bostonburbs-blog

[bostonburbs-blog]

Ecosystem 101: The Six Necessary Categories To Build The Next Silicon Valley

BENJAMIN JOFFE

I was a resident mentor at 500 Startups during the last intake and all sorts of interesting visitors come through the door. Among them came journalists from Japan and South Korea who were asking: “Can our country be the next Silicon Valley?”

The topic is not new (see here articles on China, Japan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore,Singapore) and investors are also pretty excited about it (see Sequoia’s latest round).

As I was answering by drawing from my 12 years across Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia), I had a sort of epiphany and started to write down the criteria I thought composed an ecosystem. I then proceeded to score several markets using those, which brought interesting comparisons. The initial draft expanded into this column. It is far from perfect and comments to improve it are welcome!

[bostonburbs-blog]

Hungry Mother

Just ate here couple of weeks ago ... and wow ...

I think this is one of the best restaurant in boston area, definitely a must try .

The price is on the higher side, but with such quality, it is definitely worth it.

233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave Cambridge, MA 02142 Neighborhood: Kendall Square/MIT

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hungry-mother-cambridge

[bostonburbs-blog]

Now, this is a view !!!

[bostonburbs-blog]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Federal regulations are helping to significantly reduce the amount new homebuyers are paying come closing time.

The average cost of closing on a mortgage has fallen by 7.4% over the past year, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. At the end of June, a homebuyer looking to close on a $200,000 mortgage with 20% down paid an average of $3,754, $300 less than 12 months earlier.

[bostonburbs-blog]

100 Park St Hudson, MA 01749

By looking at the listing, it looks like a great property

- High-end Kitchen

- Modern Design

- Newly Renovated

- It is a HUGE house.

There are few negative points though

- Property is located on single yellow line route, that means it is relatively busy road

- Landscape probably could have been better

- I am not sure if they have much backyard.

- Property is located next to a lodge.

Overall i think this is a good deal.

[bostonburbs-blog]

Big fan of his blog. I found it really useful especially if are interested to know the overall market condition.

[bostonburbs-blog]

Ranch Roofing

Recently when we bought a hose, the roof is already near at the end of its live so we have to replace it. Came across few quotes, but after reading all of the reviews from Angies List, we ended up chose Ranch Roofing from Arlington.

The Work is amazing, we really like the result.

The experience is painless, we were assured everything was done correctly and in the highest quality, and the result was really good.

The sales pitch was pretty aggressive, some people could be turned off by it.

The price, It was pretty expensive. Our roof was about 24 sq if i remember correctly. and it costs about $11000- $12000. Well we have couple of dormers and valley, so that also added to the cost.

Overall, you get what you paid for. and it is definitely worth the money.

Here is their contact

800) 771-3938 (781) 643-2820 (800) 771-1543 (fax)

www.ranchroofing.com

[bostonburbs-blog]

By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff

Boston area housing values increased by 2.4 percent in May compared with April, according to data released Tuesday by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

That marked the second consecutive month of increasing values in the region following eight months of slight declines, according to the index. S&P/Case Shiller is considered by real estate specialists to be one of the most accurate measures of home values because it’s based on repeat sales of properties.

The May increase helped boost Boston-area year-over-year values, leaving home prices largely flat compared with last year, according to the index. Home values dropped by just 0.1 percent in May compared with the same period last year, Case-Shiller reported.

But home prices in the Boston area did not drop as dramatically as they did in many other metro areas during the housing collapse. Overall, values here are now down about 17 percent from their peak in the fall of 2005, according to the index.

Nationwide, home values increased an average of 2.2 percent in May, Case-Shiller said, while home prices fell at an annual rate of 0.7 percent. Across the US, home values are down nearly 33 percent since the housing peak. The index tracks 20 metro areas.

David M. Blitzer, chair of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said the rising values are a positive sign, tempered by the fact that property values generally increase during the spring months.

“The housing market seems to be stabilizing, but we are definitely in a wait-and-see mode for the next few months,” Blitzer said.

[bostonburbs-blog]

What a nice property !

This is one is pretty interesting, and probably not for everybody. First floor is nicely done, second floor is still unfinished. But for 300.000 .... Wow !!!

With another $50000 to finish up the second floor, this could be an amazing home.