Mortgage Rates Won’t Stay Low Forever
The Labor Department released the jobs report for April which shows that nonfarm payroll increased by 165,000, above the consensus of economists of about 145,000. That better than expected jobs report sent the stock market soaring, with all three major stock indexes up over 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average around noon on May 3 had crossed the 15,000 level never before reached and the S&P 500 passed the 1600 level, also never before crossed. The NASDAQ is at a multiyear high, but well below its all-time high before the dot.com...
read moreBoston Real Estate Low Inventory Triggers Bidding Wars – At All Price Points
The downtown Boston housing market, having less than a two-month supply of inventory, has triggered bidding wars all over Boston in every price range. Towards the end of 2012, we saw bidding wars primarily in the 300-600K price range. Now, in the first quarter of 2013, inventory is still scarcely low and we are seeing bidding wars in every price range, in every section of the city. The last time inventory levels were this low was 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, Boston’s real estate market saw a strong and steady increase in prices and...
read moreBoston Real Estate – On The Way Up!
In 2012, Boston’s residential real estate market soared, with median prices reaching a record high and a dramatic increase in sales, having a bigger pool of buyers than sellers. According to the Boston based company that tracks the residential real estate market, the number of sales in Boston increased by 28.9%. The median price increased 5.69% from 2011 to 2012 and with a nearly 8% increase from $465,000 to $501,250. The median price of Luxury condo also rose 6% from 2011 to 2012 and sales increased 24.6%.
read moreIt’s a Great Time to Buy Boston Real Estate!
by Jose Lopez 2012 was a great year for Boston Proper. Fueled by low interest rates and steady returns, the housing market has not only rebounded but is thriving in most of the city’s premier neighborhoods and suburbs. A huge problem that buyers are running into is lack of inventory. This inconvenience has triggered average listing times to decrease dramatically. Multiple offer situations are driving prices up which would lead you to believe that the situation has completely flipped. On the contraire it is very much still a buyer’s...
read moreBe Careful What You Wish for!
by Seth Driggin The headline from an article this morning on CNBC.com states: “New Housing Fears: Home Prices Are Rising Too Fast” According the the National Association of Realtors, as quoted in the CNBC article, just 1.82 million homes were listed for sale in December of 2012, which was a 22% drop from a year ago and the lowest level of supply since May of 2005, when people were speaking of the housing market as a boom and bubble. At the pace of current sales, it would take just over four months to sell that amount of...
read moreBuying a For Sale by Owner at the Best Price and Terms
by Bill Jebb A common myth believed by many sellers is that by selling their home without representation by a REALTOR® they are increasing their net price by 6% or whatever the current commission rate is. Big mistake. Without the expertise to accurately determine the market value the danger is twofold. First that the property will be priced too high to attract buyers and second that it is priced too low and so money will be left on the table. There are many other problems, but this article is not about how to sell your property, it is...
read moreFive Misunderstandings About Your Buyer Representation
by Ryan Moore (For a completely free report on Exclusive Buyer Representation, request a copy HERE) Any agent who represents you in a real estate purchase can be an exclusive buyer agent. Wrong. While any agent can call themselves a ‘buyers agent’ that does not mean they don’t have an inherent conflict of interest when their employing broker represents sellers. ‘Exclusive Buyer Agent’ is a legal term indicating that neither the agent nor the employing broker represent any real estate seller, hence there...
read moreNegotiating a Home Price – Protect Yourself
by Jose Lopez How can we protect our interests while negotiating the price of a home? The essence of ‘negotiating’ is to come to an agreement when we and our negotiating opponent have different goals. When we negotiate effectively we generally pay less for the item in question than if we simply agree to the asking price. For instance: when buying an automobile we might save hundreds of dollars by negotiating on price or add ons. When it’s the cost of getting your lawn mowed it might only be tens of dollars. However,...
read moreBuying New Construction – Who Represents You?
by Bill Jebb New home construction is resurging. Great news for the economy and great news for you if you want to be the first owner of your new home. Often buying new construction means you can choose upgrades and modifications that exactly suit your wishes. Builders typically contract with a real estate broker to manage their sales or they may act as broker themselves. With all but the smallest projects there is a special office on the property and one or two models. The broker’s job is to concentrate on selling the units...
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