Many of our clients read The Boston Globe for real estate news. In an October 4, 2021 article, entitled “(Some) good news for buyers in Boston’s (slightly) cooling housing market,” Zoe Greenberg gave some hope that the post-lockdown housing boom is showing signs of going back to the seller-favoring conditions we have had since the
Where are all the sellers? The big issue in Boston area real estate is inventory. There are not enough houses for sale. We have a stalemate about inventory here. These are the factors: Empty-nesters are staying longer in their houses. This is a demographic and cultural shift. They are holding on to their houses, partly
Derek Thompson, in The Atlantic, summarized what is happening in the American real estate economy. Here’s a summary, some notes on how it is affecting eastern Massachusetts in particular, and how 4 Buyers Real Estate is responding to it. The scarcity of housing for sale. Falling rents. Thompson: “… in America’s big metros, home prices
In every market, I run into buyers who do not look at Fair Market Value (FMV) when they decide what a property is worth. That's a mistake. To negotiate the lowest possible price for a property, a buyer needs a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to determine the Fair Market Value (FMV). Properties sell for what
2020 was the year of pandemic engagements. 2020 was a year of rising divorce rates. 2020 was the year to organize and declutter at home. 2020 was the year to move. What do we expect in 2021? These affect when things go back to normal: How well infection
"America is in a recession, so why are home buyers so optimistic and house prices rising?" I answer questions on Quora sometimes. I choose ones that either interest me personally or professionally. This one is a question that I have been hearing professionally, so it was one I considered answering. When I read the first
Annually, I expect poor reporting of the spring (busy) real estate market. For the past five springs, I have seen an annual "scare the buyers" article. This year, the facts just don't add up to scaring buyers, but they tried, anyway. On April 23, 2020, the Boston Globe had an article about how prices of
The rules keep changing: no wonder you’re confused. Here are the Multiple Listing Service rules for this week. In short, properties that are on sale in the MLS do not have to have a virtual tour. They must have a listing contract, but if they cannot be shown, so be it. I am writing this
On March 10, I was sent the National Association of Realtor’s® statement about Covid-19, the coronavirus that has infected people around the world. Risks: For Sellers: Realtors® are encouraged to discuss the risks of holding open houses, or having appointments where buyers come to your house. … Speak openly and honestly with your seller about
What should you look for as an indication that the seller’s market is on the decline? How can you watch for a turn in uneven supply and demand balance in favor of buyers? As exclusive buyer’s agents, we’ve seen this before. But, because we are a small company who work with a small number of