Housing Inventory heading into Fall: a surprise
I started to write this article intending to talk about the increase in supply we have seen in recent weeks and how the housing market was getting back into equilibrium between buyers and sellers, a situation achieved when supply reached 6 months. But a funny thing happened as I worked through the numbers. Take a look at this table: (more…)
Mortgage Rates: what happened to 5%?
As we head into the Fall selling season it is worth pausing to reflect on where mortgage rates stand and what the outlook is. Well the second is easy: we don’t know with any confidence. What we do know is that forecasts of rates hitting 5% or more this year have proved pessimistic despite the improving US economy. (more…)
Do Property Tax Rates matter to Buyers?
After posting my article Marblehead leads the way in Million Dollar sales in Essex County in which I speculated that different property tax rates may be one reason for the changes in sales in different towns, I checked my blog records and discovered that my posts on tax rates are among the most widely viewed. (more…)
Ten Most Popular Posts
Which posts – and which subjects – interest you the most?
Here are the Ten most viewed posts over the last year.
The best time to buy or sell a home in Massachusetts
Property Tax Rates for 2013 in Marblehead and the North Shore
Marblehead sale over $4 million – guess where?
Oceanfront homes package in Marblehead and Cayman Islands
How much will home prices increase in the next decade?
Marblehead’s Property Tax Rate for 2014
Marblehead Oceanfront Open House Sunday
Marblehead: median list price $995,000; median sale price $532,000
2014 proposed North Shore property tax rates
Marblehead Third Quarter housing market review (more…)
London Home Prices Finally Start to Slow
I saw this headline go across my screen on Bloomberg and my first reaction was to assume that prices were actually going down.
Not so. (more…)
Open House today: Marblehead 4/5 Bedroom, Immaculate, Steps to Beach
Open House: Immaculate, Air-Conditioned, 4/5 Bedroom house, Steps to Beach
Nothing to do but move in! (more…)
Marblehead leads the way in Million Dollar sales in Essex County
I have reported in recent weeks that Million Dollar plus sales, including pending sales, will set a record in Marblehead this year, while in Swampscott such sales are lagging. This week I have looked at the whole of Essex County. (more…)
Brain malfunction causes delay in posting
On mature reflection, 6 a.m. today was not the ideal time to decide to update software programs on my computer, especially when brain freeze turned into computer freeze turned into bye-bye data.
This morning’s post, which examines million dollar plus sales in each city and town in Essex County, all 33 of them, for the last 15 years, will be published within the hour. I hope.
Sales and Median Prices YTD by Town on the North Shore
As we are in the summer slowdown I thought I’d look at sales activity and median prices by town for the year to date.
First Single Family Homes (SFHs). While sales are generally down 4-7% year on year, median prices are up 3-6%. (more…)
Still Time to Move to this Marblehead House before Labor Day
It’s not too late to buy this house and be in your new home before Labor Day! Sellers can close as soon as you are ready! And the house is immaculate – all you have to do is move in. (more…)
Housing Inventory Rising but Market still Favours Sellers
This summer’s weather may feel more like a traditional spring, but it is definitely summer in the housing market. Sales are still taking place, but at a somewhat lower level than was the case a few weeks ago. As I said last week, that’s all quite normal. (more…)
Open House: Immaculate, Air-Conditioned, 4/5 Bedroom house, Steps to Beach
Nothing to do but move in!
Enjoy sophisticated living in this wonderful family neighborhood, just steps to private beaches and the Goldthwait Reservation. Sit on the mahogany front porch and observe, or retire to the sheltered private oasis back yard and feast on your own blueberries. (more…)
Marblehead 38 Swampscott 4
After my posts Marblehead Million Dollar Homes – Record Sales and Record Inventory and Marblehead’s Upper End – was 2013 the bottom? , I was asked to look at Swampscott. Here is my analysis. I have compared numbers with Marblehead.
And no, Swampscott did not record 2 safeties in the Thanksgiving football game. The headline refers to the numbers of sales and pending sales so far in 2014 of houses priced at $1 million and above. Here are the details, with numbers also for the full year in 2013: (more…)
Summertime and the Selling is Slowing
Conventional wisdom – which, like the weather forecast, is right occasionally – says that the pace of home sales slows after July 4. The logic of this is that, with the purchase process taking typically 6-8 weeks, July 4 or thereabouts is a good target date for those who want to be in their new homes in time for the start of the school year. (more…)
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