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Massachusetts Home Prices
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[post_date] => 2013-05-03 17:34:58
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[post_content] => Greater Boston home prices continued their rise in the current reading of Massachusetts home values recently released by Standard and Poors. The seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston jumped 1.2% in February 2013, the most recent month for which price data is available for the Index.
Demographics support rising home prices?
Local home prices have been on a tear throughout 2013.
Prices are up over 5% from their recent lows back in November 2011 on the seasonally adjusted Boston Index.
And the recent run-up in area home values may be just a foretaste of things to come. We may all benefit from a pronounced long term market shift towards higher home values. That’s one of the exciting insights offered in an excellent article in Barron’s on the economic coming of age of the Millennial generation.
Housing next to benefit from demographic trends
As outlined in the Barron’s article, Millennials currently range in age from 18 to 37. As a demographic group they are 7% LARGER than the massive Baby Boom generation which had such a large impact on housing in the last quarter of the 20th century.
The Barron’s article details the positive effects the huge Millennial demographic cohort will have in coming years on housing, the stock market and the US economy in general. “Housing could be the next major industry to benefit from their size and maturation” the article notes.
“We're big believers in this housing recovery"
Regarding US housing, the Barron’s article makes several bullish projections:
♦ More young adults living in their parents’ homes will pack their bags and move out. That will spur an increase in U.S. household formation.
♦ Greater financial security could mean an increase in the birth rate. "A lot of Millennials put off having babies, and now they will get to work," one demographer quoted in the article says.
♦ Most significantly, there will be more home buyers than sellers in the 12 years ending with 2019, giving the housing market a huge boost.
Don’t bet against demographics
Demographic trends are very powerful forces in the social and economic development of any society. In every decade of the latter half of the 20th Century, the US experienced the profound influence of the Baby Boom generation (both for the good and the bad). Now we may stand poised to benefit in coming decades from the economic and social vitality about to be unleashed by the Millennial Generation as they come of economic age. There are many reasons for optimism about our futures!
Copyright ©2013 02038.com
[post_title] => Why housing may stay on the rise
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[post_content] => The median sales price of single family homes in Franklin, MA rose sharply to $410,000 in the first quarter just ended. That’s an impressive 16.8% increase over 2012’s first quarter median price of $351,000 and an eye popping 26.4% ahead of where Franklin’s median price was this time two years ago.
Low supply fuels price rise
The supply of homes for sale in Franklin has been extremely curtailed throughout 2013; Here’s how the supply of homes for sale in Franklin, MA looked during February 2013 compared to prior years:
The chart also shows just how depleted home inventories were in the greater Franklin market as well across the Bay State last February.
The dearth of available homes in Franklin continued into March and was further reinforced by a notable strengthening of demand for local homes as the spring selling market kicked into gear. Newly-confident home buyers flooded the greater Franklin market, spurred by the growing regional economy, phenomenally low mortgage interest rates and the realization that the bottom of the market is well behind us.
From a seller’s point of view, it has become a virtuous cycle of low home inventory fueling price increases which engender more buying which in turn drives the supply of available homes even lower.
Past rebound phony
A look at the first quarter median sales prices statewide since 2009 shows that we went through a prior updraft in home prices back in 2010:
Home prices rose in 2010 due to the artificial stimulus supplied to the real estate market by the Federal home buyer tax credits. Once those programs ended in April 2010, MA home prices wilted.
The seasonally adjusted Case Shiller Home Price Index for Boston clearly shows how Greater Boston home prices began their retreat in 2010 almost as soon as the Federal tax credit programs ended:
Price rise real this time
This time the price rebound seems firmly based on the real footings of a strengthening MA economy and renewed consumer confidence. There is no Federal program inflating home values this time. Yes, interest rates are being kept low by the Federal Reserve. But rates have been low for years. It was not until the MA economy strongly improved in 2012 that the MA real estate market began to revive.
Looking forward, the higher home prices go, the more homeowners will have positive equity. This should bring more homes onto the market, easing the frustration felt by prospective home buyers today.
It is so encouraging to see the improving real estate market, coming as it does after so many years of difficult times. 2013 looks to be a superb time to sell a home! If you are thinking of selling your home, please contact me today for a free, no obligation Home Value Analysis!
