Perhaps you’ve decided its time to move out of your apartment and purchase your first home. Or maybe your family is changing and you need more room for growing teens or aging parents. Are you an “empty nester” looking to downsize.  No matter what size, style or price range you’re looking for, there are many homes in Franklin and Hampshire County to choose from.

Currently listed in the Multiple Listing Service for Franklin County are 321 single family homes, 42 condominiums, 36 multi-family properties and 174 parcels of land for sale. In Hampshire County, there are 529 single family homes for sale, 155 condominiums, 44 multi-family properties to choose from and 369 parcels of land.

Buyers in todays market have an abundance of inventory to choose from. Cohn & Company Realtors will be happy to show you any properties that might fit your needs. Let us help you navigate home buying process and get you started on enjoying the benefits of homeownership! 

Statistics released by the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley:

• sales for single family homes in the Pioneer Valley dropped 3.2% from 341 in December 2010 to 330 in December of 2011
• the median price was down 10.3% from $187,000 in December 2010 to $167,750 in December 2011
• a six year review shows the median price dropped 11.7% from $190,000 in December 2006 to $167,750 in 2011
• 357 homes sold in November 2011 with a median price of $185,500 and 330 homes sold in December 2011 with a median price of $167,750, a drop of 9.6%
• single family listings which are under agreement rose 15.6% from 301 in December 2010 to 348 in December 2011

Greenfield’s 90th annual Winter Carnival will take place this weekend, February 3-5 with events at Beacon Field and other locations around town. Commemorative winter carnival buttons are available for $5 and will entitle purchasers to discounts in many local businesses during the carnival weekend. All proceeds will go directly to support the carnival.

The winter carnival has always been a crowd pleaser with activities for the entire family including an amateur photography contest, chili cook-off, cookie bake off, art exhibit, cribbage tourmanment, outdoor ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, a bonfire and fireworks display. A new event this year is a hockey match between the Franklin County sheriff’s department and the Franklin County firefighters at the outdoor rink at Beacon Field on Sunday from noon to 1pm. Check out the full schedule of events for all the weekend activities!

Looking for a tasty way to warm up on a cold winter day? The “Great Chili Cook Off” will be held 4-7pm this Sunday, January 29, at the Warfield House in Charlemont. Kim Blakeslee, one of the event coordinators, said there is usually 10 -12 chili entrees all competeing for 3 prizes – “most unique”, “spiciest” and “most original”. Enjoy the chili tasting, live music, and 50/50 raffle. Admission is $5 per person with all proceeds to benefit the 2012 Yankee Doodle Days Fair.

Greenfield, Massachusetts recently hired Ellen Boyer of Burlington, Vermont as its new library director. Boyer joins the Greenfield Public Library on February 6.

Boyer has a solid background in library directorship having worked most recently as the director of the Mark Skinner Library in Manchester, Vermont. She has a master’s degree in library and information science from Drexel University in Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Millersville State University in Pennsylvannia.

Mayor William Martin said he is looking forward to working with Boyer and discussing ideas for the library building and possible expansion. The library is a great resource for many people in town and it will be exciting to watch the library continue to grow.

Overall, the Franklin County housing market remained strong in 2011 with a total of 533 properties sold throughout the year. These properties include 426 single family homes which sold for an average price of $187,964 after being on the market for 176 days.

There were 38 condominium sales in 2011 with an average sale price of $173,884 compared to an average sale price of $170,913 in 2010. The average number of days a condo was listed on the market for sale was 217.

Multi-family properties saw a drop in sales with just 41 units sold in 2011 compared to 92 properties the year before. This years average sale price of $136,980 was just $2,000 less than average sales in 2010.

Land sales dropped with 28 parcels sold in 2011 compared to 59 parcels sold in 2010. The number of days a property stayed on the market (271) in 2011 was about the same as the year before, however the average sale price did drop slightly from $55,557 to $49,797.

The Massachusetts Housing Financce Agency has just introduced the MassHousing Mortgage with NO MI, a mortgage product that provides financing up to 97% loan to value (LTV) without mortgage insurance.

The MassHousing Mortgage with NO MI is available for owner occupied one to four family properties including condominiums on both purchase and limited cash-out transactions. This type of loan is another option that affords low and moderate income households an affordable mortgage payment.

If this program is of interest to you, contact us and we’ll help you get started finding a property that’s right for you.

