Categories
architecture general info

Boston – Lovejoy Wharf Sales Underway

I am reposting this Lovejoy Wharf story from Curbed.com and Tom Acitelli  because it is so exciting to see it finally happening.  I worked on this project pre-development at  Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage oh so many years ago.  So happy to see the incredible Barbara Cusack named sales  director for this Related Beal development.

Lovejoy Wharf sales now underway: $750,000 and way up

Plus: new renderings!

Categories
analytics general info

Rising Prices In Boston Neighborhoods

Informative post by Scott at Boston.com.

Where condo prices are rising fastest in Greater Boston

The median condo price in Cambridge is $570,000.
Josh Reynolds/Boston Globe
 images

The Boston area condo market is poised to get even more expensive in 2016, with rising prices spreading from shiny new luxury towers downtown to traditionally working class enclaves.

The median condo price in downtown Boston neighborhoods like the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End and the Fenway hit $775,000 in 2015, up 9 percent from the year before, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

But neighboring Revere, and Boston neighborhoods like Roxbury, Dorchester and East Boston, saw even bigger, double-digit increases.

Revere saw one of the biggest jumps in condo prices in the Boston area, with the median value leaping more than 23 percent to just under $280,000 in 2015. Sales were also up 9.8 percent for the year.

Roxbury condo prices were not far behind, rising 17 percent, to $427,500.

Dorchester, which is starting to see proposals for new condo developments, saw its median price rise nearly 12 percent, to $341,500, while East Boston hit $339,000 after an 11 percent jump.

“Bidding wars have moderated a little, but we saw 35-40% of Boston city neighborhood condos sold last year go over asking price,” noted Michael DiMella, managing partner of Charlesgate Realty.

In fact, DiMella said that number rises to 50 percent when it comes to affluent and super-hot neighborhoods like the South End and Charlestown, which saw a 27 percent jump in sales last year, one of the largest increases in the Boston area. The median price of a condo in Charlestown rose 7 percent, to $570,000, according to The Warren Group.

Increasingly upscale South Boston saw prices rise 11 percent, to $555,000.

“There’s some variation from neighborhood to neighborhood, but there was strong median price growth throughout downtown Boston, especially when you look at price per square foot,” DiMella said.

Student-packed Brighton, which is seeing its own surge of new residential construction, also saw condo prices rise 9 percent, to $353,500, while sales edged up 4.7 percent, The Warren Group reports.

Hipster hotspots like Somerville, Jamaica Plain and Cambridge also experienced big run-ups in condo prices in 2015, though sales lagged amid a tight market that saw a decline in the number of units for sale.

Cambridge prices edged up nearly 6 percent, to $570,000, while Somerville was not far behind after a 13 percent jump boosted its median condo price to $540,000. But sales fell 5 and 15 percent in Cambridge and Somerville, respectively, Warren Group stats show.

Jamaica Plain proved to be an exception, with sales rising 6 percent and its median condo price hitting $440,000 after a 10 percent increase.

“The most important driving force in the market is lack of inventory,” notes veteran Coldwell Banker real estate agent Sara Rosenfeld, who has been selling real estate in Somerville since the early 1980s. It is “supply and demand – simply laws of economics.”

Categories
general info trends

Where Americans Are Moving

Interesting graphic by the good folks at Keeping Current Matters. Massachusetts still has “high outbound”! Hard to believe…but it could be because it is going to be -2 degrees this weekend? 🙁

Where Are Americans Moving? [INFOGRAPHIC] | Keeping Current Matters

Some Highlights:

  • For the 4th year in a row the Northeast saw a concentration of High Outbound activity.
  • Oregon held on to the top stop of High Inbound states for the 3rd year in a row.
  • Much of this Outbound activity can be attributed to Boomers relocating to warmer climates after retiring.
Categories
analytics general info

The 20 Hottest Markets In US

A good review of the hottest real estate markets – by Brena at Housing Wire.

Here are the 20 hottest housing markets

San Francisco keeps top spot

san jose and san Fran

As 2016 begins, the residential market is going through its typical seasonal slowdown.