Copyright ©2013 02038.com
[post_title] => Franklin MA homes prices surge 16.8 percent
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[post_date] => 2013-02-16 14:05:31
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[post_content] => The supply of single family homes for sale in Massachusetts hit 8 year lows in February, according to data maintained by MLSPIN, the largest MLS serving the Bay State. The dearth of available homes today rivals the tight supplies last seen in the Commonwealth near the peak of the market boom back in February 2005. The current low inventory of homes for sale comes amid an increase in buyers entering the market as we head towards March and the start of the hyper-active spring home selling season. The imbalance between supply (low) and demand (high) may begin to put upwards pressure on area home prices this spring. Add to this volatile mix the high octane fuel of today’s historically low mortgage interest rates and we may witness in 2013 a sudden ignition of MA home values.
21.6% fewer homes for sale
At mid-month this February, there are roughly 15,600 active single family home listings on MLSPIN, a 21.6% decline from the approximately 19,900 listings active on MLSPIN this time one year ago.
The number of single family homes in Massachusetts currently available on MLSPIN is an astounding 36.8% less than the roughly 24,800 homes for back in February 2008. As confirmed in an article posted by the Boston Herald, the current low inventory of single family homes for sale is especially acute in Boston and extends to most communities in the Rte 128 and I-495 region of the Bay State:
“The trend of low home inventories continues into 2013, as prospective buyers had 23 percent fewer homes to choose from this week statewide, compared to a year ago, according to data from the MLS Property Information Network.
In Boston alone, the number of units currently for sale is down a staggering 45 percent compared to last year.”
Absorption rate analysis
Absorption rate analysis is a tool commonly used by real estate brokers and investors looking to get insight into the future direction of home values in a given real estate market.
A variety of absorption rate formulas exist. All methods estimate the current state of the market by determining how long it would take to sell (or “absorb”) all properties currently for sale in a select geographic area.
Most calculations produce a “months’ worth” of housing inventory and this figure is often compared to supply levels in earlier time periods. The comparison gives you a good reading of whether the local market is likely headed up or down in coming months.
Here’s how an absorption rate analysis depicts the current amount of housing supply in Massachusetts, the I-495 region around the Town of Franklin, MA and in Franklin itself:
As you can see above, the supply of homes for sale in all three market areas is very low. There is only a 4.6 month supply of single family homes for sale across the Commonwealth this February. This is down sharply from the 7 month supply of homes available last year at this time.
Conditions in the Town of Franklin, MA and nearby communities are even tighter. There currently is only a 4.3 month supply of homes in the Franklin regional market and an exceedingly low 3.2 months of inventory in the Town of Franklin itself.
This shortage of available housing as the spring 2013 home selling season approaches is making for some frustrated home buyers. Reports of bidding wars are common. There’s so little for sale that most properly-priced homes in Franklin sell very quickly!
In past real estate market cycles, such tight conditions typically led to upwards pressure on home values. Home prices are rising in other areas of the country, but there have been no dramatic price moves yet in Massachusetts.
It will be very interesting to see how the market evolves in 2013. I will keep a close eye on prices for you!
Copyright ©2013 02038.com
[post_title] => Listing shortage may trigger MA home price surge as spring market nears
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[post_date] => 2012-11-29 08:33:39
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[post_content] => Greater Boston home prices have risen 1.7 percent in the last 12 months as tracked by the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. However, Boston homes prices were up only marginally last September (the most recent month for which price data is available from Standard and Poors, the publisher of the Index).
12 month results mask recent strength
The Index‘s mildly upbeat performance over the last 12 months actually understates the recent strength of Boston, Mass home prices. That’s because the results for the last 12 months reflect a number of months of price weakness during the latter half of 2011. Since last February however, metro-Boston home prices have gone a tear, rising a robust 3.5 percent before cooling off a bit in September.
Unadjusted Boston Index starts seasonal decline
Standard and Poors publishes a second version of the Index for Boston. Unlike the seasonally adjusted version of the Index we reviewed above, this second version is not seasonally adjusted. It does not adjust Greater Boston home prices to strip away seasonal volatility in Massachusetts home sale prices.
The unadjusted Index typically starts it's seasonal decline every year around September and this year was no exception. Unadjusted for seasonal volatility, home prices in Greater Boston fell 0.7 percent in September.
The unadjusted Index clearly shows how MA home prices tend to rise in the spring and summer and fall back in the fall and winter regardless of any underlying strength or weaknesses in the real estate market. These rhythmic fluctuations are statistical in nature and can be misleading.
