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analytics

Tight Inventories Effect Growth Prospects.

The Inman News article below provides interesting national context to the extreme lack of inventory in our local markets.

NAR: Pending sales dip from November to December

BY INMAN NEWS

Inman News®

Tight listing inventories are likely to constrain growth in 2013 home sales, the National Association of Realtors said in releasing a report showing that pending sales dropped 4.3 percent from November to December.

Despite the month-to-month drop, existing homes under contract were up 6.9 percent from a year ago, making December the 20th month in a row to see an annual gain in pending sales.

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, which represents existing-home contracts signed but not yet closed, rose to 106.3 in November before slipping to 101.7 last month. In April 2010, when the federal homebuyer tax credit was still in place, the index hit 111.3, but soon dipped back down.

An index score of 100 is equal to the average level of sales contract activity in 2001, the first year examined by the trade group and a year in which home sales fell in what’s considered a normal range for the current U.S. population. Contracts signed in a month typically close one or two months later.

Although NAR is projecting that home sales will pick up by 9 percent in 2013, tight inventory, paired with near-record low new-home construction levels, is an obstacle to more rapid growth.

The month-to-month dip in the pending sales is not a “statistical fluke,” Yun said, but signals a loss of momentum in home sales. The momentum, however, is inventory-related, he said — demand is still high.

New homes, Yun said, are the solution to the inventory challenge. “True relief to the inventory has to come from new home construction.”

Regionally, the West, with extremely tight inventory, was the only region to see a decrease in pending home sales in December from a year ago with a 5.3 percent drop.

December 2012 year-over-year change in pending sales of existing homes index by region

Source: National Association of Realtors

The Midwest, South and Northeast had year-over-year index increases of 14.4 percent, 10.1 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively, in December.

On a monthly basis, only Midwest’s index increased in December — 0.9 percent. The pending existing-home sales index fell in the West, Northeast and South from November to December 8.2 percent, 5.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, in December from November.

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analytics

Local Market Best Since ’06’

A great article below from The Boston Globe’s Jennifer McKim. 
  • The Boston Globe
  • By Jenifer B. McKim

The Massachusetts housing market made a comeback last year, with 46,887 single-family homes sold — the best showing since 2006!

Single-family home sales statewide rose by 18.4 percent in 2012 compared with 2011,according to Warren Group, a private company that tracks real estate. Prices also rose, with the median price, or midpoint price, climbing a modest 1.8 percent compared with 2011, to $290,000.The new data seem to confirm what housing specialists have been saying for months — that the Massachusetts and US housing markets have turned a corner. The state’s single-family housing market hit a price peak in 2005 — at $355,000 — before dropping about 20 percent by 2009, Warren Group said. Home values have fluctuated, but now appear to be strengthening steadily, especially in the Boston area.This year “is going to be the base the housing recovery is built on,’’ said Alex Coon, a Boston market manager for the online brokerage firm Redfin.The state’s condominium market also is improving, with sales rising more than 25 percent in 2012 compared with the previous year, marking the highest number of condo sales in Massachusetts since 2008,according to Warren Group. The median condo sale price rose $277,000 in 2012, up 2.6 percent from 2011.The annual data were given a boost by brisk activity in December. Single-family home sales jumped by 8 percent compared with December 2011. Median home values rose to $300,000, a 12.3 percent increase compared with the same time in 2011, according to Warren Group.Condo sales also increased by 5.4 percent in December, compared with December 2011. The median condo sale price increased to $275,000 last month, 8 percent higher than during the previous December.

“It is clear we have turned the corner and are gaining ground rapidly,’’ said Timothy M. Warren Jr., chief executive of Warren Group.

Greater Boston showed even better numbers in 2012, with the median price for singlefamily homes hitting $470,000, 6.8 higher than in 2011, the Greater Boston Association of Realtors said. The group includes communities largely within the Interstate 495 loop. Condo prices in that region rose to $380,000, a 10.3 percent increase compared with 2011.

But as more buyers compete for homes, the number of properties on the market continues to shrink.

The inventory of single-family homes fell by 28.1 percent at the end of December, compared with 2011, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which also released data Thursday.

