One Year Ago Today - Boston Real Estate

The Boston real estate outlook in March 31, 2005 looked like this: (Based on LINK data)

The number of new property listings in LINK : 82
The number of price reductions in LINK : 42
The number of properties under agreement: 171

Comparing one year later to March 31, 2006:

The number of new listings: 267
The number of price reductions: 208
The number of properties under agreement: 103

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Boston Condo Sales - 1Q

Comparing the first quarter real estate sales of 2005 with 2006 are as follows:

The number of Boston condo sales from $500,000 and under in 2005 ............555.
The number of Boston condo sales from $500,000 and under in 2006.............667.

The number of Boston condo sales from $1,000,000 and up in 2005 ...............88.
The number of Boston condo sales from $1,000,000 and up in 2006 ...............56.

The first time home buyers are out looking and buying and it appears that the "empty nesters" are on the side-lines.

The days on the market (DOM) for the million dollar plus condo market is just short of 5.5 months.

CO Detectors are required as of March 31, 2006

As of Friday, March 31, 2006 almost all residential properties that contain fossil-fuel-burning equipment will be required to install CO detectors/alarms. No properties can be sold or rented after that date unless they comply.

www.fordrealty.net

Boston Real Estate Inventory for 3/26/06

The following information was obtained by LINK:

Number of new listings: 267
Number of price changes: 208
Number of properties back on the market: 18
Number of properties off-the-market: 99
Number of properties under agreement: 103
Number of properties sold: 98

Total Inventory: 3028

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Real Estate Market is Stabilizing.

Kimberly Blanton of the Boston Globe reported today that Massachusetts home sale prices remain flat. She wrote how the slump in New England home sales may be coming to an end as we enter the spring market.

Housing Prices NOT Set to Fall

Kimberly Blanton of the Boston Globe wrote a story today that with the recent employment growth economist predict that the Boston housing market will remain strong.

In the article Kimberly Blanton stated: A strengthening economy should bolster the nation's housing markets and prevent US and New England home prices from declining in coming months, two top economists told a conferesnce of real estate agents yesterday.


www.fordrealty.net

Boston Housing Inventory for March 18, 2006

The following information was obtained from LINK:

Number of New Listings: 212
Number of price Changes: 149
Properties back on the market: 16
Properties off the market: 129
Properties under agreement: 79
Number of properties sold: 121

Total Inventory: 2,967

www.fordrealty.net

Boston's Population is in Decline

According to a new U.S. Census data report, the city of Boston's population is dropping at an alarming rate. The report noted that between the years 2001 through 2005 Suffolk County's population dropped more then 5%.

The most recent report noted that people are leaving Boston at a stunning rate of about 27 a day - with 10,000 leaving Suffolk County last year alone, according to a new U.S. Census Data.

That's more than 1 person bailing out of Boston every hour.

For more information read Jay Fitzgerald's article in the business section of the Boston Herald.

www.fordrealty.net

Preview of 1st Quarter Sales

This is only a preview of what to expect for the end of the first quarter real estate sales based on LINK data.

Back Bay - 2005 - 110 condos sold
Back Bay - 2006- 71 condos sold

Beacon Hill - 2005 - 85 condos sold
Beacon Hill - 2006 - 21 condos sold

Fenway - 2005- 21 condos sold
Fenway - 2006 - 43 condos sold

Midtown - 2005 - 23 condos sold
Midtown - 2006 - 12 condos sold

North End - 2005 - 26 condos sold
North End - 2006 - 4 condos sold

South Boston - 2005 - 80 condos sold
South Boston - 2006 - 79 condos sold

South End - 2005 - 65 condos sold
South End - 2006 - 80 condos sold

Waterfront - 2005 - 22 condos sold
Waterfront -2006 - 21 condos sold

This is based only on condos.

www.fordrealty.net

Boston Real Estate - Open Houses

Sunday Open Houses - Today Ford Realty Inc., conducted an open house at 84 Myrtle Street and over 12 people showed-up. In addition, we received an offer on a small two bedroom on Phillip Street. As I stated earlier, contrary to the media reports, I feel that the Boston real estate market is starting to show signs of coming back from its winter slump.

www.fordrealty.net

Boston Real Estate Inventory for March

LINK the Boston real estate multi-listing service database issued its weekly report on the Boston housing market.