That's why the seasonally adjusted Index gives you a much more accurate read on how MA home prices are faring. And the news so far in 2012 has been pretty good!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => Greater Boston home prices up 1.7 percent in last 12 months
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[post_content] => Greater Boston home prices rose a half a percent last July. July’s 0.5% increase marked the 4th straight monthly advance in the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. (July is the most recent month for which price data has been provided by Standard & Poors.)
One and half years of losses erased in 4 months
Since February, the Index is up 3.5%. This strong rise in MA home prices rise has essentially erased most of the decline in Bay State home values that started in the middle of 2010 and continued in fits and starts until this spring.
As shown in the area shaded pink in the chart above, MA home prices from January 2009 through April 2010 were artificially supported by a series of Federal tax credit programs. These programs ran in various forms from January 2009 until they expired on April 30, 2010.
As the chart illustrates, MA home prices went into a prolonged slump after the expiration of those Federal home buyer tax credits. By December 2011, Greater Boston home prices had fallen back nearly as low as they were in February 2009 at the worst point of the world-wide financial crises.
Base from which to build?
The recovery in Massachusetts home prices back up almost to where they were at the end of the Federal home buyer tax in credits in 2010 has been strong and swift. In of itself, this is good news for home sellers. What's more important, the recent rise may have formed a good base from which to build further gains in MA home prices!
Unadjusted Boston Index up sharply
There is another version of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. This version gives a less reliable reading on MA home prices because it does not adjust for pronounced seasonal variations in Bay State home values.
The non-seasonally adjusted Boston Index shows a huge 8.5% increase in Greater Boston home prices over the last 5 months.
On an annual basis, this amounts to over a 20% gain. That's a gross overstatement of the present direction of home values in Massachusetts! And that nicely demonstrates what the seasonally adjusted Index gives a more reliable read on where MA home prices are heading.
Thinking of selling?
If you own a home or investment property in Massachusetts and are thinking of selling, follow the hotlink to ask for a free, no obligation value analysis of your property. Warren uses cutting edge techniques to sell homes and is a smart choice for your real estate agent!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => Boston home prices rise 4 months in a row
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[post_content] => Greater Boston home prices hit a new low in the most recent release of the Case-Shiller Index for Boston. At a reading of 149.16, the Boston Index is now fractionally below its previous nadir seen back in March 2009.
Buying opportunity?
The current weakness in MA real estate prices comes at a time when home sales volume in Massachusetts is soaring.
For the first two months of the year, single family home sales are up 20% over last year. February home sales were especially strong in Massachusetts.
Because an increase in home sales volume often is a precursor of a stronger real estate market, one wonders if the ongoing home price sag represents a buying opportunity.
Warren Buffet recently said he'd be buying homes now.
Pessimists vs. optimists
There's a lot of uncertainty about the future direction of the real estate market. Here's a good article that juxtaposes the current opposing positive and negative takes on the US and world economies:
It is always easy to find alarmist, pessimistic views in the news and on the Web.
Robert Prechter, one of the “confirmed pessimists” quoted in the article cited above used to make regular appearances on the old PBS investing show “Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser". On one show, Rukeyser famously dismissed the market negativity then being promoted by Prechter by referring to Prechter’s “Idiot Wave Theory” (instead of its correct Elliott Wave Theory name). And it appears that Prechter's still at it.
Don't let uncertainty stop you from investing in your future
Whether you're investing in the stock, bond or real estate markets, it's easy to get swayed by the naysayers. There will always be peddlers of crisis and doom. Anyone remember Ravi Batra’s mid-1980s forecast of the Great Depression of 1990?
His scaremongering sold a lot of books but his forecast was way off target. For that miss, Batra received the “Ig Noble” award for economics in 1993. If you followed Batra's advice and avoided stocks and real estate, you would have sat on the sidelines throughout the historic run-up in asset values of the 1990s!
My point is that you'll do better being guided by informed optimists and taking prudent investment risks rather than by letting the doom and gloom crowd scare you into crawling into a financial bunker of inaction.
Markets will go up and they will go down - but nothing stays down forever. Massachusetts home prices are low now. And they are likely to rise in the future.