But despite the winter cool down, these markets are still shining through as the 20 hottest markets in the nation, with San Francisco once again landing the title of the hottest housing market in America, the latest report fromrealtor.com said.

However, while supply is moving slowly, it is still faster than last year, with days on the market is down 7% y/y.

On a similar note, the report found that the median list price in December is also down slightly from November. While this is consistent with the season, the decline is not as dramatic with prices stronger than usual in December.

Here are the 20 hottest housing markets in December

20. Midland, Texas

19. Fort Wayne, Indiana

18. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida

17. Boulder, Colorado

16. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan

Mich

15. Modesto, California

14. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida

13. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee

Tenn

12. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California

11. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California

10. Stockton-Lodi, California

9. Yuba City, California

8. Santa Rosa, California

7. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado

Colorado

6. San Diego-Carlsbad, California

5. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California

4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

Dallas Roads

3. Vallejo-Fairfield, California

2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California

1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California

Bridge

Categories
analytics general info

Five Year Projection For Home Price Appreciation

 

I am always impressed with the KCM Crew.  (Keeping Current Matters) They are excellent at distilling big data points into understandable and accessible information.

 

Home Prices: Where Are They Headed Over The Next 5 Years?

Home Prices: Where Are They Headed Over The Next 5 Years? | Keeping Current Matters

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey.

Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where they believe prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey:

Home values will appreciate by 3.9% by the end of 2015, 3.4% in 2016 and 3.1% in each of the following four years (as shown below). That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.2% over the next 5 years.

Projected Mean Appreciation | Keeping Current Matters

The prediction for cumulative appreciation rose from 18.1% to 21.6% by 2020. Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 13.8%.

Cumulative House Appreciation | Keeping Current Matters

Bottom Line

Individual opinions make headlines. We believe the survey is a fairer depiction of future values.

Categories
analytics general info

Boston Sales And Prices Jump

A good year end analysis from Scott at Boston.com.

 

Boston sees condo prices, sales jump

From Back Bay and Beacon Hill to Dorchester and Southie, doube-digit price increases have been seen in several Boston neighborhoods.

Boston’s red hot condo market is closing out the year with a bang, posting double-digit increases in prices and sales, the latest stats show.

The median condo price in Suffolk County, made up mostly of Boston, hit $580,000 in November after a 34 percent jump, finds real estate publisher and data firm, The Warren Group. Condo sales jumped 43 percent.

By contrast, the median home price in Boston and fellow Suffolk County communities of Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere, weighed in at $406,500 after a 3 percent increase.

Downtown Boston, including the South End, Back Bay, and Beacon Hill, led the condo price charge, with a 24 percent increase that pushed the median price to $974,000.

Jamaica Plain and South Boston both saw significant gains in condo prices in November, with prices year to date up nearly 11 percent ($445,000) in J.P. and 12 percent ($557,000) in Southie.

Dorchester and East Boston, which have been hubs of activity for new development as buyers get priced out of other neighborhoods like J.P. and the South End, also saw big gains.

Year-to-date through November, Dorchester’s median condo price has gone up 17 percent, to $344,060, while the median price of an Eastie condo rose 14 percent to $342,750.

Meanwhile, statewide, sales and prices of both condos and homes posted gains in November, posting significant gains with help from a relatively mild fall that helped keep buyers on the hunt and sellers in the game.

Sales of single-family homes across Massachusetts rose 8 percent, to 3,915 in November, reports the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

The state’s median home price rose 4.5 percent to $330,000.

Condo sales rose 5 percent, while the median price of a condo posted a 10 percent increase, to $304,000.

“While most people in Massachusetts were focused on raking, getting ready for Thanksgiving and shopping in November, homebuyers stayed focused and once again push closed home sales up,” said 2015 MAR president Corinne Fitzgerald, broker-owner of FITZGERALD Real Estate in Greenfield, in a press release.

