Morning on the Damariscotta River

   "Sea Smoke" rises off the Damariscotta River early on a January morning in this picture taken from behind the 2nd Congregational Church in Newcastle.

Damariscotta Lake in January

    Finally, some weather for snowmobiling!  This weekend my wife and I took the sleds off of the trailer and sped around Damariscotta Lake with some friends.  I used the opportunity to look at some of the properties we have for sale on the lake and even take a few pictures of some Newcastle Square Realty listings (I think that qualifies the machines as a legitimate business deduction, don't you?) on the lake such as this one, this one and this one.

   I was amazed at how many people were out on the ice fishing, snowmobiling, skating, cross country skiing and there was even a pilot in a small plane at about 20' racing a snowmobile. We stopped at a lot of the ice shacks to ask how the fishing was (and also to check on the thickness of the ice, you can't be too careful). It seems that while the pickerel were jumping out of the holes the brown trout were playing hard to get.  People were getting plenty of action though and the ice was a very safe 8" to 10" thick.  The good thing about folks catching pickerel is that nobody wants to eat a pickerel and so they throw them on the ice for the bald eagles to eat. There is nothing quite so awesome as watching a bird with a 6' wingspan swoop down out of a tall tree and land on the ice less than 100 feet from you.

   If you are looking for a property on Damariscotta Lake, Pemaquid Lake or Biscay Pond (correct pronunciation, biss-KEY) or any of the other lakes and ponds in Mid Coast, Maine keep in mind that they are not just for summer use and can be lots of fun in the winter.  And now is a good time to see them.  Sure it's a little cool now but we can do 50+ mph on the ice and see half a dozen properties in the time it would take to see 1 or 2 by car! Plus, there's no bugs!

Tom Field

Maines (frozen) Waterfront Real Estate Broker

Saturday Floor Duty

    I'm sitting here at the office, excuse me Newcastle Square Realty World Headquarters, on a Saturday morning - I have floor duty which means it's my turn to be the on duty broker helping those people who walk in off the street or send an email not addressed to a specific broker and since it's the weekend and our office manager, Linda Mitkus is off, I also get to answer the telephone.   With a temperature outside of 6 degrees, before wind chill, I have not been overwhelmed with walk in customers this morning.  Often, spring through fall anyway, there is a familiar "tap, tap, tap" on our front window panes as people outside point to pictures of the various listings we have hanging there.  Not today.

   Is my time wasted sitting at the front desk ready for business? Does anybody look at real estate in Maine in winter?  They certainly do.

   Due to our presence on Realtor.com the number one real estate web site in the world as well as the incredible amount of traffic we get at our own Newcastle Square Realty site which I'm pretty sure is the number two real estate web site in the world, there are plenty of people making email inquires and on line shopping from the comfort of their homes, many of them someplace MUCH warmer than here.

    Most home buyers today begin their home search using the Internet. Buyers can gather lots of useful information about home prices, towns, schools and more by starting their search on the web. As buyers begin to have more detailed questions about properties and start to formulate their plans to actually take a trip to Maine, this is when the services of a knowledgeable and experienced real estate agent becomes invaluable.  Starting with a phone call or email, I answer all sorts of questions, send more information and begin to set up dates to meet and start their home search.  Here at Newcastle Square Realty all of our property packets have been turned into PDF documents and are available for easy email delivery.  It's always exciting to start out on this new adventure with a buyer.  I get to meet some great people from all across the country and sometimes even other parts of the world.

   This morning I have spoken to a lovely couple from Pennsylvania who will be moving to Maine, they have grown children who already live in the area. Their home in PA is on the market and getting some good interest lately so they are ready to start looking for their new digs here on the Pemaquid Peninsula.

   I have also been chatting, via email and phone with a kayaking enthusiast from New Hampshire who would like to find a small home along the Damariscotta River.  He has tried and canceled twice in the past month to get here, due to bad weather on his proposed driving days, but he'll be here in February and I have a list of properties to show him.

   Well floor duty will be over soon and I've got two homes to show this afternoon from appointments made earlier this week.

   Is this a quiet real estate market?  Not by my account.  It is a different market than a few years ago but people are still buying and selling homes. And if someone is making an appointment to see a home in this weather, you can bet they're serious about it.

   If you're serious about buying a home in Maine, don't wait for spring, call me today!