The odds are that five years from now you'll be very glad you bought that first home or made that real estate investment in 2012!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => MA homes prices at attractive lows
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[post_date] => 2012-02-03 10:44:44
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[post_content] => January is the month of Janus, the classical Roman god with the power to look back into the past while also seeing future events. Observers of the MA real estate scene should be excused if they invoked this 2-faced deity late last month, confronted as they were with contradictory news reports about where home prices are headed in the metro-Boston region.
Looking ahead
On the one hand, the Boston Globe gave prime placement in the January 29 edition of its Sunday Globe West insert to an article recounting rising home prices and sales volume in top-drawer towns west of Boston.
The article describes upward price pressure and bidding wars among avid homebuyers in upscale west-of-Boston suburbs such as Newton and Lexington.
The Globe article forecasts that home buyers will head further west beyond Rte 128 this spring in search of bargains, spreading the home-buying demand and encouraging more home sellers to try the market. All in all an upbeat view of the future for real estate in Greater Boston!
Looking behind
Just two days after publication of the Globe article described above, the newest monthly edition of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Greater Boston was released by Standard and Poors. The Index looks back in time to sales data two months old, in this case metro-Boston home sales in November, 2011.
The Greater Boston Index for November 2011 paints a picture of relative gloom. Metro-Boston home sales prices trended down again in November, continuing a decline that started earlier in the fall.
The Massachusetts real estate market was socked last November by widespread power outages caused by a freak late October snow storm which downed tree branches and power lines across the Bay State.
The storm damage and disruptions in electric service certainly slowed the November real estate market in Massachusetts and likely worsened the price performance for that month.
Which view is right?
Certainly, if you have to choose between older information and newer news, you go with the most recent dispatch when judging the current condition of any market. So The Globe's reporting on the active January real estate market in Greater Boston trumps the older take on Boston home prices provided by the November Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Additional good news hit the Internet just today: January’s US employment report was much stronger than expected.
Quoting Reuters:
“(Reuters) - The economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent, providing some measure of comfort for President Barack Obama who faces re-election in November.”
The jobs report is very good news for the overall US economy and real estate in particular. An improving jobs outlook will boost consumer confidence which in turn should convince hiring managers to add still more employees. If hiring and consumer spending build momentum this spring, we'll see positive results in Massachusetts real estate.
You’ll be able to read all about it here at 02038.com!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => Where are MA home prices headed?
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[post_content] => Metro-Boston is overdue for a real estate rebound, according to a report just released by Forbes, the highly-regarded publisher of business and financial news. In the report entitled “Cities where Real Estate is Ripe for a Rebound”, Greater Boston ranked in the top 3 US metropolitan areas most likely to see a recovery in home prices and sales activity.
Top 3 US cities ready for recovery
Forbes hired a real estate research firm to analyze housing and economic data for the 100 most populous cities in the US, looking for local housing markets that are at the bottom of their real estate cycles and poised for better times ahead.
The top 3 cities on the Forbes list of the best candidates for a real estate rebound were San Jose, Houston and Boston:
Here’s what Forbes had to say:
“Real estate experts . . . agree that price fluctuations of 3 percent or less generally indicate that a market is stabilizing. If a city hovers within that range for several quarters or a year, it’s probably safe to say that market has found its bottom. All of the metro areas on our list have almost undoubtedly found their bottoms.” (Emphasis added.)
See the Forbes report
Click on the hotlink or on the image above to access info on all the top ten cities in the Forbes report.
What this means for MA home buyers
If you've been on the sidelines of the Massachusetts housing market waiting for prices to bottom, 2012 looks like the year to buy real estate in MA. Mortgage rates are very low and home prices should start going up in coming years. Investors and first time buyers are in a position today to get a great deal on housing.
Home purchases in 2012 will be revealed to be savvy investments a few years from now.
Contact Warren for help making your smart real estate move a reality!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => Greater Boston MA real estate rebound coming: Forbes
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[post_content] => Stability – it’s an easy thing to take for granted but in hindsight it's a very welcome description to be able to use for the 2011 real estate market in Massachusetts. In review, it was a decent year!
Median home sale prices off lows
While median prices in MA as a whole (shown in green in the chart below) are currently off 15% from their 2005 peak, they are still up a solid 35% from where they were back in 1998. So if you are a long-term home owner in MA, your real estate investment has turned in a very respectable return compared to the stock market over the last 12 years or so (much more than the interest income on your bank accounts and CDs since 2008)!
What’s vitally important to the majority of today’s home owners who bought their homes after 2001, median prices have stabilized since the world-wide financial crises and now are marginally higher than they were in 2009.
