Essex County Q3 housing market: on track for new record
The median price of a Single Family Home (SFH) in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County rose 4% to $420,000 in the third quarter and was also up 4% to $410,000 for the first three quarters. The market is clearly on track to break the 2005 peak of $394,400.
Sales were also up 4% for the first three quarters, but that included a drop of 8% in Q3, reflecting a more than 20% drop in the number of houses for sale. (more…)
New Listings week of October 28
Another quiet week for new listings: (more…)
Is this why there are so few homes for sale?
One of the puzzles of the housing market has been why there are so few houses available for sale. Many reasons have been proffered: buyers reluctant to trade up, impact of student loan payments on the ability to obtain a mortgage, boomers holding off selling while they recover from the Great Recession, low levels of new home construction, etc.
A new report Many starter-SFH homes have shifted to rentals from Fannie Mae reveals another reason: that nationally the stock of owner-occupied starter homes declined by more than 1 million units between 2005 (roughly the peak of the housing boom) and 2013 (the most recent year for which data are available), whereas the inventory of renter-occupied starter homes rose by approximately 2 million units during the same period (see chart). Starter homes – defined as SFHs with less than 2,000 sf of floor area – accounted for two-thirds of the growth in all single-family detached rentals during the period. (more…)
Open Houses Sunday October 23
Today’s Open House list covers almost exactly one-third of the total supply, with Swampscott SFHs again being under-represented. Individual OHs are shown by town below the table: (more…)
New Listings week of October 22
A welcome pick up in new listings in Swampscott, but otherwise another quiet week. (more…)
Salem Q3 condo market: booming sales, shrinking supply
While the median price of a Salem condo was flat in Q3 and up 3% YTD through the first three quarters of the year, the story of the year to date is one of sales up 19% while supply is down by more than one-third from a year ago. (more…)
Will this super yacht fit on your mooring?
Click Otam Gipsy to check out the details and more photos of the new Otam 115 ft super yacht. Wouldn’t this look nice in Marblehead harbor?
According to the American Luxury article (their grammar not mine): Internal staircases move passengers on the Gipsy across the main, upper, and sun decks with ease, the latter of which has been designed to accommodate for large parties and events with a Jacuzzi, large sun pads, and a centrally located bar area with a day head. (more…)
Open Houses Sunday October 16
A beautiful autumnal day will greet you as you visit these Open Houses, which represent more than one-third of all the properties on the market in all price ranges: (more…)
Saturday Open Houses
With Halloween looming there are more Saturday Open Houses this week: (more…)
Swampscott Q3 report: prices up, inventory well down
For the first 9 months of 2015 the median price of a Single Family Home (SFH) in Swampscott increased 6% to $485,000. This is the highest figure since the exceptional $507,000 in the first 9 months of 2005. While sales held up quite well in the first half of the year the acute shortage of inventory started to make an impact on sales in Q3. The last table in this report graphically illustrated the decline in the number of houses for sale in the last two years.
In this report I will look at the Q3 numbers, the YTD numbers and also give a preview of where I think the year will end up.
Q3 median price
(more…)New Listings week ending October 15
Another generally quiet week for new listings:
Marblehead new listings
Swampscott new listings
Salem new listings
Beverly new listings
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com 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
Farewell Big Papi: a Marblehead real estate tribute
A four pitch walk. This was not how it was supposed to end, but the Cleveland Indians had no intention of allowing a final heroic home run blast from Big Papi.
David Ortiz will be honored for ever in Boston for the person he was as much as for his extraordinary achievements with a baseball bat. For Oliver Reports he will also be remembered for being a metaphor for the Marblehead real estate market.
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.
In Big Papi strikes Marblehead housing market again, one of my first blog posts for Oliver Reports, I wrote: “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).”
That new trend, avoiding a slow start to the year, continued in 2016. Big Papi, after a winter without picking up a bat, hit hard and often right out of the gate, just like the Marblehead real estate market which started 2016 with a $660,000 median price in the first quarter.
But enough of the metaphors. Farwell Big Papi – and thank you.
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com 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
Marblehead Q3 housing market – on track for new record high
As often happens in a seasonal market, 2016 has seen some large variations in the quarterly median price of a Single Family Home (SFH) in Marblehead. In Q3, the median price was $618,500. While this was the 5th quarter in the last 8 to see a median price over $600,000, it was somewhat lower than last year’s very high figure.
YTD through 9 months the median price is $612,500, down 1% from last year’s $619,000. Because the majority of the Q4 sales are already under agreement, however, I can be confident that the median price for 2016 as a whole will exceed $600,000 for the first time.
In this report I will look at the Q3 numbers, the YTD numbers and also give a preview of where I think the year will end up.
Q3 prices
The chart and table show the quarterly median prices for the last 6 years.
YTD numbers
An unusually low or high median price in Q4 can impact the price for the full year. That did not happen in 2012-14 when the 9M and full year figures were quite close, but in both 2011 and 2015 the Q4 number was so much lower (based in each year on the mix of sales) that the median price for the full year was over $20,000 lower than the 9M figure.
Sales
Since recovering from the Great Recession sales for the full year have been between 227 and 245. Through 9 months we are at 188, with 43 pending sales, so it looks as though the full year will be in the vicinity of 240.
Available for Sale
While the numbers in themselves are quite small, there has still been a roughly 25% drop in supply from 2014 to 2016.
Outlook for 2016
The 43 pending sales have a median list price of around $680,000. YTD sales have taken place on average at 97% of list price, thus suggesting a median sales price of around $660,000 for the pending sales. Adding that to the 188 sales that have already closed this year would produce a median price for the year of about $625,000. More houses will go under agreement and close before the year end, however, so the final outcome will depend upon the prices of those additional sales.
The existing record for a year in Marblehead is the $596,500 achieved in 2015. A very dramatic swing to lower-priced houses would need to occur in the next few weeks for that record not to be beaten in 2016.
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com 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
Open Houses Sunday October 9
As promised here are tomorrow’s Open Houses so that you can plan your day, bearing in mind that the vast majority of these OHs will start between 11:00 and 12:00. Note that if you are not a Tom Brady fan, or are willing to DVR the first half, you may find less competition at the later OHs:
This Marblehead beach house is open from 12:00-1:30.
And here is the full list:
Marblehead Open Houses
Swampscott Open Houses
Salem Open Houses
Beverly Open Houses
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com 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
New Listings week ending October 8
A quiet week for new listings ahead of Columbus Day. Also, with the return of Tom Brady, note that the vast majority of Open Houses tomorrow will take place between 11:00 and 1:00 or 1:30. I will publish the list today at 5 p.m. rather than tomorrow morning to allow buyers time to plan their schedule. Get out your running shoes!
Marblehead new listings
Swampscott new listings
Salem new listings
Beverly new listings
If you are considering selling your home please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com 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












Recent Comments