Kathy Wyman

The All Weather Real Estate Broker

Maine in Winter

    Friends from places that I used to live in, Rye, New York, Newport, Rhode Island and Boston often ask me, "what does one do in Maine during the winter?"  The implication clearly being that there could not possibly be any worthwhile means of amusing oneself in such a lonely, cold backwater corner of New England.  Oh, sure Maine is a fine place to visit in the summer or even fall, but in winter?  Surely you must simply die from the boredom.

   I usually just murmur something and smile and try to change the subject.  This is a very special place and some, no most, of us like it better in the off season when we have things all to ourselves.  We really don't want this to get out. But for those of you who are thinking of buying real estate in Maine and moving here I'm going to let you in on this well kept secret.

   I moved here in 2000 looking for a better quality of life, a town that hadn't been touched by big box stores and a community of friendly people interested in preservation, the arts, sailing, the list is endless.  I spend way more time than I planned on selling real estate but that's all right because I meet the nicest people, people who are looking for the same thing I was just a few years ago.  But, when I'm not busy with my new career here's a sample of some of the ways we have to spend our time.

   Last Friday night I had an absolutely fabulous dinner at 74 Maine Bistro located just across from our office on Main Street in Damariscotta.  The ambiance and food were excellent.  We then went to a Heartwood Theater Production at Skidompha Library.  Copenhagen was presented in the round.  The acting was incredible and held a packed house for two and a half hours!  Saturday, I slept in and after checking my messages at the office I had lunch with a friend from the Boothbay Chamber of Commerce at Salt Bay Cafe, also here in Damariscotta.  Saturday night a fellow broker and I had dinner at the Damariscotta River Grill (hmm, I think we talked about real estate, I must check with my accountant to see if that qualifies as deductible). Even though we arrived at 5:30 planning on going to the 7 o'clock show at the Lincoln Theater, everyone else must have had the same idea because both floors were packed so we sat at the bar and had a dinner of assorted appetizers.  Afterwards we enjoyed the movie The Queen.

   After Church on Sunday I made the one hour drive to Portland with a friend and had brunch at Oofa, a bistro on the corner of Commerce and State Street.  They have the best virgin Bloody Mary's and Eggs Florentine that I have ever tasted, bar none.  Afterwords we went to the 2:30 performance of Tonight: A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein given by the Portland Symphony Orchestra at Merrill Auditorium.  A standing ovation for the performance by all present.

  So you see there is never a dull moment for those interested in good restaurants and the arts here in Maine during the winter. But please, don't tell anyone.  If you think this sounds like the place where you would like to live, quietly pick up the phone and give me a call, this is our little secret!

Muffy Myles

The Gourmet Real Estate Broker in Maine

Newcastle Square Realty Recognizes Top Brokers

    The Associates of Newcastle Square Realty gathered for their first of the year Sales Meeting on Tuesday morning and in addition to hearing pearls of great wisdom from yours truly and as befits the leading brokerage agency in the area, several sales awards were presented for high achievement in 2006.

   Ken Gray received the annual award for Top Production with individual sales in excess of $7,000,000.

   Tracy and Bill Babcock who were nudged out of the Top Producer Award by a mere $50,000 also received an award for their production and the excellent reviews they received over the course of the year from their many clients.

   Kathleen Shattuck, a perennial Top Producer received a special award for Outstanding Client Satisfaction based on feedback from her clients.

   I would like to publicly congratulate all of these fine Brokers on their accomplishments in a very challenging real estate environment.  But, as Ken pointed out in accepting his award, it is truly a team effort at Newcastle Square as we all work together to bring our experience and market knowledge to bear for the benefit of all of our clients.

   As we discussed this morning, we all feel that the local market is beginning to show signs of awakening from it's doldrums.  If you've been thinking of buying now would be a good time to call or email any of our experienced real estate professionals.

Jim Cosgrove

Winter on the Damariscotta River

   I used to pride myself on how early in the spring I put my boat in and how late I took it out in the fall but this has got me beat.  These guys are from the Boothbay Coast Guard Station and came over to Damariscotta to check on the channel markers down at Glidden Ledge, near South Bristol and Edgecomb, where having a properly placed buoy means you don't get the bottom ripped out of your boat.  The pleasure boaters aren't out this time of year but there are still people who need to go out for their livelihood.   As you can see from the picture they are very well dressed for the conditions but I'm guessing that it still gets a little chilly once they get moving at 20 or 30 knots!

