Million Dollar Sales – now vs the peak
Million dollar sales in Essex County continue to pick up and are approaching the levels of 2005/06, but there are some marked variations from town to town, while sales at the highest level continue to lag.
First the overall picture by price range for the whole of Essex County: (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…)
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…)
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…)
Open Houses on July 19
Here are today’s Open Houses: (more…)
New listings in mid-July
Here are this week’s new listings: (more…)
But I thought you only wrote about Marblehead
Last night a friend, who lives in Swampscott, said when I told him I was publishing my Swampscott Mid-Year Housing Review “but I thought you only wrote about Marblehead.”
As I told my friend, I maintain statistics on all 34 Essex County cities and towns. While I publish regularly on Marblehead, Beverly, Salem and Swampscott individually, and Essex County overall, I monitor all towns – and not just in Essex County. I have provided market reports to buyers and sellers from Amesbury to Andover to Revere, as well as for Middlesex County. (more…)
Swampscott Mid-Year Housing Market Review
Inventory in the Single Family Home (SFH) in Swampscott remained well down on last year, while sales were slightly up. The outlook is for an increase, possibly a sharp one, in the median price in the second half of the year.
Median Prices
The median price for the first half of 2015 was $445,000, up 1% from $439,000 in 2014. (more…)
“Buyers are coming back in force”
That quote comes from Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), following publication of the NAR’s Economic and Forecast Update.
Highlights of the report include:
– Existing home sales in May were the highest since 2009, when there was a homebuyer tax credit
– Pending home sales hit a 9 year high
– New home sales hit a 7 year high
– Housing permits for new homes hit an 8 year high
– and
Swampscott’s shrinking Housing Inventory
Swampscott’s housing inventory has actually declined since the beginning of May, a period that has seen a 30% increase in inventory of Single Family Homes (SFH) in Essex County overall. (more…)
Housing market: 7 reasons for optimism
MarketWatch.com published Housing market can’t lose this week.The main reasons for optimism are:
Prices: rising but at a moderate rate
Equity: as prices rise so more homeowners have equity in their homes – now up to 90% of all mortgaged properties
First-time homebuyers: loans to first-time homebuyers are now the highest in 22 years of surveys from the American Bankers Association
Foreclosures: the number of loans in foreclosure is the lowest since 2007.
Construction: both starts and permits are showing strong momentum
Supply: nationally 4.8 months, below the 6 months considered to reflect a market in equilibrium between and sellers. Listings are 15% lower than a year ago.
Family net worth: has reached a new record. (more…)
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