So 2011 seems to have set the stage for a home price rebound in coming years. The forecast for the MA economy and real estate market is pretty upbeat for the second half of 2012 and 2013, with a bit of tough going projected for early 2012.
MA home sale volume encouraging
The chart below documents the essential resiliency of home sales in the Massachusetts housing market.
Despite all the bad news and uncertainty bedeviling the US economy over the last 4 years, home sales in the Bay State have held up pretty well.
Homes sales on MLSPIN have moved in a remarkably narrow range during that time. At 34,952, home sales on the MLS in 2011 actually exceeded the 34,652 sales on the MLS in 2008.
Market on the mend?
The Massachusetts housing market in 2011 clearly was not one in distress; indeed, with more justification, it would be called a market on the mend. The performance of both median prices and home sales in 2011 may have positioned MA real estate for a stronger showing in 2012 and beyond.
Happy New Year!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => MA real estate 2011 year in review
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[post_content] => Real estate is a lagging economic indicator. Home prices and property sales usually trail movements in the general economy. When a new up cycle gets underway, real estate is typically one of the last sectors of the economy to benefit.
So it was no surprise earlier this week when several upbeat developments in the US economy made the news at the same time that Standard and Poors announced a lackluster performance for Greater Boston home prices for the month of September.
Boston home prices slip
Greater Boston home prices fell 0.7% in the latest edition of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released this week by Standard and Poors.
Both the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Index for Boston . . .
. . . and in the non-seasonally adjusted version of the Boston Index . . .
. . . showed the same percentage drop in values for September.
Both the seasonally adjusted and the non-seasonally adjusted versions of the Index show identical declines for the last 12 months as a whole. Both Indexes are down -1.2% compared to September 2010. On both Indexes however, Boston home prices remain above their lows set back in March/April 2009.
Good economic news belies weak home prices
During the same week as Standard and Poors made its announcement about the drop in Greater Boston home prices, several items of good economic news hit the wires.
US car sales strong
Sales of automobiles in November were very brisk with several automakers reporting double digit gains.
Early Holiday retail sales up sharply
Consumer spending was very strong in the days after Thanksgiving. The all-important Holiday spending season is getting off to a booming start this year. The consumer is king in the American economy. U.S. businesses are currently very profitable but management has been reluctant to hire new workers in the face of sluggish consumer spending. If Holiday sales continue strong, 2012 may be much better year for everyone.
US now a net fuel exporter
The startling news that the US is now a net fuel exporter marked a potential sea change in world economics. If we can permanently reduce (or even eliminate) our decades-long massive trade deficits in oil in coming years, the US economy will reap profound benefits.
Look beyond the near term
There are many reasons to be optimistic about America's future. And the Massachusetts economy is doing much better than many other regional economies in the US.
So don't get caught up in the short term ups and downs of area home prices. Because of the enduring strengths in Massachusetts and America as a whole, the value of MA real estate likely will be a lot higher in a 3 - 5 years than it is now!
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
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[post_content] => Greater Boston home prices continued their rise in the current reading of Massachusetts home values recently released by Standard and Poors. The seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston jumped 1.2% in February 2013, the most recent month for which price data is available for the Index.
Demographics support rising home prices?
Local home prices have been on a tear throughout 2013.
Prices are up over 5% from their recent lows back in November 2011 on the seasonally adjusted Boston Index.
And the recent run-up in area home values may be just a foretaste of things to come. We may all benefit from a pronounced long term market shift towards higher home values. That’s one of the exciting insights offered in an excellent article in Barron’s on the economic coming of age of the Millennial generation.
Housing next to benefit from demographic trends
As outlined in the Barron’s article, Millennials currently range in age from 18 to 37. As a demographic group they are 7% LARGER than the massive Baby Boom generation which had such a large impact on housing in the last quarter of the 20th century.
The Barron’s article details the positive effects the huge Millennial demographic cohort will have in coming years on housing, the stock market and the US economy in general. “Housing could be the next major industry to benefit from their size and maturation” the article notes.
“We're big believers in this housing recovery"
Regarding US housing, the Barron’s article makes several bullish projections:
♦ More young adults living in their parents’ homes will pack their bags and move out. That will spur an increase in U.S. household formation.
♦ Greater financial security could mean an increase in the birth rate. "A lot of Millennials put off having babies, and now they will get to work," one demographer quoted in the article says.
