What can you buy for $725 million?
A lot of baby-boomers today are thinking of down-sizing.
But what if you want to up-size? What are the options? (more…)
Just say no to a lock box
A topic which came up for discussion at this week’s office meeting was the use of lock boxes on properties which are for sale. The subject arose because I have shown three properties recently with lock boxes.
My experience – and that of my buyers – was one of great frustration. Apart from the fact that it always seems to take me 5-10 minutes to open lock boxes, here are my main gripes: (more…)
New Listings as languid as the weather
The number of new listings continues to decline: (more…)
Mortgage rates dip below 4% again – where next?
National mortgage rates for the 30 year FRM (Fixed Rate Mortgage) dipped below 4% again this week after seven weeks above 4%.
And the 30 year FRM is still lower than it was a year ago:
Forecasting that mortgage rates will rise has been a favourite occupation of soothsayers ( or economists as they like to call themselves) for a couple of years now. My last article on the subject in June was Mortgage rates “forecast to reach 4.5% by year end”, quoting the Mortgage Bankers Association.
When will the Federal Reserve raise rates? (more…)
Home Prices are rising, but so are Rents
Quite often I read articles about home ownership “affordability” suggesting that rising home prices are making home ownership more difficult for many people. Yet these articles rarely if ever point out that the alternative to home ownership – renting – is also seeing rising prices.
This Bloomberg article Your rent’s about to get even higher points out that
Rising rent = more of your money being paid to the person who owns the home in which you live, while that person benefits from any increase in the home’s value
Rising home prices = an increase for you in the value of your home if you own it.
So who do you want to help make money – you or your landlord? (more…)
Elvis HAS left this building
No, sadly, not an Elvis sighting.
But Elvis’s Honeymoon Hideaway is for sale.
Surely there must at least be some Elvis memorabilia. I thought so. (more…)
No snow this winter, says El Nino
Well, that’s not exactly what this Washington Post article El Nino intensifying says but it does include the forecast of “a warmer than normal winter over large parts of the U.S.” (more…)
Open Houses tailing off
Here are today’s Open Houses together with a chart showing that the number today, in Marblehead, Salem, Beverly and Swampscott, is a little over half the number just two weeks ago: (more…)
New listings dwindling
As the beach beckons so the number of new listings is dropping off. (more…)
Essex County town by town home prices compared with the peak
In a week when the National Association of Realtors reported that nationally home price have surpassed their 2006 peak I have looked at median SFH prices town by town in Essex County for the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of 2006.These numbers show that median prices in both Essex County and Massachusetts are back to 2006 levels, but with wide variations from town to town.
Here’s the table: (more…)
Essex County Median Home Prices Town by Town
This report shows Single Family Home (SFH) median prices for each city and town in Essex County for 2015 compared with 2014. Several towns have a very small number of sales, especially in the first quarter, so I have used the half-year prices to calculate the change from 2014.
The second table shows the towns with the largest increase and decrease year over year. Overall, the message is that prices in both Essex County and Massachusetts have edged up 1% in 2015. As always, there are variations from town to town. (more…)
MA condo supply: is it really only 1.8 months?
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report in July contained the following statement: “Massachusetts currently has only 1.8 months’ supply of condominiums available, compared with 6 to 7 months’ supply in a balanced market.”
Really? Wow. As I often point out, statistics are extremely useful if you know the context and can put the numbers into perspective. The above comment, however, does not explain the period being measured. As the months of supply figure is calculated by dividing the number of units currently for sale by sales in a given period, it is necessary to know what the given period is. (more…)
Foreclosure update: down but not out
What we mostly hear about these days are reports such as this Home prices surpass July 2006 peak from the National Association of Realtors.
We don’t hear as much about distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – so I have looked at the trend since the beginning of 2014 in Essex County and Massachusetts as a whole, and then looked at the pattern since the foreclosure crisis really started in 2009.
The message from these numbers, which relate to Single Family Homes, is that while distressed sales have dropped sharply in the last 2-3 years, they still account for more than 1 in 20 of all sales in both Essex County and Massachusetts overall. (more…)
New Salem power plant:Construction underway
As this Old Salem power plant falls as new one rises Marblehead Reporter article points out, construction is well underway on the new, quick and clean, gas-fired Salem power plant, which will occupy just 24 of the 65 acre site.
Two of the three smokestacks of the old coal plant are already down and the last – and highest at 480 feet – will be coming down shortly. (more…)
Marblehead Greystone Classic Center Entrance Colonial
A rare gem will be coming to the market soon: a classic center entrance 3/4 bedroom Colonial in the much sought after Greystone area of Marblehead. Deck with hot tub and beach rights to Greystone Beach.
Great house, great neighborhood!
If you are interested please contact me and I will act as your buyer’s agent. (more…)
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