Categories
analytics general info

B&T – July Is Best Month for Mass. Home Sales since 2005

BOSTON, August 25, 2015 – The 7,077 single-family home sales in July signaled the best month for the Massachusetts real estate market since June 2005, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

By breaking 7,000 sales, July saw the market’s first return to that level in more than 10 years, since the 7,239 sales recorded in June 2005. The big month marked a 24.31 percent increase year-over-year from July 2014, which had 5,693 sales.MAsaleschartJuly15

The median sales price for single-family homes in July 2015 was $359,900, a 1.38 percent increase from July 2014’s median of $355,000. Year to date the median price has been $340,000, a 1.49 percent increase from last year’s mark of $335,000 through July.

“July’s numbers are the result of a very strong spring season and are an improvement over the sluggish start to the year,” said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group. “A rough winter and pent-up demand turned into a strong spring that is a positive sign for the real estate market throughout the state.”

The condo sales market in July was also robust, seeing 2,794 sales, the most since August 2007. This month’s mark was a 20.07 percent increase from July 2014, which had 2,327. July 2015 supplanted last month as the best month in the eight-year stretch. There were 2,764 in June.

The median condo price in July was $337,500, up 3.85 percent from July 2014, when the median was $325,000. Year to date the median condo price has is $316,685, up .86 percent from $314,000 at this time last year.

Year to date Massachusetts has had 28,745 single-family home sales, a 6.52 percent increase from last year’s total through July of 26,985. There have been 12,132 condo sales through July, a 1.8 percent increase over last year’s year-to-date total of 11,917.

The Warren Group has recorded and tracked real estate transactions since 1872. The fourth-generation family-owned company uses its long-time leadership in Boston real estate and banking information to produce specialized reports and printed publications, including Banker & Tradesman and The Commercial Record.

With more than 140 years as a local business leader, The Warren Group has developed relationships with a variety of industry leaders and trade groups, including bankers, mortgage brokers, credit unions and lawyers. Working together with our partners, The Warren Group organizes trade shows and industry events, including The Bank Summit, coming in October.

For more information about The Warren Group, visit www.thewarrengroup.com.

Categories
analytics general info

$1M Median Prices In Boston Area Towns

Interesting story from Scott detailing the rise in median prices in metro Boston.

The 9 Boston area towns where median home price has hit $1M

 By Scott Van Voorhis

The median price of a single-family home has shot past the $1 million mark in several cities and towns across the Boston area during the first half of 2015, the latest real estate stats show.

Nine communities, from urban Cambridge to bucolic Lincoln, have seen their median home prices hit seven figures as demand for brand-name location combines with a shortage of homes for sale to drive up values.

Concord saw one of the biggest gains, with the median home prices in the historic town hitting $1,050,000 after a 24 percent leap this June compared to the same month a year before, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports.

Median prices in Winchester and Newton both rose by more than 20 percent, hitting $1,090,000 and nearly $1.2 million, respectively.

Brookline had the highest median price of any community in the state, weighing in at $1.6 million, followed by CambridgeWeston and Lincoln, all at $1.4 million, according to MAR.

Wellesley followed at $1.2 million and Belmont at an even $1 million, with Lexington just under the $1 million mark, down at $965,000.

Other cities and towns posted impressive gains as well.

Somerville saw single-family prices skyrocket in June by over 50 percent, to $855,000. Through the first six months of the year, Somerville prices weighed in at a still lofty $621,600, the real estate group reports.

Condo prices in Somerville rose 12 percent through the first half of the year, hitting $552,500.

Bedford saw home prices rise 20 percent, to $785,000 in June, according to MAR.

Overall, sales and prices were up markedly across the state in June, making it the best month since August 2005, back during the last real estate boom, noted Tim Warren, chief executive of real estate market tracker and publisher, The Warren Group.

“We are seeing the early results from a strong spring market,” Warren said in a press release. “It is a remarkable showing after a prolonged slump and a sluggish recovery extending over the past 10 years.”

Categories
general info trends

Boston Ranks High In Retirement Livability Index.

Provincetown shares many of these same characteristics! Just saying.

 

Why You Should Stay in Boston for the Rest of Your Life

Forget retiring to Florida. Boston may be the place to settle down.

