seller planning meetings. We teamed up with stager Julie Chrissis to teach a Zoom event focused on preparing your home to sell. For fun, Liz traveled to San Francisco to see the last three Dead & Company shows ever; she also welcomed a new niece into the world. Ellie attended a Rueda (Cuban Dancing) congress in Madrid with dancers from all over the world, and found time to visit Germany as well. Stephanie spent time in Cuba visiting family and friends, traveled with one of her children to and from college in Ohio, and relaxed in the Hamptons. Rebecca went to two family weddings and spent a week on an island in Maine with no internet. After all, it can't be all work and no play!

 

How did our clients do?

On average, we put our listings under agreement in under a week. One of our listings went 23% over the asking price. Condos went an average of 7% over asking, and singles went for about 10% over asking. We didn’t always follow a direct path: Liz was hanging out at Porchfest in May, feeling inspired by all the great local music, so that when an offer came in on one of our listings from a buyer with a home that matched our seller’s needs, her creative juices were flowing and she proposed, then arranged, a swap between the seller and the buyers. This was a wonderful outcome for both parties!

 

We were thrilled to find homes for eight first-time home buyers, despite the higher interest rates, and to help many more move on to their next home or buy an investment property. Several of our buyers found their properties because of Compass’s Coming Soon and Private Exclusives programs, which give buyers access to homes before they are on the market. For those who were buying and selling at the same time, we did our best to smooth the transition—and everyone got where they needed to be. 

 

Who did we meet?

We are so lucky here in the Boston area to be able to welcome clients from around the country and around the world. We helped one person moving from California and another moving to California; we navigated a home purchase with a family living in Berlin; and we referred clients to Compass agents across the country. Some were leaving a home which they had lived in all their lives, and others needed a larger home to accommodate a growing family. We've listened to French, Spanish, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, and Mandarin conversations about kitchens, yards, and parking. And through it all we've felt privileged to get to know each and every one of our clients.

 

What's next?

Another exciting, challenging, educational, fun, and successful year! We hope the same is true for you.

 

Read More Articles

View All

Work With Us

With their complementary communication styles, responsiveness, competence, and ability to truly listen, Ellie and Liz enable their clients to feel at ease throughout any real estate transaction. They would welcome the opportunity to be your next real estate advisors.

Let's Connect

Follow Us on Instagram