The number of condos for sale fell by 34.3 percent in December, compared with 2011, the association said.

John Ranco, senior associate at Hammond Residential Real Estate in Boston’s South End, said the lack of homes to sell is proving a challenge to the market’s recovery.

“We seem to have lots and lots of people looking for housing and very, very little to choose from,’’ he said. “It’s a little bit of a horse race to get properties into agreement right now.”

Christopher Doherty, president of the Northeast Association of Realtors, said he hopes more people start to realize now is a good time to put their homes on the market. “Buyers are out looking now, and every property that comes to the market is getting tremendous attention,” he said.

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$500K In Provincetown And The South End

Provincetown waterfront or the heart of  Boston’s South End. Two great condos priced at $500K (+-).  One in a waterfront complex in Provincetown and the other a new construction one bedroom/ one bath condo on Washington Street in the South End. Zero Worcester Square #F is being marketed at $822 per square foot, and 381 Commercial #9 is being marketed at $852 per square foot. An interesting comparison….and remember my caveat…descriptive copy has been taken directly from MLS.

 

Zero Worcester Square #F, $495K, ..1/1, 602 sf. Fabulous new construction one bedroom residence with private elevator access. This is a unique opportunity to live in an elegant contemporary space surrounded by a charming nineteenth-century view! This sun-filled corner home has walls of windows, a southwestern exposure looking over the Square, private balcony and hardwood floors throughout. The beautiful kitchen has three windows, gas cooking and is fully applianced. Located just steps from the best of the South End’s restaurants and shopping!

 

 

 381 Commercial St #9,  Bull Ring Wharf. $499K, 2/2, 586 sf . A charming home filled with Cape Cod charm provides the ultimate in beachfront living. Situated in the heart of Provincetown this newly renovated 2 bedroom condo has been updated with new custom tiled bathroom, new kitchen cabinets with granite countertops, new appliances and gleaming refinished wood floors throughout the living room and bedrooms. Quite simply this condo is the perfect Provincetown getaway or rental. There are 2 expansive common decks to enjoy sun bathing and beachcombing, all just steps from your door. Parking for one car, common laundry and extra storage for owners. Pets and weekly rentals allowed. Very strong rental history! Buyer to assume remaining sewer betterment.

 

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analytics

Goode & Farmer Report Boston – January 2013

Lack of Inventory remains the challenge.

The Big Number is 23%. Combined, all Boston neighborhoods saw a 23% increase in the number of condo sold in 2012, from 3,544 sales in 2011 to 4,361 sales in 2012. The average sales price of condominiums increased 5% to $563K from $536K in 2011. The median sales price increased 8% to $410K from $380K in 2011. This real estate market is healthy except for the continuing decrease in inventory levels. The number of condominiums for sale in downtown has dropped 46% to 565 from 1050 last year at this time, and that was an extremely low number!

The Back Bay, saw a 24% increase in sales to 537 units from 433 in 2011, while the average price of a condo sold increased by 5% to $1.18M. The number of condos available for sale dropped 49% from 158 last year to only 80 today.

The South End saw a 9% increase in the number of condo sales to 540 condos sold year to date compared to 497 last year. The average price of a condo sold increased 6% to $704K compared with $663K last year. The inventory of condos for sale decreased 30% from a very low 91 last year to a terrifying 64 today. The dearth of inventory is the issue going forward.

South Boston saw a 26% increase in the number of condo sold to 585 in 2012 compared with 466 in 2011. The average sales price of a condo increased by 11% to $423K compared with $382K in 2011. South Boston has the largest drop in inventory of all downtown n’hoods down 72% from 141 properties for sale on this date last year compared to 39  available for sale today.

Inventory remains the problem, but as I have said repeatedly this market is so resilient and so desirable that declining inventory levels have not negatively effected the steady increase in sales and prices. Time will tell if this dynamic continues.

 

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Goode & Farmer Report Provincetown- January 2013

Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet Real Estate Market 2012 Year-End figures.

For a year filled with anxiety and trepidation, a polarizing presidential election and talk of falling off the fiscal cliff, the real estate market in many places started to purr like a fine tuned engine. Many cities and towns throughout the country experienced substantial increases in the number of sales as well as climbing prices. In some places such as the downtown Boston market, sales and prices were up as inventory fell to low levels not seen in many years. The news on the Outer Cape was as positive and the year-end sales reports surpassed what many in the industry expected.

