Our clients and prospective clients often ask us whether housing prices will increase, and whether or not there will be sufficient inventory coming on the market in the near future. Some common questions might include: "will next Spring be as crazy as last Spring?" "Are there any great houses coming on the market?". One catch phrase we rely ..read more

Part of what makes the Northampton, Massachusetts area so vibrant and well regarded is the Five College region. In addition to fostering a diverse community and thriving businesses, the location offers several parks and trails for active individuals. Maple Main and Realty, a real estate agency that helps ..read more

There’s much to love about the Five College region of Northampton, Massachusetts — a diverse community, flourishing local businesses, and an abundance of natural parks and walking trails. Besides these amenities, the area is also filled with many venues that focus on the visual ..read more

It's almost holiday time and many of us have already started thinking about procuring, making and/or purchasing gifts for our loved ones and colleagues. I heard a great segment on NPR the other day about ways to cut down on paper waste when wrapping gifts - since most commercially produced gift wrapping products are not recyclable ..read more

As we gear up for the next spring market, now is a good time to give thought to any updates we might want to make to our spaces. If you are a home buyer, you may be interested in following article from Food52, which highlights some exciting new design trends. If you are a homeowner who intends to stay put, perhaps it will give you some "Inspo" for your next ..read more

Well, Omicron is here and, so, it seems, we are back indoors with ourselves and our stuff! As much as I view my home as my refuge, I also feel oppressed by the various deserted projects I have attempted to complete throughout the pandemic - not to mention the areas of my home that require (continued) attention: maintenance, deep cleaning ..read more

If you are a local homeowner with some amount of land that you take pride in maintaining (or paying someone to maintain), this article will be of interest to you. As I take stock of my own yard, preparing my beds for the dormant season, hiring someone to prune certain shrubs and trees, and wondering how to manage all of the leaves (turn them into mulch for my beds? remove them altogether? cajole one of my children into doing either task?) - I was interested to come across the following article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette about jumping worms. Apparently, we have a new, invasive species ..read more

In my conversations with prospective buyers, sellers and colleagues, it is starting to feel as if the furor of the sellers market of this past spring and summer has started to calm down. I am noticing that listings are taking a bit longer to sell, and more buyers seem to be coming out of the woodwork (at a time of year when that has not traditionally been the case). While the article below, from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, does state that Mass home sales are down for the second straight month is a row - it also notes that home sales in August were up from 2020 in Hampshire and Hampd ..read more

As a fledgling gardener myself, I very much enjoy Mickey Rathbun's column from Northampton's Daily Hampshire Gazette. She always gives sound advice about garden establishment and maintenance. This time of year, I find myself, like her, tiring of spending long hours in the garden, under the hot sun, pulling weeds. With the current heatwave down upon us, this article really hits home.   We homeowners in Western Massachusetts tend to have twice the amount of home maintenance to consider in the warmer months - with the movement from inside to outside of our homes.  Ms ..read more

As a novice gardener, I love this time of year in  Western MA. There are so many beautiful plants blooming in every yard and garden that I pass on my daily walks. Peony, Iris and Lilac season are behind us, and soon we will find ourselves in the dog days of summer, where we tend to see less of an array of colorful perennials blooming (but this can be helped by planting annuals!) When we moved to our new-ish house in Florence MA, we hired a local gardener to create a pollinator bed in front of our house. It is fun to watch the different plants come and go - and think ab ..read more