2011 was a year to remember (or forget!) with a hurricane, a tornado and the Halloween snowstorm all bringing much damage and many down trees in the area. Now is the time to start burning those piles of brush you’ve gathered around your yard as the 2012 Massachusetts brush burning season begins on Sunday, January 15 and will run through May 1, 2012, weather conditions permitting.

Burning permits will again be available through the online permit system and you are encouraged to obtain your permit online whenever possible. If you do not have the option to go online, you may still contact one of the dispatchers at (413) 625-8200 to obtain a permit.

Permits are valid for only the day they are issued and are not issued in advance due to the potential for change in weather conditions. Permits may be obtained between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on days when permits are being issued. If the decision has been made not to allow burning in any town, you will not be able to obtain a permit in that town. To ensure your safety, read the complete brush burning regulations.

Greenfield, Massachusetts school and town officials are moving forward with preserving and renovating part of the current Greenfield high school building (built in 1957), and adding a new structure designed with flexible classroom space for 21st century learning.

The school’s building committee has reviewed design options and hope to renovate the existing 1,000 seat auditorium and build a new school around it. Greenfield Superintendent Susan Hollins said the proposed building will create two academic wings protruding from an administrative wing. The new building incorporates modern labs for the arts and sciences and a second floor library. The committee is also exploring the feasibility of a new synthetic track.

Accurate cost estimates for this project have not yet been made available; however, previous estimates for similar designs were in the range of $57 million. The project would need approval of the Greenfield Town Council, a simple majority from the town’s voters in an election, and the final approval from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

You may have been reading about schools in the last year. On how students in school systems in various countries spend more time in school, as the foundation of anyone’s life starts in kindergarten in terms of schooling. In Korea, students spend more hours each day in class and more months/weeks per year in school. This seems apparent in Asia where the need to keep up and get ahead is tantamount on parents’ minds.

In the United States we are lagging and the price we all will pay in the future will be enormous. We, meaning parents, school systems and committees, local and state government and federal government all complain, but I don’t see much result. Politicians love to yell, but do they care? Great question; maybe their re-elections should have some basis in improving quality education for everyone in this country. I suppose this is wishful thinking at best!

Let’s look here at Greenfield Public Schools. The reputation in the past (prior to 2008) was dismal. The news of everything connected with our schools was not great. Students were choicing out, principals leaving, chaos was the order of the year! Move ahead. Superintendent Susan Hollins comes to the rescue. This woman is smart, has a sensible outlook on schools and is very proactive in reaching her goals. You have read repeatedly about the transformation of the schools. Her job is not done. The schools are moving forward and doing well to meet the needs of all students. The Science and Math Academy, Early Learning Center, more emphasis on rebuilding libraries, and having students go on bus trips to learn, explore and appreciate the large world beyond Greenfield are some examples. Some students have never seen the ocean, or a city, or had breakfast before school, but now can and for free—parents are welcome, too!

I have said many times and shall again: If we cannot provide tools for learning, how do these students move forward in life? As taxpayers, we know how school funding works or does not. As parents and business owners, we know our town’s future can be sorely lacking. More than 60 percent of our Greenfield school students live in poverty. I also know that with all the learning improvements, many kids remain poorly qualified for college. At Greenfield Community College, much time, energy and money is spent getting students up to speed (not just from Greenfield, but all schools).

The Greenfield Education Foundation was formed three years ago and has benefited the schools by purchasing many items from physics/chemistry lab equipment to movie cameras to books and uniforms for students for sports, etc.

Why do we do this? Because we love our town, we appreciate the work of Superintendent Hollins and her staff. We appreciated the teachers, principals and Mayor Martin’s effort to make our schools a top priority. We owe this to all kids. Many families help the schools as volunteers. Many families cannot or do not support their kids in school for a variety of reasons. Our foundation is trying and succeeding at participating for the betterment of all students.

In your upcoming tax bills, you can donate to the Greenfield Education Foundation. This option was provided through Mayor Martin’s initiative, not ours. But we are fortunate that he understands the utmost importance of a sound education. We all wish enough dollars were available, but like everything else, dollars are scarce.

I have been involved in school support over the years and have sat on enough educational boards to feel comfortable stating that as  a town, county, state and nation, we simply are not doing enough. My personal wish for the new year, and many more to come, is to see all schools in this county thrive, to be the best. My wish is for us all to do the best for these students – really, what else can we do?

Written by Robert S. Cohn
This article also appeared in The Recorder on Saturday, January 7, 2012.