   You have to admire the dedication of the Coast Guard.  This is actually one of the easiest things they do in the winter if you can imagine that!

Tom Field

Winter's Back in Damariscotta

   Put another log on the fire, Mother. winter is back. I bet them tulips that were starting to come up will be some surprised.  Well, at least Tom might get to use those new snow machines and maybe Craig can fill up that skating rink !

Jim Cosgrove

Newcastle Square Realty Brokers are Available...

...to show property this weekend.  As a reward for all of their hard work I had thought that I'd fly them all out to San Diego to see the Patriots playoff game against the Chargers but in a somewhat craven and spineless move the Chargers refused to sell tickets to anyone not from Southern California for fear of diluting their home field advantage.

   To paraphrase an editorial in this mornings Boston Globe, were they afraid someone from the Northeast was going to yell "surfs up" and all the locals would leave?

   But it's just as well.  The phone has been ringing quite a bit today and most of the brokers are out on showings.  I assume these must be folks from the New York and New Jersey area who have no interest in the playoffs now that the Giants and Jets are out of it.

   So if there's a property you'd like to see or if you'd just like to talk with someone about living in the greatest state in the greatest region of the country go ahead and make that call.  We'll answer the phone.  At least until about 4:30 tomorrow.

Jim Cosgrove

New Technology in Real Estate

...or, How Many Brokers Does it Take to Install a Piece of Hardware?

   The answer may depend upon the age of the Broker.  How does that saying go?  If you want to know how to operate an electronic device ask your grandchild.

   While none of Newcastle Square Realty's Brokers grandchildren work here, we do have a 30 year span in the ages of our 16 full time brokers. So, when there is a change in technology for the office the ability and enthusiasm for dealing with that change is varied and quite interesting.

   The other day Bill Byrnes, one of our more "experienced" Brokers, decided it was time to convert his laptop computer so that he could take advantage of our office's wireless technology.  He was led to believe by a young clerk at the local electronics store that this was a simple procedure, he only needed to purchase a PC MIA card, install some software and he would be wireless in less than 10 minutes.  HA!  Before he completed the process he began getting pop up messages that reminded him of his limitations with technology.  Fortunately, Tom Field a slightly less "experienced" (and thus technology savvy) Broker, walked by Bills office just as Bill was about to have an anxiety attack.  After about 20 minutes of diagnostics Tom had Bills laptop pulling in the wireless signal loud and clear. Now that's the teamwork we're famous for here at Newcastle Square Realty!

Judging from this photo, Bill either had little interest in the details or total confidence in Tom's technological prowess!

Lee Simard

Lincoln County Real Estate Report

    The final figures are in and the Winner is...Newcastle Square Realty Associates! Once again Newcastle Square Realty is the top selling real estate agency in our area. We are very grateful to all of the good people of the greater Damariscotta - Pemaquid Peninsula area who put their faith in us when deciding who they wanted to help them when they either sold or acquired what for many was their biggest financial asset.

    It is very gratifying to see that we led in all categories of sales including dollar volume and transactions handled, where we had a higher number than any other two area agencies combined.  We are especially pleased that our success was spread over the entire spectrum of real estate as we never wanted to be known as one of those snooty offices where regular people didn't feel welcome when they walked in our door.  We did have the largest sale in our area, a saltwater farm in South Bristol. We were the top selling agency in the category of million dollar plus properties. But, we also brokered the sale of more $200,000 to $500,000 homes in Damariscotta, Newcastle and Nobleboro than any other company at the same time that we handled the most waterfront property in Bristol, South Bristol and Bremen. Finding everyone and anyone the right property to fit their needs is our passion.

   What is most gratifying though is the recognition by our peers, by those in the brokerage community, that Newcastle Square Realty is the place to be  if they want to be at the top of their profession.  When we started at this agency our goal was to have only the very best brokers, to create an environment of mutual trust and support and to give them everything they needed so that they could offer their clients the best possible real estate experience.  If you want to know what agency top brokers think is the best just look to see where they work. They are all independent contractors and they vote with their feet.

   So Thank You!  We will continue to do our best to earn your trust and your business.  We look forward to serving our friends and neighbors in 2007, those that are here now and those who are coming.

   Oh, the pictures?  I was going to put in a group picture of all of us but couldn't get everyone together, they're all too busy!  These are a few other folks who are or were pretty good at what they do, too.

Jim Cosgrove