Total sales in Provincetown were up 36% from 169 units in 2011 to 229 in 2012 and volume closed was up 51% from $84M to $127M in 2012. There were 166 condominium sales in 2012 totaling $70M vs. 113 condos sales in 2011 totaling $43M – an increase of 63%. The average sale price for condominiums in Ptown was up 12% over 2011 to an average sale price of $421K.

Single family sales in Provincetown were also very strong with 52 sales in 2012 totaling $47M vs. 31 sales for $23M in volume in 2011 – a whopping increase of 104% in volume. The average sale price for a single-family home was up 21% to an average of $912K. Provincetown leads the way on the Cape for positive real estate news and tends to follow the key downtown Boston in performance stats more than other towns on the Cape. Downtown Boston experienced a 23% increase in sales and an average increase in sales price of 5%.

An important development in Provincetown is that inventory of properties for sale has dropped by around 25% since last year at this time. For the past several years the number of condos and single-family homes for sale year after year had remained relatively stable. This market dynamic begins to build a case for spring 2013 being a historically opportune time for those sellers who have been waiting on the sidelines to put their property on the market. This evolving supply and demand dynamic may be the best for sellers in several years.

Other towns on the Outer Cape did well too. The number of sales in Truro was up 49% over 2011 with 97 sales in 2012 vs 65 in 2011 and an increase in total volume of 60% to $51M. The Truro market consists mostly of single-family homes.

In Wellfleet, the number of sales increased 54.5% from 66 sales in 2011 to 102 in 2012 with a total sales volume of $49M, representing a 60% increase. Wellfleet is predominantly a single -family sales market too. These sales and volume increases in both Wellfleet and Truro are representative of the entire outer Cape real estate market.

 

So, we have heard it from all corners…real estate is back! And nowhere is this more evident than in Provincetown and the outer Cape.

We don’t want to be accused of having “irrational exuberance,” but we are seeing and feeling buyer excitement that we have not seen in many years. But, buyers do need more choices. Sellers are more confident as well that this is the time to sell. These buyer and seller attitudes coupled with a continuation of rock bottom mortgage rates and an improving economy bode well for 2013 being a great year to jump in the market and own a piece of paradise.

Please call or stop in if you are considering selling or if you are just curious as to what your home is worth. Our business philosophy is that the best-informed sellers are the happiest and that is what we do best!

 

 

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analytics

Existing Home Sales At Highest

525 Commercial St SOLD $1.25M

My favorite Agent Genius Blogger Tara’s excellent national real estate analysis provides terrific context as  I begin to post year end local analysis. Anyone can use figures to come up with most any result but clearly consensus is that nationally we are on the road to a housing recovery…and locally  we are in  much better shape than most markets in the US.

by  in Real Estate & Housing News   

Existing home sales are up, prices are improving, inventory is tight, and housing is showing signs of improvement, but the sector has found its bottom and is not recovered, rather starting that long road toward a recovery.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales continued to improve in November with low inventory supply pressuring home prices, rising 5.9 percent for the month, spiking 14.5 percent compared to November 2011. NAR reports that sales are at the highest level since November 2009.

Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is healthy market demand. “Momentum continues to build in the housing market from growing jobs and a bursting out of household formation. “With lower rental vacancy rates and rising rents, combined with still historically favorable affordability conditions, more people are buying homes. Areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy show storm-related disruptions but overall activity in the Northeast is up, offset by gains in unaffected areas.”

Median prices, and the impact of distressed properties

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent compared to November 2011, marking the ninth consecutive monthly year-over-year price gain, which has not happened since September 2005 to May 2006.

Distressed home sales accounted for 22 percent of November sales (12 percent were foreclosures and 10 percent were short sales), down from 24.0 percent in October and 29.0 percent in November 2011. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20.0 percent below market value in November, while short sales were discounted 16 percent.

Dr. Yun said, “The market share of distressed property sales will fall into the teens next year based on a diminishing number of seriously delinquent mortgages.”

