Huge jump in Mortgage Loan Limits
Home buyers in Essex County and Suffolk County received a major boost this week with the announcement that the limit for conforming mortgages was being increased by 18% from $523,250 to $598,000.
For a buyer putting down 20% the price of a home that can be financed conventionally – meaning that it can be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – jumps by almost $100,000, from $654,063 to $747,500.
This table shows the trend in the last few years: (more…)
Lynn Q3 2016 Housing Market Report
Through the Third Quarter, the median price of a Single Family House (SFH) in Lynn rose 6% to $290,250 and of a condo by 8% to $196,000. Both numbers are within 1% of the record levels set in 2005-2006.
Source: MLS, Oliver Report; peak in bold
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected] for a free market analysis and explanation of the outstanding marketing program I offer.
Not sure which broker to use to sell your home? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
If you are looking to buy, I will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Housing Inventory today, by price and town, versus a year ago
This article compares today’s inventory, by price, compared with that of a year ago.We are now past the vagaries of winter weather and the dates of Easter and Passover, thus making the comparisons like for like for probably the first time this year. I will look first at Essex County and Massachusetts for the big picture, followed by Marblehead, Swampscott, Salem, Beverly and Lynn, adding comments where appropriate.
Overall, the story is of a decline in inventory at lower price levels and an increase at higher price points, a trend consistent with a rising market.
Massachusetts and Essex County
Overall inventory is down in the entire State by 9% for SFHs and 6% for condos; in Essex County the decline is 10% for SFHs and 12% for condos. But…. there is a marked difference between supply under $500,000 and above that figure, with large declines in supply below $500,000 and increases above that figure, particularly at the top end.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Marblehead
While Marblehead is one of the few towns to show an increase in inventory over 2015, it still shows a sharp drop from the 92 and 100 SFHs for sales on this date in 2013 and 2014, while condo inventory is more in line with numbers from those years. The increase in SFH inventory is concentrated in the $750,000 – $999,999 and over $2 million brackets for SFHs and, rather surprisingly, in condos under $250,000.
Source:MLS, Oliver Reports
Swampscott
The story in Swampscott continues to be the incredibly low level of supply, most markedly for SFHs below $500,000, where the number available has collapsed from 25 to just 3. And there are just 5 condos for sale in the entire town.
Source:MLS, Oliver Reports
Salem
While overall supply in Salem is down just slightly from last year, here again we see declines in inventory at the lower price levels:
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Beverly
The total number of SFHs for sale is much the same as last year but the mix has changed, with a huge drop under $400,000 and increases in most of the higher ranges. Condos for sale under $250,000 plunged from 16 to just 4.
Source:MLS, Oliver Reports
Lynn
The decline is most pronounced in SFHs under $300,000 where supply has more than halved from 48 to 23.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected] for a free market analysis and explanation of the outstanding marketing program I offer.
Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
If you are looking to buy, I will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Lynn Q1 2016 Housing Market by the Numbers
This is a report of the Lynn Q1 Housing Market by the Numbers, followed by a snapshot of current inventory compared with a year ago, a comparison which shows a huge change for Single Family Homes.
Median Prices and Sales
Sales of SFHs recovered from last year’s drop and were close to the record levels of 2004-2005. While condo sales also jumped, they remain well below the average of 60 sales in the 2004-2007 period.
The median price of a SFH was in the range of most of 2015, while that for condos was somewhat lower. Always remember that quarterly numbers can be – and frequently are – volatile, especially during the winter months. We will get a truer picture of the underlying market trends when we get the numbers for the first half of the year.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Current Inventory
The median SFH price in Lynn is around $270,000. A year ago there were 48 houses available below $300,000, but today there are just 21. Overall, inventory is down over 40%.
The median condo price is around $175,000. Here again, there is a sharp drop in supply under $200,000, while overall inventory is down just slightly.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected] for a free market analysis and explanation of the outstanding marketing program I offer.
Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
If you are looking to buy, I will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Lynn 2015 Condo Market Review: a remarkable recovery
This Lynn 2015 Condo Market review chronicles the remarkable recovery in the market from the depths of 2009.
Sales
Sales were in the low 100s before exploding in the 2003-2006 years. The collapse was even more dramatic, as sales fell from 399 in 2005 to just 99 in 2008. Since then, sales have been more stable, although the second half of 2015 saw a sharp increase.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Distressed Sales
Not only did the total number of sales plummet, but distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – were almost half the total in the 2010-2012 period. Put another way, there were just 57 and 59 non-distressed sales in 2011 and 2012. In the last two years, distressed sales have fallen sharply to a much more modest share of the total.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Median Price
The first half of 2009 saw the bottom of the market, with the median price down 48% from the peak, and the year overall seeing a 39% decline. The market was remarkable stable in the 2010-2014 period as the distressed sales worked their way through the market, but 2015 saw a sharp jump, taking the median price back to within 10% of the peak.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
ASR*
One way I measure prices is by the ratio (ASR) of Assessed Value (AV) to Sales Price (SP). The ASR is the AV divided by the SP: if the SP is rising (prices going up), the ASR will fall.
