June Sales in Swampscott mostly At or Over List Pricce
11 of 15 sales in Swampscott in June were at or above List Price:
And these recent articles:
Marblehead Mid-year 2023 Market Stats
Swampscott Mid-year 2023 Market Stats
Salem Mid-year 2023 Market Stats
Economic and mortgage commentary
Two signs Inflation is Slowing (more…)
July Inventory shows Sharp Drop
Single Family Homes (SFH)
SFH inventory dropped sharply in July from the previous month 
Condos
Condo inventory also dropped from June.
(more…)
June Inventory shows modest increases
Single Family Homes (SFH)
After holding steady for much of the year, SFH inventory did see a boost in June, albeit only to the levels of the last two years and still well below that in 2020:
Condos
Condo inventory saw a more modest increase and remains well below half the 2020 level:
Mortgage rates
As inflation soared well beyond the Fed’s preferred 2%, interest rates climbed in 2022, driving mortgage rates to a multi-year high.
As inflation appeared to slow in early 2023, coupled with the failure of some large banks, the yield on 10T dropped, leading to a drop in the FRM of 1% . Inflation, however, has remained stubbornly high – and the labour market stubbornly strong- causing interest rates and the FRM to move up again.
And these recent articles:
Economic and mortgage commentary
Two signs Inflation is Slowing
Lies, Damned Lies and Inflation “Statistics”
Federal Reserve increase rates; Mortgage Rates drop
What drives Mortgage rates in one chart
How Marblehead’s 2023 Property Tax Rate is Calculated
Essex County 2023 Property Tax Rates:
Town by Town guide (more…)
New Listings mid-week May 24
Just a handful of New Listings heading into Memorial Day:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead New Listings
Swampscott New Listings
Salem New Listings
Beverly New Listings
Here are the latest Inventory numbers: (more…)
May Inventory shows no improvement
No spring boost for Inventory so far.
Single Family Homes
Condos
Mortgage rates
The 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage fluctuated around 3% for most of 2021. The Fed appeared to many commentators (read my “Party on, dude” says the Federal Reserve posted in March 2021) to be taking an overly optimistic view about inflation; its indication of a policy reversal late in 2021 sparked a jump in the crucial 10-year Treasury (10T) yield and hence in mortgage rates. With inflation continuing to soar well beyond the Fed’s preferred 2%, interest rates climbed in 2022, driving mortgage rates to a multi-year high.
As inflation appeared to slow, so the yield on 10T dropped, leading to a drop in the FRM of 1% in early 2023. Inflation, however, remains stubbornly high – and the labour market stubbornly strong- causing interest rates and the FRM to move up again, before the crises at a number of banks drove Treasury yields – and hence the FRM – lower again.
In recent weeks the FRM has been mainly in the 6.25-6.5% range.
And these recent articles:
Economic and mortgage commentary
Federal Reserve increase rates; Mortgage Rates drop (more…)
Q1 2023 Market Stats
Q1 2023 Market Stats for selected towns (stats for other towns in Essex County are available on request)
Amesbury Q1
Beverly Q1
Gloucester Q1
Marblehead Q1
Salem Q1
Swampscott Q1
And these recent articles: (more…)
April Inventory shows little improvement
While there has been a slight uptick in inventory at the beginning of April (and spring we hope), it is less than half the 2020 levels.
Single Family Homes
Condos
Condo inventory has followed a similar pattern:
Mortgage rates (more…)
Why aren’t boomers selling?
Baby boomers are booming, but they’re just not going to hit the residential real estate market the way some experts thought they would, according to Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, a property data analytics firm.
“A few years back, we certainly heard about this cohort of people turning 65, and some said that there would be all this inventory of homes for sale,” Hepp said. “But we haven’t seen any of that happening yet. If anything, inventories are at historic lows and continue to decline year over year.”
She said one reason seniors are staying put is that home prices in some areas are about 40 percent higher than they were before the pandemic, and interest rates are soaring. Also, seniors are healthier than ever and staying in their homes longer, she said.
Instead of a wave of properties flooding the market, it will be more like a trickle. (more…)
Essex County 2022 Annual Report
2022 Essex County Annual Report
Detailed report on all 34 cities and towns in Essex County for 2022.
And these recent articles:
Economic and mortgage commentary
What drives Mortgage rates in one chart (more…)
March Inventory shows no improvement
Inventory usually starts the year low and remains that way for the first quarter, a pattern that is repeating this year.
Single Family Homes
Condos
Condo inventory has followed a similar pattern:
Mortgage rates (more…)
Essex County 2022 Housing Market Review
Single Family Homes (SFH)
After sharp increases Year-over-Year (YOY) in Q2 and Q3, the median SFH price in Essex County showed a more modest increase (YOY) in Q4, and also showed the usual seasonal decline from Q3 into Q4. Overall, the median price increased 5% for the year to $640,000, taking the increase in the last 3 years to 35%. Reflecting the low levels of inventory recently, SFH sales declined 11% in H1 and 18% in H2.
The share of sales over $600,000 increased from 52% in 2021 to 58% in 2022, driving the median price for the year well over $600,000.
Condos
The median condo sale price moved more steadily upwards in 2022, increasing by 11% in both H1 and H2, and by 34% since 2019. Sales fell 11% in H1 but by a startling 27% in H2. It seems likely that the increase in mortgage rates had a bigger impact on Condo sales – often bought as a first home with a significant mortgage – than on SFH sales, where mortgages – especially at the higher-end – tend to be less important with many buyers using cash or a large down-payment. (more…)
Salem 2022 Housing Market Review
Single Family Homes (SFH)
The SFH Median Price increased 9% in 2022. Sales were higher than in 2021, but otherwise were the lowest since 2012.
The share of sales over $600,000 increased from 40% in 2021 to 56% in 2022, driving the median price for the year to over $600,000. There were 11 sales over $1 million in 2022, up from 6 in 2021.
Condos (more…)
Essex County Town by Town Guide: 2022 Median Prices and Sales; 2023 Tax Rates
Here is a town-by-town guide to 2022 Median Prices and Sales, together with 2023 property tax rates.
Read February Inventory as low as this weekend’s temperature
And these recent articles:
Economic and mortgage commentary
How Marblehead’s 2023 Property Tax Rate is Calculated
Essex County 2023 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Lies, Damned Lies and Inflation “Statistics”* (more…)
How Marblehead’s 2023 Property Tax Rate is Calculated
The formula for calculating the property tax is: take the $ amount of the previous year’s Tax Levy, add 2.5% for Proposition 2 1/2, and also add any New Growth (such as new construction or a condo conversion). This figure is the new tax levy. To this figure is added debt service – the Principal and Interest payable on the town’s debt. – to produce the total Tax Levy.
The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the Tax Levy by the Assessed Value of property – and, crucially, that calculation is based upon prices as of January 1, 2022, using date from sales in calendar year 2021. What that means is that 2022 sales are used for the calculation of the tax rate in FY2024 – not FY2023.
Here are the numbers for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, remembering that FY 2023 runs from July 2022 to June 2023. (more…)
November Inventory stays high
Inventory numbers usually drop as we head towards the winter months, but this year the level of SFH inventory has remained steady so far.
Single Family Homes
Condos
Condo inventory has also been steady, although this brings the level back only close to last year’s level.
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