Boston condo sales booming
There were just 500 condos for sale in Boston at the end of January, yet 421 condos had accepted offers in the last 30 days. That means supply is not much more than one month! Read this article to find out what is going on.
David Bates Bates By the Numbers www.batesrealestatereport.com
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January Pending Home Sales up again in Massachusetts
Properties under agreement in January increased 18% from a year ago for SFHs and 22% for condos. In both cases January was the 21st straight month of year over year increases.
Massachusetts Association of Realtors; February 12, 2013
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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…)
Boston Condo Market Soars
According to LINK, a firm that analyzes Boston real estate, sales rose 29% in 2012 while the median price reached a record high.
Boston Globe February 2, 2013
Bston condo market soars
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…)
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!
Massachusetts pending home sales up 25% in 2012
Another indication of the recovery in the housing market in 2012 comes with the release of pending sales for Massachusetts. For the year pending sales of single family homes rose 25% and of condos 26%.
December was the 20th consecutive month of year over year increases.
Massachusetts Association of Realtors January 8, 2013
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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
Good news, bad news for North Shore condo market in 2012
First, the good news: sales were up 23% in 2012.
Now the bad news: sales are still 47% below the peak in 2005.
Unlike SFHs which are, for the most part, built singly, condo developments often bring a large number of new units to the market, causing a spike in sales, followed by a sharp decline. Look at the figures for (more…)
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…)
Foreclosures and Short Sales for all North Shore cities and towns in 2012
Foreclosures and short sales have many variables. The process varies from State to State, while Federal attempts to halt the epidemic also influence and change underlying tendencies. With those caveats, I have put together a table that shows the number of foreclosed properties and short sales that actually closed in 2012 for SFHS and condo for each of the 17 North Shore communities.
Lynn saw the highest percentage of FC/SS sales at 34% of total sales, while (more…)
Twenty Questions with Marblehead’s Assessor
The FY2013 tax rate has been set at $10.85, up from $10.52 in FY2012. The median single family assessment declined 2.4% to $476,000, and the median single family tax bill increased 0.6%, or $31, to $5,165. The commercial rate has once again been set at the same rate as the residential rate.
Marblehead’s 2013 tax rate will be the third lowest of the 17 North Shore cities and towns and also the third lowest of 34 Essex County communities.
Real-estate assessments for Fiscal Year 2013 have just been mailed. Assistant Assessor Mike Tumulty answered questions about the process. (more…)
November home sales in MASS highest since 2005
Sales of SFHs increased 38% over a year ago in November. Condo sales were up 33%.
The SFH median price increased 2%, while for the condos the figure was 7%.
Median prices were the same – $275,000 – for both SFHs and condos.
Data comes from the Warren Group
Jennifer McKim boston.com December 27, 2012
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Essex County “8th healthiest housing market in country for 2013”
The healthy markets that made the list have strong job growth (Bureau of Labor Statistics), which bodes well for housing demand; low vacancy rates (U.S. Postal Service)–low enough to encourage new construction, but not so low that inventory and sales are restrained; and low foreclosure inventory (RealtyTrac), since foreclosures tend to hold back recovery.
Jed Kolko, Chief Economist, Trulia December 21, 2012
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