Note that the ASR for Lynn Condos has fallen sharply since 2012. In 2015 the median condo selling price was 26% (100/89.5 – 1) above its Assessed Value.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
*Properties selling above their AV will have an ASR below 100%. What this means is that in a period of rising prices the ASR is likely to be falling. So what we, as homeowners, want is an ASR below 100% and falling.
Remember that AVs are a lagging indicator: the tax bills for FY2016 are based on actual sales in 2014. Thus the 2015 sales data, reported in this review, will be the basis for FY2017 assessments.
Summary
Lynn, the largest city in Essex County, “is an urban manufacturing and commercial center, densely populated and culturally diverse.” Lynn suffered more than any other town on the North Shore during the Great Recession, so it is heartening to see the strong recovery taking place in the real estate market.
The announcement that GE is relocating its corporate HQ to Boston is a reminder that GE built the first jet engine in Lynn, while as this post Lynn, Lynn, city of……. revitalization records there are plans for Lynn’s development.
All in all, the outlook is for continued improvement in the housing market in Lynn.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Read Which broker should I choose to sell my home?
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Lynn 2015 Housing Market Review
This Lynn 2015 Housing Market Review shows how far the market has recovered. In 2015 sales jumped 16% and the median price improved 9%, although both numbers remain below their 2005 peaks. The biggest improvement has been seen in distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – which have plummeted from 34% of total sales as recently as 2011 to just 8% in 2015.
Sales
Distressed sales
The big drop in distressed sales means that non-distressed sales have almost doubled – from 257 in 2011 to 504 in 2015.
: MLS, Oliver Reports
Median Price
The increase of 9% in 2015 took the median price back to within 7% of the 2005 peak.
2012 was unusual in that the highest price occurred in Q4 (it is normally in Q2 or Q3), this was an indication of an improving market.
Source:MLS, Oliver Reports
ASR
One way I measure prices is by the ratio (ASR) of Assessed Value (AV) to Sales Price (SP). The ASR is the AV divided by the SP: if the SP is rising (prices going up), the ASR will fall.
Properties selling above their AV will have an ASR below 100%. What this means is that in a period of rising prices the ASR is likely to be falling. So what we, as homeowners, want is an ASR below 100% and falling.
Remember that AVs are a lagging indicator: the tax bills that have just been sent out for FY2016 are based on actual sales in 2014. Thus the 2015 sales data, reported in this review, will be the basis for FY2017 assessments.
In Lynn in 2015 the ASR dropped from 83.2% to 81.7%. Although this is a small drop, it means that the median SFH sold at a 22% premium to its Assessed Value.
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Summary
The dramatic increase in non-distressed sales over the last four years, coupled with improved prices, indicate that the Lynn market is well on its way to recovery.
The announcement that GE is relocating its corporate HQ to Boston is a reminder that GE built the first jet engine in Lynn., while as this post Lynn, Lynn, city of……. revitalization records there are plans for Lynn’s development.
All in all, the outlook is for continued improvement in the housing market in Lynn.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Read Which broker should I choose to sell my home?
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.
@OliverReports
Lynn, Lynn, city of……. revitalization
Gov. Charlie Baker traveled to Lynn to announce the Lynn Economic Advancement and Development Team, according to this Baker sees Lynn revitalization article in the Marblehead Reporter.
A new working group will facilitate the revitalization of the city of Lynn, using expedited permitting and coordinating development of sites with cross-jurisdictional issues, the Baker administration announced.
Baker said the collaboration would be a “great opportunity” to “do some great things” in Lynn.
Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan said she would like a hotel on the waterfront, cleanup of polluted sites, including a former drycleaner, and better marketing of available land near the water. (more…)
Lynn Mid-Year 2015 Housing Market Review
The first half of the year in Lynn saw a 6% increase in the median price of a Single Family Home (SFH), steady sales and a shortage of inventory.
Median Prices
The median price for the first half of 2015 was $269,000, up 6% from $249,900 in 2014, but still 10% below the 2005 peak of $293,000:
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
In Essex County overall, the median SFH price in the first half of 2015 was $385,000, less than 2% below the 2005 peak of $390,000. (more…)
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