Inventory levels tightening

Total housing inventory at the end of November fell 3.8 percent to 2.03 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace; it was 5.3 months in October, and is the lowest housing supply since September of 2005 when it was 4.6 months.

Listed inventory is 22.5 percent below a year ago when there was a 7.1-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is now at the lowest level since December 2001 when there were 1.89 million homes on the market.

The median time on market was 70 days in November, slightly below 71 days in October, but is 28.6 percent below 98 days in November 2011. Fully 32.0 percent of homes sold in November were on the market for less than a month, while 20.0 percent were on the market for six months or longer; these findings are unchanged from October.

Buyer types in the market

First time buyers accounted for 30 percent of purchases in November, down from 31 percent in October and 35 percent in November 2011.

All-cash sales were at 30 percent of transactions in November, up slightly from 29 percent in October and 28 percent in November 2011. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 19 percent of homes in November, little changed from 20 percent in October; they were 19 percent in November 2011.

Single-family home sales rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million in November from 4.21 million in October, and are 12.4 percent higher than the 3.95 million-unit level in November 2011. The median existing single-family home price was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from a year ago.

Regional performance varied

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 6.9 percent to an annual rate of 620,000 in November and are 14.8 percent above November 2011. The median price in the Northeast was $232,900, down 2.0 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 7.2 percent in November to a pace of 1.19 million and are 21.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $141,600, which is 7.0 percent above November 2011.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.9 percent to an annual level of 2.04 million in November and are 17.2 percent above November 2011. The median price in the South was $157,400, up 10.5 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 0.8 percent a pace of 1.19 million in November and are 4.4 percent higher than a year ago. With ongoing inventory constraints, the median price in the West was $248,300, which is 23.9 percent above November 2011.

existing home sales Existing home sales at highest level in four years

Exercising cautious optimism

As opposed to former eras, the NAR is approaching their future forecasting with cautious optimism. Dr. Yun said that the housing market recovery should “continue through coming years” unless the nation falls off of the “fiscal cliff,” and assuming that there are no further limitations on the availability of mortgage credit.

Dr. Yun pointed to improving existing and new home sales and housing starts as all seeing “notable gains this year in contrast with suppressed activity in the previous four years, and all of the major home price measures are showing sustained increases.”

Many economists agree that there are gains being made in housing, but we urge all to note that these signs of improvement are only signs of improvement, and not an actual recovery, as housing is just now moving past bottoming out and we’re finding signs of life which is hopeful, but not yet a recovery.

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Signs Of Recovery Even With The Cliff!

A repost of Jennifer McKim’s article in the Boston Globe follows. It shows significant evidence that we are in a real estate recovery even in the broader Massachusetts market.  We have been experiencing The Recovery in downtown Boston and on the outer Cape for months now, but this broader evidence is very welcome news as we enter the NewYear.

The pullquote below from the article states what we are hearing all aross the country. Good news especially as we deal with the ramifications of the possible Fiscal Cliff.

“It feels like a housing market that has now switched into the mode of helping drive a recovery,

The Boston Globe/December 28, 2012/Jennifer McKim GLOBE STAff

  • Analysts say prices remained stable, while the number of single­family units sold rose steeply
  • A surge in home sales in November and strengthening property values are adding to a growing sentiment in the real estate industry that 2012 will mark when the housing market in Massachusetts officially began its recovery.

SOURCE: The Warren Group
JAMES ABUNDIS/GLOBE STAFF With the supply of available properties still thin, homes are selling quickly and prices are edging up, prompting real estate specialists to predict that the days of bargain prices for residences are likely to be over soon.

“This year marks the shift in housing,” said John Ranco of Hammond Residential Real Estate in South Boston. “Over the next couple of years we will start to see prices heat up a little bit.”

Last month, 4,539 single-family properties traded owners — the best November for sales since the market peak in 2005, the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks local real estate, reported Thursday.

The number of single-family home sales through the first 11 months of 2012 exceeded that of all of last year, and the year will probably be the strongest since 2006.

Through the first 11 months of the year, home prices were about where they were for 2011 — at a median price of $288,000 — a trend that industry officials said represents a stabilized market.

