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
You are not really paying attention to real estate this week, right? Yep... That's what I thought. Happy holidays! I've been calling this time "National Eating Season" for many years. It is the time when I spend more time in festive eating than I would any other time of year. It is natural for humans
This is the first election endorsement blog for me, ever. First, where I am coming from: Core values: I, obviously, care about the economy and housing; that includes additional issues that contribute to economic health and fair housing. I believe economic health and access to housing is connected to issues such as healthcare, transportation, and
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
House hunters with children, or hypothetical children, almost always ask about schools. Parents want good schools for their kids. Immediately, they run into the brick wall: houses and condos in high-scoring school districts cost more than houses and condos in lower-scoring towns. Why is that? There are two factors: Education is funded mainly by
https://youtu.be/4uE-tqe0xsQ
My day started out at a Joint Committee on Revenue hearing regarding Somerville Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition (H-4582). Somerville Board of Aldermen have created a transfer fee that will charge non-resident owners and buyers a one percent fee when selling and buying property. If the seller lives there, no fee. If the buyer intends
Looking to borrow more than the Fannie Mae limit, but not to pay a higher rate for a jumbo mortgage? Looking to borrow with less than 20 percent down? Looking to buy a condo and your lender says the condo is "unwarrantable"? Today, I share some different lending ideas for you from Paul Sammons from
Is it time to go outside to enjoy the flowers and the trees and the birds and the bees? Did you enjoy fresh fruit, berries or nuts? If you do, thank a honey bee. Before you buy new plants and put them in the ground, there are things you can do to help the bees.
How does a seller’s market end? A seller-favoring market exists when there is more demand for housing than supply. Since about 2012 or 2013, buyers found fewer properties for sale than they did during the recession (when foreclosures added to the number of houses and condos for sale.) Limited supply created the seller-favoring market we’ve