Local Schools Making the Grade

A quick shout out to some local schools getting notice by the daily beast as some of the best High Schools in the country.

Local Kids are Super Prepared for College
according to a new ranking by the Daily Beast.

Algonquin, (Northborough and Southborough), Ashland, Shrewsbury High, Natick, Medfield, Bolton, and Hopkinton High all made the list, along with other MA schools. Medfield and Hopkinton were just about neck and neck at the top for MA schools.


Not a huge fan of lists when it comes to school assessments, but I thought the methodology was interesting.


Best-

Matt

Westborough, MA - Home Sales and Real Estate Market Report (May, 2013)

The Westborough Homes For Sale Market Report

OK, so on to Westborough. Behind in my reports, as things have been very busy for me!

Westborough looks like a flat report, but the key element I've been watching this year is the houses for sale. If we look at March and June numbers of active houses from last year, we see 67 houses in March increasing to 87 houses by June. Well, we're in May, and he have just 59 actives, meaning we probably won't break 70 in the next month - a drop of 20% in inventory year-over-year.



Still though, we see prices steady in Westborough - but I don't know if that'll be the case in August. No news on the short-sale foreclosure front!

Westborough Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data

There are 59 homes listed as For Sale in Westborough.
There have been 69 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 48 homes sold in the last 3 months.

The Average number of Days on Market was 111 days for just SOLD homes.
There is an Average Market Time of 110 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $183 (vs. $185 )
There was an Average Sold Price of $415,848 for sold homes.
Westborough has 1 properties (vs. 1 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
Westborough has 3 properties advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender .
Westborough “Home Seller Index” (HSI)89: Last Report:91

*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS. Note, there will be a some what artificial jump in the rankings as the active status flag is being phased out. (this is a good thing, but will screw up my data sets).

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Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.

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Sox Update: One Month In

Sox Lead MLB with Best Record

It feels very strange writing that headline. Happened to be at the game last night, to see the Sox beat the tar our of the Astro's pitching staff, in an 8-4 game that really wasn't that close. There's been a lot of talk about 'are the Sox real'? A natural question since they were so awful last year. I think it's worthwhile trying to answer.


ERA: 3.49

I wrote last year that the Sox had their work cut out for them to fix the pitching. I thought it highly improbable that they would be able to reduce their ERA enough from a woeful 4.7 to something that would help them win. So far? A 3.49, a full run plus reduction in ERA. Cherrington adopted (smartly) the Baltimore model - load up with power arms in the bullpen, and then you don't have to worry about getting 7 from your starters. And the starters have started hot - Buckholz looks like he's on fire, and Lester has fixed some issues and is pitching like a different guy. Will they continue to pitch this well? I have my doubts -some regression to the mean should be expected - but the depth at AAA is encouraging in case their are the inevitable injuries.


Lineup might not be scary, but it's hard to pitch to.

I've enjoyed watching the Sox this season not just because they are winning, but how they are winning. Offensively, that has been because everyone has been capable of a big hit (even Drew). Napoli, Ortiz, Pedroia, of course, but also Victarino, Nava, Gomes, Middlebrooks. In a close game, they are sneaky hard to pitch to. People are going to start talking about Nava as more than a role player if he keeps hitting like he does in big spots. His OBP - near .400 - shows that plate discipline can really help a player with less raw talent. The surprise of the season so far, I hope he keeps it up. Also, I'm starting to call Middlebrooks' at bats "must see AB's". He's heating up, and the ball just comes off his bat different. He went 2 for 3 last night, (with a walk!), but the two hits were 2 feet shy of home runs - one an out to center field at 393, and one missed the lip on the wall. Not your average 2 for 3. If he continues to develop he really is going to be something special. We'll see!

The Sox are near the top of ESPN's RPI leaderboard, and from what I've seen so far, I don't think this is an accident. While key injuries could make the lineup suspect, the team has a chance to get into - and compete in - the playoffs. They've been catching some breaks - we'll see what happens when that stops. And in baseball, it always does.

Matt

Boston Strong

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