In the more active market in Greater Boston, median prices were 1.1 percent above where they were in 2011, at $456,500 for single-family properties, according to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. It’s been seven years since the housing market in Massachusetts first showed signs of slowing, and during the steepest period of the downturn values plunged 20 percent, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show. Prices have since rebounded modestly, though values have also bounced during the past three years.

But now, prices appear to be on the upswing — with Boston area home values up 1.6 percent in October, compared with the same month in 2011, according to Case-Shiller, which measures repeat sales and is largely considered the best marker of the housing industry.

“It is clear that the housing recovery is gaining strength,’’ said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

This good news comes despite uncertainty over the socalled fiscal cliff and possible changes in the mortgage interest deduction, which provides thousands of dollars in annual savings to many mortgage holders.

There are still many unknowns that could turn the market around.

However, Eric Belsky, managing director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said he foresees a strong spring season, propelled by tight inventory and low mortgage rates. He also expects markets outside of Boston to strengthen.

“It feels like a housing market that has now switched into the mode of helping drive a recovery,” Belsky said.

Meanwhile, the condo market appears to be even stronger. The number of condos sold in November, 1,635, was 33 percent above the number a year earlier, according to the Warren Group. Year-to-date condo sales rose 27 percent, compared with a year earlier.

Prices are up, too. The median condo sales price was $275,000 in November, more than 7 percent higher than a year earlier.

Warren Group chief executive Timothy M. Warren Jr. said the condo market is thriving because young people and baby boomers are increasingly interested in living in the city, with all its amenities. “Urban living is gaining ground,” he said.

Both condos and single-family homes are selling faster this year, too. And so the supply of available properties is tightening: The number of single-family homes on the market last month was 25.9 percent fewer than in November 2011, with similar declines in the condo market.

Mary O’ Donaghue, president of the the Northeast Association of Realtors, said she expects that improving consumer confidence, low interest rates, and tight inventory will keep housing moving in the spring.

“We are entering a spring market with close to ideal conditions,” she said.

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analytics

Boston’s Fiscal (Listing) Cliff

Great post from Curbed Boston Blog!

Here is the latest installment of Bates By the Numbers, a weekly feature by broker David Bates that drills down into the Hub’s housing market to uncover those trends you would not otherwise see. This week, David looks at the effects of Boston’s absurdly low condo inventory on the city

Boston%20Inventory%20as%20of%2012-12.jpgMcDonald’s would never run out of hamburgers.

Amazon would never run out of books.

But could Greater Boston run out of reasonably priced condos?

Currently, the city’s on-market condominium inventory is scary low. It’s so low that if we were using actively marketed Boston condos as gas for our car, we might not make it to the closest station to fill up. A year ago, Boston had nearly twice as many condos on the market as it does today. Brookline had two-and-a-half times its current condo selection and South Boston was marketing more than three times the 46 condos currently being marketed. Put simply: Regardless of price, there are very few condos available to buy in Boston; and, when demand is high and supply is low, prices go up.

You might not realize how the pricing menu of Greater Boston condos has changed in just a year. A year ago (12/12/11), the median list price of an on-market condo in the South End was $575K. Today, the median is $749K. Which is more incredible: the $174K increase or the fact that 02118 now has a 90210 median list price?

In Greater Boston, rising median list prices are not relegated to the South End. Brookline’s median list price for on-market condos is $202K higher than it was a year ago, up from $538K to $740K. And a year ago in Back Bay, the median list price for on-market condos was a cool million—today it is a cool $1.47 million. That new median might get Robin Leach excited, but if you’re looking for modestly priced Boston condos to buy, it’s an indication you just might have a better chance of seeing the Jets win the Super Bowl this year.

When Boston housing prices spiraled out of control between 2001 and 2005, the Boston Foundation’s Housing Report Card stated that it contributed to 60,000 more people leaving the Hub than coming to it, many of them in the 20- to 34-year-old age demographic. FYI, back in 2005, when there was no marketing of condos after they had technically found buyers, the city had five times the amount of condos on the market as it does today and the median listing price of the on-market inventory was $390K. Today the median list price of Boston’s on-market available-to-purchase inventory is $483K, which provokes the request: Would the last hipster to leave the Hub please take the titanium spork with him?

