Jill Mandragouras, Broker-Salesperson

09/17/2026

In America, a condo is the compromise. $371,600 vs $434,800 for a house — a $63,200 discount. Barely 1 in 11 sales. 📊

🏖️ On Salisbury Beach, it's the opposite.

More than half of everything that sold here last year was a condo — 63 of 112. And the median? $590,000, just $70K under a house in the same town. 🏡

On a barrier beach, a condo isn't a step down. It's how the front row gets divided up. 🌊

💰 Bonus: that's $160,000 less than a Newburyport condo — and closer to the water.

🎉 Salisbury Days starts tomorrow. Come walk it, then call me.

09/10/2026

PLUM ISLAND FAVORITE PICK OF THE WEEK | 11 69th Street | Plum Island, Newburyport, MA | $1,195,000

Elevated views, exceptional outdoor living, and a thoughtfully reimagined interior make this Plum Island retreat a standout. Just steps from the beach access, this extensively renovated contemporary blends coastal charm with modern comfort in every direction.

📊 2 Beds | 2 Full, 1 Half Baths | 1,564 SqFt | 0.14-Acre Lot | Built 1948, Renovated 2019

🌊 Ocean views from nearly every angle
🏖️ Steps to Plum Island beach access
🛠️ Extensively renovated in 2019
🍳 Kitchen with quartz countertops & dining area
🛏️ Spacious primary suite with walk-in closet & ensuite bath
🛁 Classic claw-foot tub in the second full bath
🌅 Great room with vaulted ceilings & gas fireplace
🚪 Composite decking wraps three sides of the home
🛀 Outdoor hot tub & gas firepit
🚗 6 off-street parking spaces plus a detached garage
🏚️ Full unfinished basement for storage
🏠 Framed for a future rooftop deck

A rare year-round Plum Island home offering views, location, outdoor space, and thoughtful upgrades — all in one exceptional coastal package.

https://jill.bentleysrealestate.com/search/detail/269763376

Listing Courtesy of The Bakhtiari Group, Compass

Welcome to 11 69th Street, where elevated views, exceptional outdoor living and a thoughtfully reimagined interior create the ultimate Plum Island retreat just ~100 feet to the beach access. Extensively renovated in 2019, this 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath home offers 1,564 SF of living space plus a full unfi...

09/09/2026

NEWBURYPORT SPOTLIGHT: MY FAVORITE NEW LISTING | 21 Broad Street | Newburyport, MA | $1,295,000

This nine-room Cape Cod-style home offers 2,437 sq. ft. of refined living space, blending classic New England charm with modern updates. Built in 1954 and extensively renovated by a distinguished local architect in 2006, it feels both timeless and contemporary in every room.

📊 3 Beds | 2 Full, 1 Half Baths | 2,437 SqFt | 0.14-Acre Lot | Renovated 2006

🏡 Sun-filled family room with gas fireplace
🍳 Open kitchen with custom cabinetry & granite countertops
🌤️ Dining room with dramatic cathedral ceiling & skylight
📚 Library with custom built-ins
💼 Dedicated home office
🛏️ Primary bedroom with ensuite bath, all on the first floor
🏠 Rooftop cupola adds architectural character
🪵 Hardwood & tile flooring with detailed millwork throughout
🍸 Partially finished lower level with a wet bar
🌳 Private yard with blue stone patio & mature landscaping
🚗 2 off-street parking spaces plus ample additional parking
📍 Short walking distance to Newburyport's waterfront & downtown shops

Quality craftsmanship and timeless character come together in a location minutes from local beaches, the commuter rail, and downtown Newburyport's best restaurants and shops.

https://jill.bentleysrealestate.com/search/detail/269697473

Listing Courtesy of Mark Dickinson, Realty One Group Nest

This nine-room Cape Cod–style home offers 2,437 sq. ft. of refined living space, blending classic New England charm with modern updates. Built in 1954, the home was extensively renovated and expanded by a distinguished local Architect in 2006, making the residence feel both timeless and contempora...

09/08/2026

🛶 There's a boat shop on Main Street in Amesbury that has been open since 1793. It's the oldest continuously operating boat shop in the United States, it's where the New England fishing dory was born, and in 1911 alone the men inside it built 2,029 boats by hand.

I bring it up because it explains the price of a house.

⚒️ Amesbury has always been a town that made things. After the boats came the carriages — so many that the nickname stuck. 🔥 When Carriage Hill burned in 1888 and took sixteen factories with it, the town rebuilt in brick. 🧱 That brick is the downtown you walk through today…

📅 Trails & Sails runs Sept 12–27 — free tours all over Essex County, Amesbury included. 🚶 Go walk it. Or call me and we'll walk it together.

🏡 Let's get you home.

08/28/2026

🍂 Mortgage rates just fell for a second straight week — and every buyer I talk to is asking me the same thing: is this finally my turn?

