What every oceanfront property buyer should do NOW
Some oceanfront houses get battered by storms time and time again, while others remain unscathed.
What is the difference?
Largely, it is a question of the direction the house faces and the protection – or lack of it – from the elements, mainly water and wind.
If you are looking for an oceanfront property, what you should do this weekend is get in your car and drive around the areas in which you are interested. And take a compass with you (I find the compass on my iPhone unreliable).
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Is this why the housing market is heating up?
The stock market hit an all-time high this week, unemployment dropped to 7.7%, and the Federal Reserve reported that Americans have regained the $16 trillion in wealth lost during the Great Recession.
In contrast, home prices nationally remain, depending on the index, up to 30% below peak levels, while mortgage rates are at all-time lows.
Plus, as I reported last week, home ownership between 2004 and 0212 declined by 3.6% or some 4 million households.
Add to that an historically low level of houses for sale, and what do you get?
In classical economic theory, the relation between supply and demand determines the price of a commodity. As demand for an item increases, prices rise. When manufacturers respond to the price increase by producing a larger supply of that item, this increases competition and drives the price down
Demand is up and increasing
Supply is at historic lows
New housing starts remain well below “normal” levels and can’t be increased quickly
Based on the above, where do you think prices are headed in 2013?
Associated Press; March 7, 2013
WASHINGTON — It took five years, but surging stock prices and steady home-price increases have finally allowed Americans to regain the $16 trillion in wealth they lost to the Great Recession.
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The most important website for first time and Veteran homebuyers
For many first time home buyers the process can seem intimidating, but information available on the internet can help the buyer become well informed and able to be in control of the process.
This website North Shore Home Programs provides a remarkable amount of information, ranging from a step-by-step guide to home buying, to a list of programs available to help with down payments.
The greatest gift of the internet is the way it empowers the consumer through knowledge. Spending a little time on this website, and then googling “first time home buyer”, will go a long way to giving power to you, the buyer.
Knowledge helps to remove intimidation from the process of buying your first home.
“Local housing market, packed with eager buyers, is desperately seeking home sellers”
If you have been reading my articles in the last couple of months it will come as no surprise to read today’s front page article in the Boston Globe about the severe shortage of homes for sale. While this article is written about Boston it applies just as much to our North Shore communities.
The message is clear: if you have been waiting to sell, wait no longer! And if you have been thinking of buying or trading up, wait no longer! (more…)
Is it time to trade up?
Last Sunday, as you may recall, was a cold, snowy, stormy day. Harborside had a new listing and planned an open house, but the broker wondered whether anybody would venture out in the snow. Should he cancel the open house? He decided to go ahead and see if anybody would show up.
Um. Some 30 people “showed up” and the result was multiple offers for the property. (more…)
Why numbers do matter – but so does a good agent
In my new career as a Realtor I recently attended a class on using the data in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Two comments struck me. The first came from an agent of more than 20 years’ experience who said: “I know my market; I don’t need data to tell me what a house is worth.”
The second came when the agents present were asked what they had been taught to say in response to the question: “how’s the market?” I was almost deafened as those present (this was a continuing education class) shouted out words like “great” and “terrific”. To which the instructor wryly commented that that was how Realtors got a bad name. (more…)
Where have all the sellers gone?
Buyers are out there, but sales are being held back because of a shortage of supply. If you are thinking of selling you don’t have to wait until the traditional spring market.
Conventional wisdom is that a market is in balance when the inventory represents about 6 months of sales.Currently, for the North Shore as a whole, supply is just 3.2 months for SFHs and 3.7 months for condos. What does this mean? (more…)
Marblehead 2012 housing review and 2013 outlook
People often ask: how’s the market? Well, there rarely is one “market”. The answer can vary by price (the under $500,000 market may be active while another price range is less so) and location (quiet wooded cul-de-sac versus busy main road).
This review of 2012 SFHs will follow my usual pattern of breaking down 2012 sales by price range, as well as looking forward to 2013.
And as so often, detailed analysis of the data reveals some surprising conclusions. Let’s get started. (more…)
Marblehead condo market 2012 review: apples and oranges
Any claim that “the condo market” in Marblehead is doing this or that should be treated with caution.
As I have commented many times, there are two main condo markets in Marblehead: purpose built condos like Glover Landing, Adams House, Oliver’s Pond, Marblehead Highlands, etc; and old 2/3 family houses that were ‘condo-ed” in the boom years.
The former category has seen prices hold up well, while the latter has suffered. And the overall market is so small that very often there are large price gaps between sales, making median prices even less meaningful.
Nevertheless, by digging deep into the numbers I can explain what is actually happening in the market, and it’s not what the headline number suggests.
So let’s get to the numbers. (more…)
How many million dollar homes sold in Marblehead last year?
The answer is 26, up from 24 in 2011. The highest price MLS sale was $4.1 million. At the start of 2013 a house listed at $4.75 million went under agreement.
If the past is any guide, then 2013 should see increased demand at the top end.
Here are the numbers:
Mortgage Rates forecast to rise 1% by end of 2013
In my November 27 article Refinancing – don’t make just the minimum payment I wrote: “Don’t assume that rates will either go lower still or that they will necessarily stay this low for as long as the Federal Reserve is currently saying. If the economy does strengthen from here, interest rates my move up sooner than expected.”
The Mortgage Bankers Association has just issued a forecast that mortgage rates will increase gradually as the economy improves and finish around 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.
MBA_December_Commentary_82991
More reason to consider buying NOW!
Another way to show the breakdown of Marblehead Single Family sales in 2012
Here’s another way to look at SFH sales in 2012:
First, by percentage. Note that the % of sales above $750k went up from 2011 to 2012, but that below $750k there was a marked shift from the $500-749k range to below $499k. (more…)
Big Papi strikes Marblehead housing market again
My 2009 mid-year review published in the Marblehead Reporter described the phenomenon that the local real estate market was like David Ortiz’s season: starting so poorly that even with great numbers later in the season the year’s median price would still be quite low.
Well 2012 was much like 2009, at least for the local real estate market (Big Papi himself, courtesy of a new diet and/or because he was entering a contract year, hit 318). (more…)
2013 starts with very low housing inventory
After a stronger sales year in 2012 on the North Shore – sales were up 18% for SFHs and 23% for condos -2013 starts with very low levels of inventory, echoing a trend being seen across the country.
Nationally, the latest figures for November show supply at 4.5 months of average sales.
Locally, the market appears even tighter, with just 3 months of supply of SFHs and 3.7 months for condos at the beginning of the year.
2012_Year_End_Stats_North_Shore_SFH
2012_Year_End_Stats_North_Shore_Condos
North Shore Single Family Sales Up 18% in 2012
Sales of SFHS in the 17 cities and towns on the North Shore jumped 18% in 2012, reaching their highest level since 2005. All but Swampscott showed an increase over 2011. While Lynn remained the largest city for sales, its share of the overall North Shore market dropped from 23% in 2005 to 16% in 2012.
Sales remain 17% below peak levels of 2004, with Lynn, Ipswich, Georgetown and Swampscott all showing declines of more than 30%. At the other end, Lynnfield had a 26% increase, and Manchester,Peabody and Topsfield also showed gains. (more…)
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