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
The Boston Globe published an article about the possibility of a slow-down in local real estate. “... houses are taking longer to sell, and when they do, they’re more likely to sell below listing price than they did a year ago. Also, the number of homes on the market, particularly condominiums, is up. The market
A joke: Economists have forecast ten out of the last three recessions. Real estate recessions happen when something big affects the economy in general. Because it takes longer to buy and sell real estate than to shift assets in a stock or bond portfolio, real estate recessions take hold more slowly than general economic recessions.
Spring real estate market Here's what we're seeing at 4 Buyers Real Estate. Our clients continue to buy properties, even against competition that is willing to waive their rights to a home inspection or a mortgage contingency. (That contingency allows buyers to get their deposits back if their mortgage is delayed or denied.
More data is not better data. I advise my clients to look for indications of negotiation points, like comparable sales, the seller buying another property, and neighborhood issues that are chasing the seller from their property (this is common if a building project is nearby or the taxes just went up… that kind of thing.)
What will house hunting look like this year, around Boston? The local real estate economy follows the national economy. The National Association of Realtors® expects home sales to flatten and home prices to continue to increase, though at a slower pace. Our local market is behaving just the way I told you it would last October. What
This summer, for the first time in about four years, there were signs that the supply-demand balance was becoming more even. This year, there was a noticeable lull in demand in August. It is “normal” for the real estate sales volume to drop in August. For the past four year, no summer doldrums; the normal drop in
A rising market favors people who are downsizing because the higher the property value, the greater the sale of the more expensive, bigger property. This offsets the higher price of the downsized, smaller property, assuming both properties are rising at the same rate. Suppose you own a house that was worth $650,000 before the mini-bubble.