But here's the part the national headlines miss. The country now has about four and a half months of homes for sale. We don't. 📊 Essex County is still sitting near two months of supply — so walking in with a lowball offer here doesn't win you the house, it loses it.

Your leverage is real. It's just somewhere else. Three things I'd tell any buyer this fall 👇

1️⃣ Check how long that one house has been sitting. ⏳ It's the one number a seller can't spin — and ask for the full listing history, because a relist quietly resets the clock.
2️⃣ Past about forty-five days, that's your opening. 🎯 A house that's sat that long is usually a pricing problem — not a house problem.
3️⃣ Win on terms. 🤝 A closing date that fits the seller's life beats another five thousand dollars more often than you'd think.

📍 This week's town is West Newbury — orchards 🍎, horse trails 🐴, and 270 town-owned acres at Mill Pond and Pipestave Hill. It's also one of the thinnest markets around: about seven homes for sale at a time, at a $975,000 median. Patience wins there.

08/21/2026

📰 You saw the headline this week: bond yields at a 19-year high, and the Treasury stepping in Wednesday to double its bond buybacks.

Here's the part nobody mentions 👇

📉 Your mortgage doesn't follow the 30-year bond. It follows the 10-year. And that one's been sitting just under 4.75% — which is why the 30-year fixed is still about 6.67%. Near a one-year high, with no rescue on the calendar.

So while everyone waits for a number that isn't coming, here's what our market is actually doing: 🏡 About 170 homes for sale across our towns ⏳ Under 3 months of supply ⚡ A well-priced house still drawing offers in 2–4 weeks

🌾 And this week's town is Newbury — the one people drive past on their way to everywhere else. Salt marsh, thousands of acres of wildlife refuge, a working farm standing since 1690, and the quiet south end of Plum Island. It also carries the highest median around here at $915K, with only about 20 homes on the market at a time.

08/14/2026

🎻 A summer of music in Newburyport.

The Chamber Music Festival is celebrating 25 years — final concerts downtown through Sat, Aug 15 — and it's the perfect excuse to talk about why this walkable, Federal-era downtown stays so in-demand. Median around $895K, well-priced homes drawing offers in about three weeks, and only ~60 on the market at a time. If Newburyport's your kind of summer, let's find your place in it.

08/07/2026

☀️ The August window is real.

📈 Mortgage rates just hit an eleven-month high, and once school starts, buyers thin out — so if you're even thinking about selling on the North Shore, these next few weeks matter.

Here's what's still true today: 🏡 we're under three months of supply, and a well-priced home is going under agreement in about two to four weeks. That kind of speed doesn't stick around past Labor Day.

Three things that actually move the needle right now: 1️⃣ Price to today, not to spring. 2️⃣ Show it move-in ready. 3️⃣ List before Labor Day.

✨ Do those, and you meet the buyers who are still out here — motivated and ready to close before fall.

07/30/2026

🏛️ The Fed held rates yesterday for the fifth meeting in a row. Mortgage rates went UP this morning.

That's not a glitch — it's the thing most buyers have backwards 👇

The Fed moves an overnight rate between banks. Your 30-year tracks the 10-year Treasury and mortgage bonds. Different animals — and yesterday they moved in opposite directions.

And read the vote: 9–3. All three who dissented wanted rates HIGHER. Not one of them argued for a cut.

So if the plan was "wait for the Fed," here's what waiting has actually cost in Essex County 👇

🏡 Median single-family: $605,000 in 2021 → $750,000 in 2025
📉 Homes under $500K were 28.1% of sales in 2021. So far this year: 7.5%
📈 $1M+ went from 12.5% of sales to 27.6%

The starter home didn't get cheaper. It left.

But one thing HAS moved your way 👇

🤝 The average Essex County home sold at 105.2% of list in 2021. Last year: 102.0% — four straight years of that premium shrinking.
⏱️ And homes now sit about a week longer (25.2 → 31.7 days).

Translation: you're probably not going to win on the rate. You can absolutely win at the table.

07/23/2026

👋 Did you know I'm a licensed appraiser? 🏡📋

It means when I look at a North Shore home 🌊, I'm not guessing at the price — I'm reading the same things the bank's appraiser will. 🔍💵

And on the coast, the numbers get specific. The one everyone overlooks? 👀 Flood risk. 🌊 FEMA now prices insurance home by home — your elevation ⛰️, your distance to the water 📏 — and that cost follows the home right into the appraisal. 📉 It's why value swings the most on Plum Island 🏝️, at Salisbury Beach 🏖️, and along the Great Marsh 🌾, while just inland in West Newbury 🌳 or Amesbury the math looks completely different. 🔄

So before you buy or sell near the water, know three things ✅: your flood zone 🗺️, your elevation ⛰️, and your true comps 📊. That's where the real value lives. 💎

Curious what your home is actually worth? 🤔 Let's talk! 💬 📍 Licensed in MA, NH & ME.