♦ Most significantly, there will be more home buyers than sellers in the 12 years ending with 2019, giving the housing market a huge boost.
Don’t bet against demographics
Demographic trends are very powerful forces in the social and economic development of any society. In every decade of the latter half of the 20th Century, the US experienced the profound influence of the Baby Boom generation (both for the good and the bad). Now we may stand poised to benefit in coming decades from the economic and social vitality about to be unleashed by the Millennial Generation as they come of economic age. There are many reasons for optimism about our futures!
Copyright ©2013 02038.com
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by Warren Reynolds on May 3, 2013
Greater Boston home prices continued their rise in the current reading of Massachusetts home values recently released by Standard and Poors. The seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston jumped 1.2% in February 2013, the most recent month for which price data is available for the Index. Demographics support rising home prices? Local home [...]
Tagged as:
Case Shiller Index Boston,
Massachusetts Home Prices
by Warren Reynolds on April 4, 2013
The median sales price of single family homes in Franklin, MA rose sharply to $410,000 in the first quarter just ended. That’s an impressive 16.8% increase over 2012’s first quarter median price of $351,000 and an eye popping 26.4% ahead of where Franklin’s median price was this time two years ago. Low supply fuels price [...]
Tagged as:
Franklin MA,
Massachusetts Home Prices
by Warren Reynolds on February 16, 2013
The supply of single family homes for sale in Massachusetts hit 8 year lows in February, according to data maintained by MLSPIN, the largest MLS serving the Bay State. The dearth of available homes today rivals the tight supplies last seen in the Commonwealth near the peak of the market boom back in February 2005. [...]
Tagged as:
Massachusetts Home Prices,
Massachusetts Real Estate
by Warren Reynolds on November 29, 2012
Greater Boston home prices have risen 1.7 percent in the last 12 months as tracked by the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. However, Boston homes prices were up only marginally last September (the most recent month for which price data is available from Standard and Poors, the publisher of the Index). 12 [...]
Tagged as:
Case Shiller Index Boston,
Massachusetts Home Prices
by Warren Reynolds on November 7, 2012
Greater Boston home prices rose a half a percent last July. July’s 0.5% increase marked the 4th straight monthly advance in the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Boston. (July is the most recent month for which price data has been provided by Standard & Poors.) One and half years of losses erased in [...]
Tagged as:
Case Shiller Index Boston,
Massachusetts Home Prices
by Warren Reynolds on March 7, 2012
Greater Boston home prices hit a new low in the most recent release of the Case-Shiller Index for Boston. At a reading of 149.16, the Boston Index is now fractionally below its previous nadir seen back in March 2009. Buying opportunity? The current weakness in MA real estate prices comes at a time when home [...]
Tagged as:
Massachusetts Home Prices,
Massachusetts Real Estate
by Warren Reynolds on February 3, 2012
January is the month of Janus, the classical Roman god with the power to look back into the past while also seeing future events. Observers of the MA real estate scene should be excused if they invoked this 2-faced deity late last month, confronted as they were with contradictory news reports about where home prices [...]
Tagged as:
Case Shiller Index Boston,
Massachusetts Home Prices,
Massachusetts Real Estate
by Warren Reynolds on January 23, 2012
Metro-Boston is overdue for a real estate rebound, according to a report just released by Forbes, the highly-regarded publisher of business and financial news. In the report entitled “Cities where Real Estate is Ripe for a Rebound”, Greater Boston ranked in the top 3 US metropolitan areas most likely to see a recovery in home [...]
Tagged as:
Massachusetts Home Prices,
Massachusetts Real Estate
by Warren Reynolds on January 1, 2012
Stability – it’s an easy thing to take for granted but in hindsight it’s a very welcome description to be able to use for the 2011 real estate market in Massachusetts. In review, it was a decent year! Median home sale prices off lows While median prices in MA as a whole (shown in green [...]
Tagged as:
Massachusetts Home Prices,
Massachusetts Real Estate
by Warren Reynolds on December 1, 2011
Real estate is a lagging economic indicator. Home prices and property sales usually trail movements in the general economy. When a new up cycle gets underway, real estate is typically one of the last sectors of the economy to benefit. So it was no surprise earlier this week when several upbeat developments in the US [...]
Tagged as:
Case Shiller Index Boston,
Massachusetts Home Prices