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Cape Bargains?

Below is an interesting post by Scott Van Voorhis contrasting sales and price performance in different towns on the Cape, as many towns are experiencing sales increases but with price decreases. Provincetown is experiencing a more positive cycle of price and sales increases. Through November 30 as per Cape Cod MLS the average sale price of a single family home in Provincetown was $827K a 5% increase with a median price of $762K. 46 single family properties have sold year to date, an increase of 45% over 2011 year to date.

Through November 30, the average sale price of condominiums in Provincetown was $413K, an increase of 10% year to date with a median price of $399K.  149 condos have sold year to date an increase of 49%.

See Scott’s post below.

Posted by Scott Van Voorhis
If you are looking for a second home, there may be bargains to be had right now on the Cape.

Sales are up big time across the sandy spit, even as median prices fall in the Mid-Cape towns of Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, according to data from The Warren Group.

Chatham saw the biggest price decline, falling more than 14 percent, year-to-date, at the end of October to $550,000, while Orleans fell 3.7 percent, to $505,000, and Harwich slid 1.1 percent to $335,500.

Heading farther out towards Provincetown, Wellfleet prices dropped 5.7 percent to $511,250.

Other towns on or close to the Cape Cod Canal are also seeing prices fall. Sandwich is down 6 percent to $280,000, Mashpee fell 7 percent to $310,000, while Bourne saw a 5.8 percent decline to $251,500.

Venturing off Cape to the islands, Nantucket prices fell 9.1 percent to an ultra-affordable median of $1,090,000.

The Outer Cape appears to be bucking the trends, with Provincetown posting a 16 percent rise, to $680,000.

Brewster and Dennis also posted price increases as well.

Of course, there is the whole issue of rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather – Cape living may not be a picnic in years to come. It’s an area already poorly served by the power companies and prone to outages.

The cost of insuring a home on the Cape is also soaring.

Still, I say go for it. But beware of beachfront bargains!

 

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Massachusetts Tops In Listing Prices, Provincetown Is Higher!

Scott always has good posts. This one is surprising showing MA is #1, (in the continental US) or #2 in  the whole USA when it comes to the average listing price for single family homes. To put that in context, Provincetown’s average singe family listing price today is $1.378M, more than twice the state average.

High listing Prices? Massachusetts has them beat!

Posted by Scott Van Voorhis

Basically, the good old Bay State is No. 1 in the continental U.S. when it comes to the listing price of a typical four-bedroom, two-bath suburban home, Coldwell Banker finds in a new survey.

The average listing price here is pushing half a million at $489,063 for your basic subdivision home. That’s far above the national average, which weighs in at $292,152.

Now to be clear here, Hawaii ($742,551) actually has the highest listing price for the entire country, but given the obvious land constraints of the island state, it’s a little like comparing apples and oranges.

Interestingly, Massachusetts listing prices even beat out California ($431,625), New Jersey ($425,625) and Connecticut ($411,884), which has the hedge fund capital of the world in Stamford.

We also have more than are our share of spots in the top 100 when listing prices for two-bedroom, two-bath homes are broken down by individual towns and cities.

With an average listing price of $1.1 million for a two-bedroom, two-bath home, Weston ranks No. 14 in the country. But Los Altos in Silicon Valley has anything in Massachusetts beat, with an average listing price of $1.7 million.

So what’s happening here? We are heading into our third decade here in Massachusetts of anemic construction of suburban, single-family homes, with no change in sight.

In fact, Gov. Deval Patrick’s belated proposal to tackle the growing mismatch between supply and demand in the Bay State housing market focuses almost exclusively on construction of apartments, townhomes and condos.

The problem is well-paid professionals who relocate here to take jobs in our growing biotech and high-tech fields aren’t selling their spacious 4,000-square-foot colonials in Texas and North Carolina and saying gee, can’t wait to move into a tiny 1,100-square-foot condo next to a train station up in Massachusetts.

Instead they are bidding up whatever available suburban homes they can find within the 495 beltway, and, if they have the bucks, paying for teardowns in which new, outsized homes replace old capes and ranches in Concord, Wellesley, Hingham and other upscale suburbs.

OK, your turn on the soap box. What’s your take?