El Nino is good news for housing market
Back in July I wrote No snow this winter, a somewhat optimistic comment about the effect El Nino might have on our weather this winter.
Yesterday I read El Nino seen warming Us economy on Bloomberg, with economists quoted as saying “a milder winter supports growth in housing and consumer spending”.
The last two winters have seen unusually cold (think polar vortex) and snowy weather, and in both years the real estate market in New England got off to a slow start. With the economy growing strongly in Massachusetts (forecasts put 2015 growth at 5%), 2016 could be a very good year in the housing market, with the possibility that the gains seen in Metro Boston in the last few years will extend further outwards. (more…)
Open Houses: take your umbrella
Just a few showers so take an unbrella when you visit these Open Houses: (more…)
Essex County Condo market Q3 review
After steady increases in the last few years the median price* of a condo in Essex County in Q3 was up only slightly from a year ago and was unchanged for the year to date through September:
Source: MLS. Oliver Reports
Q3 Median Prices in Essex County by Town
Here below is a list of Q3 and Year to Date (YTD) median prices for single family homes (SFH) in Essex County by Town. See my comments after the table:
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
Q3 comments
While prices rose 5% in Essex County overall (and 3% in Massachusetts) there were wide variations from town to town, with 23 showing increases, 9 decreases and 2 unchanged. The largest changes came mostly, but not always, in towns with a small number of sales, something which can add to volatility in short-term numbers.
Year to Date
The larger the sample the more reliable the numbers usually, which is why I look at YTD numbers. Here we see a 3% increase in both Essex County and Massachusetts overall, while within Essex County 25 towns saw increases, 8 decreases and 1 unchanged.
Summary
The median price of a SFH in Essex County is just under $400,000 YTD (and just over in Q3). There is one town with a median price over $700,000 and 5 over $600,000. At the other end there is no longer a town with a median price under $200,000 and only 4 under $300,000 ( and 3 of those may well climb above $300,000 before very long).
Overall, with mortgage rates under 4%, the market in Essex County seems to have returned to a fairly normal pattern of modestly increasing prices.
As always I am very happy to provide more details on any individual town – just ask.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].
Read How should I choose the broker to sell my home?
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
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@OliverReports
Home sales: from feast to famine?
The old saying is that there are three things that matter in real estate: location, location and location.
In the same vein there are three things that matter in real estate statistics: never rely upon one month’s numbers, never rely upon one month’s numbers….well you can guess the third one. (more…)
Salem welcomes Cruise Ship
When I first heard Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll talk of cruise ships coming in to the old Salem power plant wharf I was surprised and frankly sceptical. But this week Salem welcomed its second cruise ship, the Fred Olsen line’s Balmoral, a 750 ft vessel carrying 1,300 passengers.
The week’s new listings
This week saw a similar number of new listings to last week: (more…)
How long have Marblehead houses been on the market?
A lot has been written about the shortage of houses for sale this year – the low inventory – so I decided to look at the current market in Marblehead and see how long houses have been on the market in the different price categories.
What I have noticed in the last few years is that sometimes, for no apparent reason, a house sits on the market for some time unsold. And therein can lie opportunity, so if you are looking to buy check out the full current list of Marblehead SFH for sale. (more…)
Open House bonanza
There is a saying that a week is a long time in politics. Well so too in real estate. Last week this list showed 36 Open Houses; today there are 123. (more…)
Time to buy that oceanfront property?
Both the stock market and Boston condos have enjoyed a great run in prices in the last few years, in part due to the policy of keeping interest rates extremely low. One area that has not participated in the recent upturn, however, has been oceanfront property on the North Shore. Maybe Boston condo owners should be asking whether now is time to buy that oceanfront property. (more…)
Are Home Sales really booming?
I read a report recently saying that sales of Single Family Homes (SFHs) in Essex County in July jumped sharply compared with a year ago, although prices showed only modest gains.
I am always wary of one-month numbers – which is why I do not usually report them – so I have taken a look at sales for July (and August), the 4 months, May to August, which are the peak sales months of the year, and the year to date.
Here are the results for Essex County and for Massachusetts as a whole. While there was a spike in July, YTD sales in both Essex County and Massachusetts are up 7%. (more…)
Can Dukakis and Weld bring the North Shore respect?
I get fed up reading articles about real estate in Eastern Massachusetts which routinely ignore the North Shore and Essex County, so I was intrigued to read Build the North-South rail link in this week’s Boston Globe, a coherent and logical argument in favor of connecting Boston’s North and South stations by rail. (more…)
Lynn Mid-Year 2015 Housing Market Review
The first half of the year in Lynn saw a 6% increase in the median price of a Single Family Home (SFH), steady sales and a shortage of inventory.
Median Prices
The median price for the first half of 2015 was $269,000, up 6% from $249,900 in 2014, but still 10% below the 2005 peak of $293,000:
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
In Essex County overall, the median SFH price in the first half of 2015 was $385,000, less than 2% below the 2005 peak of $390,000. (more…)
New listings remain subdued
Another quite week for new listings and, disappointingly, still no private islands: (more…)
Essex County Mid-Year Housing Review
In the first half of 2015 the median price of a Single Family Home (SFH) increased slightly, while sales were basically flat, despite the low inventory. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – were steady year on year, but are way down from the levels of 2010-2012.
Median Prices
The median price for the first half of 2015 was $385,000, up from $380,000 in 2014, and close to the 2005 peak of $390,000..
Source: MLS, Oliver Reports
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