What’s Driving the Market

A captivating full moon illuminates the night sky above Gillette Stadium, with banners celebrating the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victories proudly displayed below. There's a specific kind of energy this week, isn't there? Backpacks by the door. Kids lined up at the bus stop looking equal parts excited and horrified. Football kicking off next week. Labor Day cookouts on the calendar. Summer's not quite over, but everyone can feel the shift settling in: that "okay, back

Solar-powered security camera mounted on a pole If you've driven through Hingham, Norwell, Weymouth, Cohasset, Marshfield, Pembroke, Plymouth, Rockland, or Abington lately, you may have spotted a new solar-powered camera perched on a pole near an intersection. Chances are it's a Flock camera — Flock Safety's automated license plate reader system that's quietly spread across dozens of South Shore locations and, in just the last few weeks, become one of the most contentious top

First Annual JGPR Golf Tournament Commemorative Coin Last Thursday, I had the privilege of spending the day on the course at Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland for the first-ever charity golf tournament hosted by John Guilfoil Public Relations (JGPR) out of Canton, benefiting the Hundred Club of Massachusetts. 98.5 The Sports Hub got in on it too, running a celebrity foursome auction with Hardy, former Red Sox pitcher Manny Delcarmen, Wahlburgers' Paul Wahlberg, and national

Scenic view of Plymouth Harbor with the iconic Plymouth Rock portico, surrounded by calm blue waters and boats on a sunny day. Things are looking up on the South Shore, and the numbers back it up, both the national numbers and the ones straight out of our sales meeting this week. Let's start with the bigger picture. The National Association of REALTORS® just released their July report, and a few things stood out. The Housing Affordability Index climbed to 103.3, up from 98.3

A messy kitchen sink with unwashed dishes and utensils piled up on the right side, surrounded by sponges, gloves, and cleaning supplies. If you've ever watched a showing feedback report roll in and thought, "but I love that room," you're not alone. Here's the thing about selling a home: the features you built a life around aren't always the ones that help a buyer picture their life there. That gap is usually where deals slow down. I pulled together eight of the most common cu

Charming two-story Craftsman-style home with a welcoming front porch, nestled in a lush, tree-lined neighborhood. Here's a stat worth sitting with: 96% of residential land in Massachusetts currently allows single-family homes by right. Only 38% allows duplexes the same way. That gap is the whole story behind a proposal moving through the State Senate right now, one that could quietly reshape what's buildable on residential lots across the Commonwealth, including right here on

A charming colonial-style home is surrounded by a vibrant spring garden Have you felt it yet? That shift in energy out there? Earlier this month I started noticing something. Open houses that felt more like block parties. Buyers who'd been quiet all winter suddenly asking sharp, ready-to-move questions. A general sense that after a long, sluggish stretch, Massachusetts real estate finally woke up. Turns out I wasn't imagining it. What the Data Is Telling Us According to the M

New Housing Law Officially Signed into Action: A Milestone for Homeownership Rights A few weeks ago I wrote about the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act while it was still sitting on the President's desk, waiting to be signed. Here's the update: it's law now. No veto, no last-minute reversal — it went into effect automatically once the signing window passed. If you read that first post, you already know the broad strokes: biggest housing bill in decades, huge bipartisan vote, a

A charming, small cottage with a vibrant yellow door, surrounded by lush greenery and colorful flowers, nestled under the shade of tall trees. Welcome back from the long weekend. If your inbox looks anything like mine this morning, it's a lot to wade through, so let's start with something useful instead of another "hope you had a great 4th." Here's a question worth five minutes of your time: do you know exactly how your town's assessor calculated your home's living square foo

In a city that can't agree on much, Congress just passed the largest housing affordability bill in decades, and they did it with overwhelming bipartisan support. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act passed 358-32 in the House, with the Senate approving it shortly before with similarly lopsided margins. That's not a close vote. That's a statement. It hasn't been signed yet. There's some Washington drama around that. But the bipartisan support is so strong that even if it faces

Commemorating the Legacy of Alan Greenspan: The Federal Reserve Chairman's Impact on Modern Economic Policy. Alan Greenspan passed away this morning at the age of 100. And while economists and market watchers are pausing to reflect on his legacy, I found myself thinking about it from a different angle than most. Before I was a real estate agent, I sat across the table from the people who made that system run. A Career That Spanned an Era Greenspan served five terms as Fed cha

Golf course pond and fountain on a sunny early summer day in Massachusetts Are you wondering whether now is a smart time to buy, or whether your home will still sell for what it's worth if you list this summer? The latest numbers from the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® paint a pretty clear picture, and when you look at what's happening nationally too, that picture gets even clearer. The numbers at a glance, May 2026: Closed sales were down 6.7% for single-family homes

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Promote your child's future success by embracing nature Is where you buy your home actually shaping who your child becomes? The science says yes, and it might be the most important factor most South Shore homebuyers aren't thinking about. I recently attended a presentation by The Trustees (thetrustees.org), the oldest land conservation nonprofit of its kind in the world, founded right here in Massachusetts in 1891. Their President and CEO, Katie Theoharides, walked through da

Charming suburban home for sale on a sunny afternoon, with the temperature reaching 93°F, highlighting a warm and inviting neighborhood. Fresh data dropped from the National Association of REALTORS® this morning, and one number jumped off the page immediately. In April 2026, the Northeast saw the largest month-over-month gains in pending home sales of any region in the country — up 6.6%. The Midwest came in second at +3.0%. The West barely moved at +0.4%. The South actually d

Federal Reserve official highlights interest rates hovering around 6%, humorously referencing AI with a note confirming the rate prediction. If you've been watching mortgage rates and wondering why they seem to have a mind of their own — even when the Federal Reserve is cutting rates — you're not imagining things. There's something genuinely new happening behind the scenes, and it has everything to do with artificial intelligence. Right now, Federal Reserve officials are in t

Leadership Announcement: A New Chairman Assumes Leadership, Initiating a Phase of Growth and Innovation. If you've been watching mortgage rates — or waiting for them to drop before making your move — yesterday's news out of Washington is worth a quick read. Kevin Warsh was confirmed Wednesday as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell in the most divisive Senate vote for a Fed chair in modern history: 54 to 45, almost entirely along party lines. It's a

Guide to Buyer Agency in Massachusetts: Essential Insights for 2026 by David Cutler Real Estate. If you're thinking about buying a home on the South Shore — or anywhere in Massachusetts — you've probably heard the term "buyer's agent" and wondered what it actually means. Here's a straight answer, without the sales pitch. What Is a Buyer's Agent? A buyer's agent is a licensed real estate professional who represents you — the buyer — throughout the home purchase process. Their

A serene residential street is lined with charming houses and lush greenery, basking in the gentle light of the setting sun. The April jobs report came out Friday, and if you followed the news at all this weekend, you probably got two completely different takes depending on where you looked. One headline told you the economy added 115,000 jobs — well above what forecasters expected. Another told you consumer confidence just hit its lowest point since 1952. Both are true. And

Multigenerational living is quietly reshaping neighborhoods across the South Shore. David Cutler Real Estate explores what's driving the trend and what it means for buyers and sellers. I've lived in Avon for 17 years. I know my street. I know my neighbors. So when I noticed that the house a few doors down was suddenly a lot busier — eight cars in the driveway, more voices, more life spilling out onto the lawn — I got curious. I don't know exactly who's living there or how it