According to AARP’s “Livability Index,” Boston is the second most-livable large city in the United States, falling just behind San Francisco.

Though AARP makes it clear that the index can relate to people of all ages, there are specific applications for the elderly:

“Retired residents on fixed incomes need affordable places to live; those who don’t drive need other transportation options; and those with mobility challenges need accessible transportation and housing. No one wants to be forced to leave their community because of changing income or physical agility.”

And, on AARP’s list of the 10 most livable neighborhoods, Boston’s Downtown Crossing made the cut.

AARP elaborated upon Downtown Crossing’s score calling it, “A shopping district in transition to more mixed use with high-rise residences. Adjacent to Boston Common (and all of its recreational amenities), the theater district and the financial district. Stations for three main rail lines are nearby. Some streets are for pedestrians only.”

With AARP’s “livability index” you can type in an address, state, city, or zip code to get a score that is based on an assessment of seven categories: housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity.

Boston received a score of 65 out of 100 for livability, broken down into the seven categories below. Each score is out of 100.

Housing (80): 86.3 percent of the units in Boston are multi-family and there are 681 subsidized housing units per 10,000 people, which is way above the U.S. median of 124. AARP says that they measure units that are multi-family as elders whose spouses have passed away, single-parent families, childless couples, or people who choose to share housing with roommates may prefer this living situation. But Boston’s housing costs, ($1,455 average per month), which includes taxes, rent, mortgage fees, and utilities, falls significantly above the U.S. average ($999 per month).

Neighborhood (76): In this category Boston ranks above the national average in a slew of metrics: access to grocery stores and famers markets, access to parks, access to libraries, access to jobs by transit, access to jobs by auto, diversity of destinations, and activity density. However, the city’s crime rate is slightly higher than the national average.

Transportation (84): In regards to frequency of local transit service, walking trips, household transportation costs, and crash rates, Boston does better than the United States on average. Maybe not so shockingly, Boston does worse than average in terms of traffic congestion.

Environment (65): Boston ranks well in drinking water quality and air quality, boasting only two unhealthy air quality days per year, below the median U.S. average of eight days. But Boston does fall short in near-roadway pollution and local industrial pollution.

Health (65): 99.8 percent of people in Boston have access to exercise opportunities and 21.7 percent of people are obese, which is below the national average. Tobacco use and the availability of health care professionals are both fairly average. But preventable hospitalization rate and patient satisfaction in Boston both were worse than the national averages.

Engagement (61): This category looked at metrics based on civic and social engagement in the community. Boston ranked very high in Internet access and also fell above the national average of the number of cultural, artistic, and entertainment institutions available. Opportunity for civic involvement and the social involvement index were both about average, while voting rates in the Hub are lower than the national average.

Opportunity (25): This was Boston’s worst ranking of the seven, scoring below average in all of the metrics – income inequality, jobs per worker, high school graduation rate and age diversity.

Categories
analytics trends

Pending Sales Surge Nationally

 
The pending sales report is always a few months behind, but it is all good news nonetheless. Excellent  post from KCM. Local conditions seem to be trending with the report. 
 

Pending Sales Surge: Great Sign for the Housing Market

 

The most recent Pending Homes Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors revealed that homes going into contract in February increased to their highest level since June 2013.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

The Index is now 12.0 percent above February 2014. The index is at its highest level since June 2013, has increased year-over-year for six consecutive months and is above what is considered “the average level of activity” – for the 10th consecutive month.

Here is a graph showing the Pending Sales numbers:

Pending Home Sales | Keeping Current Matters

Here is a chart showing the Pending Sales increases by region:

Pending Home Sales By Region | Keeping Current Matters

Bottom Line

In an article from Investors’ Business Daily, Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, explained what these numbers will mean to the overall market:

“It looks like the buyers want to come out to the market and they are eager to find the right home and make an offer. Therefore, I expect the second quarter of this year to be easily ahead of last year in terms of sales activity. Pending contracts are implying that the closing activity in coming months will be quite solid.”