Manchester Vermont Real Estate Blog

I’ve been a real estate agent in Manchester, Vermont since 2003. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many buyers and sellers. I think it is safe to say that all of the great people I’ve had a chance to work with share the love and admiration I feel for this wonderful area.

The Manchester Vermont Real Estate Blog is an opportunity for me to share what I know about our area in general and real estate in particular. The main focus will be insights and statistical analysis of our local real estate market. From time to time the focus will shift to other aspects of our local community, after all real estate does not exist in a vacuum.

If you are reading this, you most likely already know something about our area. However, for those that don’t I will provide a brief overview. Manchester is a small town of approximately 4,000 residents. The larger town of Bennington sits approximately 20 miles south of us and Rutland is approximately 30 miles to the north. For the towns immediately surrounding Manchester, Manchester plays the role of commercial and cultural center.

We have many dining and lodging options, retail/outlet businesses, and an exceedingly large and varied offering of cultural activities considering our size. We are close to both the Bromley and Stratton ski areas. In addition to skiing we offer many opportunities for outdoor recreation including cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and snow mobiling in the winter, and golf, fishing, and hiking in the summer. And of course we are renowned for our amazing fall foliage.

Our local schools are excellent. Burr and Burton Academy, a private high school, is the area’s defacto public high school. It offers a uniquely excellent educational opportunity for our local students and is a drawing card for many families relocating to our area.

Getting back to real estate, we service approximately a dozen towns including Manchester. This will be the area that is predominately covered in this blog. The market is a mix of primary and second homes, and it is not uncommon for a house that was a second home to become a primary home and vice versa. The second home owner may be a family looking for a ski house or a retired couple who want to get away from the hot Florida summers. Most people interested in vacation homes want privacy and views, and we have plenty of both. But there are also those who like the convenience that a condominium offers and we’ve got them covered as well.

What we don’t have is cookie cutter subdivisions. Our housing stock is varied and unique with farmhouses, log homes, chalets, contemporaries, Victorians, colonials and capes as well as a few that defy categorization. It makes the job of the real estate agent more difficult but also that much more interesting. So whatever it is that floats your boat, chances are we’ve got what you are looking for.

Well I know my readers are busy, as am I. So that is it for now. In my next installment I will be offering the year in review for 2009. So please check back in a couple of days, and feel free to share your comments and questions with me and the other readers that I hope are out there.