Summary: The number of new Boston real estate listings increased once again to 247. The total Boston real estate inventory as of March 11, 2006 is 2,952.

www.fordrealty.net

Website Real Estate Leads - Improving

Is it possible that the Boston real estate market is coming back to life? One resource I use to predict the next 3 - 6 months of real estate activity is based on the number of internet leads obtained from the Ford Realty website. In the last few weeks the number is up two-fold with strong solid leads. Only time will tell?

www.fordrealty.net

Boston Rents Going Up

Jerry Kronenberg of the Boston Herald reported today: New figures show average Greater Boston apartment rents are rising for the first time in four years-suprising lanlords, who report weak demand

M/PF Research, which tracks rental markets nationwide, says in a quarterly study due out later this month that average Hub-area rents rose 1.5% in 2005 to $1,300.00 a month

Ford Realty Inc was mentioned in the article. For the complete story click on the link below

http://business.bostonherald.com/realestateNews/view.bg?articleid=129480

Sunday Open Houses

Hello Sellers! Finally I can report some good news. Yesterdays Sunday Open Houses that I attended did very well. Buyers are coming out and looking at property. I will keep you posted.


www.fordrealty.net

Sunday Open Houses

Hello Sellers! Finally I can report some good news. Yesterdays Sunday Open Houses that I attended did very well. Buyers are coming out and looking at property. I will keep you posted.


www.fordrealty.net

Most Expensive Condo for sale in New England

The Boston Courant reported today on the most expensive condo in New England. The condo is located on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay. The Boston Courant reported: While the values of high price condominums in the Back Bay have leveled off, a seven bedroom penthouse on Commonwealth Avenue has been listed at $13,995,000, the most expensive condo in New England.

The article went on to say: The luxury condo at 51 Commonwealth Avenue is more expensive per square foot at $1,555 than any in New York City. The priciest Manhattan property is an East Village townhouse listed at 16.5 million or $1,309 per square foot, according to Realtor.com

The Boston Courant then wrote about the housing market in general stating: The listing comes as home sales are down 18.4 percent in the last threee months compared to one year ago, according to the Listing Information Network (LINK), a downtown company that lists condos for sale.

From December 1 through February 28, the number of sales was 144 compared to 174 for the same period a year ago. Median prices fell to $645,000 in the last three months compared to $682,500 one year ago, according to LINK.

While condo sales under $1 million have lagged, luxury home sales have surged in the last six months. Since Labor Day, 29 homes in the Back Bay priced from 2 million have sold............

Still median prices have been flat at about 2.7 million.

The other factor that weighs heavily on a home's price is the number of days a unit is listed for sale. Since September, the average number of days on the market for homes priced above 2 million has increased to 263, up from 201 one year ago, a 30.8 percent increase.

The MLS Propery Information Network, the Shrewsbury-based company that lists properties for sale, found that the vast majority of luxury condominiums have sold far below asking price since January 2004.

The prices cuts ranged from a modest $99,000 off the asking price of $3,999,000 for a unit at 348 Beacon Street to a Whooping $1,240,000 price cut for a condo at 86 Beacon Street listed at $4,390,000.

www.fordrealty.net

Another Real Estate Blog

www.real-estate-blogs.com is a great source of information if you are looking to read more on the real estate market.

Boston Condominium Market Stats

The following information was obtained by LINK regarding the amount of condos (condos only) that are available on the market:

Back Bay - 257 - DOM (days on the market) 120
Beacon Hill - 108 - DOM 124
Fenway - 45- DOM 110
Leather District - 40 - DOM 139
Midtown - 50 - DOM 166
North End- 72 -DOM 110
S. Boston - 262 - DOM 129
S. End - 286 - DOM 121
Waterfront - 107 Listings DOM 174

The Nations Housing Market

On the MSN website there is a report today on the nations housing market entitled: HOME SALES COOL OFF - PRICES DON'T. The article states: Condo sales down sharply, new and existing homes sitting longer as well. Inventory is the highest since 1998.

It's unanimus: The housing market is cooling quickly.

A spate of reports this week show sales of existing homes were slower in January then they have been in two years. New homes sold are at their slowest pace in two years. And the number of homes sitting on the market hit a high not seen since 1998.

The good news is that prices are still remaining strong and most parts of the country have seen an increase in appreciation.

New housing numbers

Both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald reported that the housing numbers are down in Janauary 2006. The number of single-family homes sold statewide fell 21% in January. The Globe reported that it was, the largest year-to-year decrease in monthly home sales since April 1995.

The Globe also reported: Meanwhile in Massachusetts, the condo market continued to outpace the single-family home market. January condo sales rose 2.5 percent; the median condo price was up 1.9 percent from January 2005.

The number of "active listings"- homes being offered for sale-for both single-family homes and condos in January rose 41 percent from January 2005 the realtors acssociation said.

www.fordrealty.net