The fall has traditionally been a good time for buyers to go out looking because of the influx of properties that come on the market. This year is no different, with over 100 new condos coming onto the market in Boston since September 3rd. The low mortgage rates of last week means that hopefully some savvy buyers out there locked when the rates dipped to 5% or lower in some cases. The downtown however, isn’t the only area that’s trying take advantage of low mortgage rates and patient but hungry buyers.
The Nouvelle at the Natick Collection is also trying to hop on the bandwagon with their auction on October 4th. The plan to auction off 42 units has drawn lots of attention from people in Boston, and with homes starting at $160,000 they are incredibly affordable. The Nouvelle isn’t alone either, Milton Village in Milton just dropped their prices as well. In effort to get buyers before the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit closes prices have been dropped 10% in the past week. For more information on either of these properties or a free market report send us an email at contact@backbayrealtygroup.com or call 617-449-3642.
The question on everyone’s mind is when will the housing market rebound? For those in some parts of the country it already has. If you live in Boston or the Greater Boston Area, then it’s your lucky day, because you are living in one of those areas. The Case Shiller Index you see on the news every night talking about the country still having housing problems has shown Boston having modest increases in home prices for the past 3 months. We aren’t alone in our increases either, 18/20 markets that they monitor show increases in recent months.
Looking for further evidence the housing market is headed up, let’s go take a look at the data shall we? June home prices in Massachusetts were 2.6 percent above the month before and the number of single-family homes that sold statewide in July was 12 percent higher than a year ago. Even this past month Back Bay alone has seen a 26 percent increase in the average condo price compared to a year ago. If you’re interested in buying condo in Boston this fall is definitely the time to do it.
More and more people as of late are thinking about getting into the real estate investment game. The low mortgage rates right now have attracted a new crop of investors who have a little extra cash on hand. There is a shift taking place in the market right now, which can only be described as the beginning of the shift between old investors and new ones. Many of these investors have been in the market for years and they are starting to sell off parts of their portfolios and for a select few, this is an excellent opportunity. Most of these investors are quietly marketing their properties, meaning that if someone made them offer they are happy to sell, but they aren’t going out and advertising it. So why should you call a rental agent then?
The answer is should be obvious; rental agents deal with these people on a daily basis and know who might be open to selling and who will not. They are also able to give prospective investors a much better handle on what kind of income a unit might generate since they have access to a wider range of properties, than one would find in the MLS. If you are interested in investing in Boston please don’t hesitate to call us and we’ll be more than happy to help identify opportunities, which meet your requirements. Call 617-449-3642 to speak with someone about your next great investment.
Google has forever changed the way people shop for a new home and it’s getting ready to take it another step further.
The first tool Google gave to homebuyers was Google Maps. They made it instantly easy to see the where your new home was located and how far it was from everything you need. The nearest subway station…done. The coffee shop around the corner…boom instant review.
Google Earth, then took this a step further allowing you to see not just a full 360 view of your house, but the entire neighborhood. If you were looking for waterfront property you could even check to see if there was erosion taking place, stripping away your land.
The final tool, Google gave buyers was street view. If you wanted to go for a drive down your new street, suddenly you could. When they combined this with the power of Google Earth, it allowed for a perspective homebuyer to zoom in and around the entire neighborhood. They could even take a drive around it if they wanted to.
Now, Google is expanding its mapping software and adding a new feature. Google Maps, now shows properties for sale in MLS! As you scan and drag around the map the listings change and new listings are pulled. I’ve enclosed a screen shot below, take a look at what’s for sale on the map in Boston.
What is perhaps the most interesting part about this new feature, is the ability to see where the most properties for sale are located right now. The shot above would say there is a big grouping on Beacon Street throughout Back Bay, but especially near Massachusetts Ave. The other large grouping is in the North End and Waterfront area.
Here is the link for the picture above. If you would like to see any property you find, please don’t hesitate to let me know, or you can click here to search on our site for current sales listings.
The average sales price of condos in Back Bay continues to rise. This may sound shocking to many readers who constantly see the news about prices falling all over the city, but numbers don’t lie.
Average sales prices in Back Bay per square foot:
1/1/08-6/15/08 $778.00
1/1/09-6/15/09 $779.00
Now this may not seem like much, but let’s compare it to Beacon Hill in the same time frame.
1/1/08-6/15/08 $745.00
1/1/09-6/15/09 $704.00
Now that increase seems much bigger doesn’t it? My take on this, is that as Back Bay continues to increase in popularity among people of all ages, it’s driving prices higher. The number of renovated homes in Back Bay is also higher than in Beacon Hill which helps further inflate prices.
Boston Real Estate Market | chris | 
September 15, 2009 10:20 am | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe
