Beverly 2022 Housing Market Review
Single Family Homes (SFH)
The SFH Median Price increased 3% in 2022. while sales dropped to the lowest level since 2011.
The share of sales over $600,000 increased from 54% in 2021 to 60% in 2022, driving the median price for the year further above $600,000. There were 28 sales over $1 million in 2022, down from 41 in 2020.
Condos (more…)
Marblehead 2022 Housing Market Review
Single Family Homes (SFH)
The median price of Single Family Homes (SFH) sold in 2022 increased 10.4% to $938,000, and reached exactly $1 million in the second half of the year. Sales, reflecting a number of headwinds – amongst them, reduced inventory and a doubling of mortgage rates – dropped below 200 for the first time since 2011.
The share of sales over $1 million increased from 34% in 2021 to 46% in 2022, driving the median price for the year to over $900,000.
Condos (more…)
Swampscott 2022 Housing Market Review
Single Family Homes (SFH)
The SFH Median Price increased 14% in 2022, while sales dropped to the lowest level since 2010
The share of sales over $800,000 increased from 33% in 2021 to 48% in 2022, driving the median price for the year to almost $800,000. 32 of the 117 sales were over $1 million in 2022, compared with 18 in 2021.
Condos
The median Condo sold price increased 2.5%, while sales dropped to the lowest level since 2016. The share of sales over $400,000 increased slightly from 57% to 61% and, therefore, the median price also increased slightly. (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…)
January Sales in Marblehead and Swampscott
A small sample for January, but two observations:
1. the number of properties selling above list price was lower overall, and the amount over list decreased – there were no sales at 110% or more.
2. 4 of the properties had price cuts – and all 4 sold for less than their reduced price.
Read February Inventory as low as this weekend’s temperature
(more…)
Open Houses Sunday January 22
Here are today’s Open Houses:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House
And these recent articles: (more…)
Essex County 2023 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide
Property tax rates for FY 2022 for all 34 cities and towns in Essex County have been certified. The first table shows the tax rates in alphabetical order, while the second lists them from low to high.
Tax rates for each town
Alphabetically (download a copy of this table by clicking here) (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…)
New Listings week ending January 13
Here are the latest New Listings:
Click on these links for details: (more…)
December sales in Marblehead and Swampscott still mostly above List Price
The small number of December sales in Marblehead and Swampscott continued to show strength.
Marblehead
6 of 9 SFH sales in December – and 1 of 3 Condo sales – were over List price.
Swampscott
6 of 9 SFH sales in October were at or over List price, while 1 of the Condo sales was at List and one just below. (more…)
Open Houses New Year weekend
Here are this weekend’s Open Houses (just 1 in Beverly and Marblehead, 2 in Swampscott and 3 in Salem) :
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House (more…)
Open Houses Sunday December 18
Here are today’s Open Houses:
Click on these links for details:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open House (more…)
Why Mortgage Rates Will Fall
I have read and heard several comments suggesting that the increase in the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) this year has been a direct result of the increase in the Federal Reserve’s Fed Funds rate (FF).
This is not correct.
As I will demonstrate, the FRM is determined by market forces, and in particular by the extra yield – the “spread” – which investors require when buying pools of mortgages (Mortgage Backed Securities or MBS), as compared with the risk-free yield available with the 10-year Treasury Note (10T) which has the nearest duration to the expected life of a pool of mortgages.
In contrast, the FF is the rate that banks use when setting their Prime Rates. When the FF increases, banks increase their Prime Rates and therefore the interest rate on those loans whose rates are based upon Prime Rates – e.g. credit cards and auto loans.
And we will see that the FRM increased this year long before the Fed started to increase the FF rate.
Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS)
A conventional mortgage or conventional loan is any type of home buyer’s loan that is not offered or secured by a government entity. Instead, conventional mortgages are available through private lenders, such as banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies.
Most conventional mortgages are packaged into mortgage-backed securities and sold to investors. This allows the bank or originator to use its capital to finance more mortgages.
The relationship between 10T and FRM
This chart shows how the two have moved in lockstep over the last 30-plus years:
Source: National Association of Realtors
Marblehead and Swampscott November sales still strong
November sales in Marblehead and Swampscott continue to show strength.
Marblehead
10 of 19 SFH sales in November were at or over List price, with 2 sales at 23% and 32% over list. Just 1 of the 4 Condo sales was over List.
Swampscott
6 of 10 SFH sales in October were at or over List price (5 over the Original List Price), while 5 of the 6 Condo sales were at or above List.
Comment
While sales continue to be strong – and often strongly above list price – it is interesting to note that 8 of the 14 SFHs currently available for sale in Marblehead have had price reductions, while 4 of the 9 in Swampscott have also seen price cuts – or “adjustments” or “improvements” as we like to call them.
Note also that in November, all but 1 of the sales where the price had been reduced subsequently took place below the reduced price.
The sample is small, but the implication is clear: over-pricing in this market leads to a lower sale price.
Marblehead, Swampscott October sales still mostly above List Price
With all the chatter about home prices nationally declining or about to decline, October sales in Marblehead and Swampscott seem to be saying NIMBY – not here please.
Marblehead
12 of 19 SFH sales in October were at or over List price, with 2 sales at 35% and 36% over list:
Swampscott
5 of 10 SFH sales in October were at or over List pice
Comment
While sales continue to be strong – and often strongly above list price – it is interesting to note that 8 of the 19 SFHs currently available for sale in Marblehead have had price reductions, while 4 of the 11 in Swampscott have also seen price cuts – or “adjustments’ or “improvements” as we like to call them.
Notably also, the inventory of SFHs for sale in Essex County has not seen the usual seasonal decline so far, an indication perhaps of the consequences of the doubling in mortgage rates this year, with buyers reluctant to pay the much higher rates – and sellers reluctant to move and surrender their low-rate mortgage.
As we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I suspect both buyers and sellers – unless their need is urgent – may decide to focus on planning time with their families and friends – and then take another look at the housing market in 2023. (more…)
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