Category: analytics

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analytics

Pending Home Sales Jump

I love going into the New Year with all the positives we can get. A monthly index that tracks pending sales of U.S. existing homes rose to its highest level in 19 months in November, according to a report  released by the National Association of Realtors.  Pending sales figures are a very good indication of what consumer attitudes and confidence are going into the New Year as they directly correspond to buyers attitudes and confidence.

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on purchase contracts signed but not yet closed, jumped 7.3 percent from an upwardly revised 93.3 in October and 5.9 percent compared to November 2010, to 100.1. That’s the highest index score since April 2010, just before the deadline for a federal home-buyer tax credit program, when the index was at 111.5, NAR said. “Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems, often with the mortgage,” Yun said. “November is doing reasonably well in comparison with the past year. The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales, which are the important final economic impact figures, should continue to improve in the months ahead,” Yun added.

What we are seeing statewide through December bears these NAR figures out. A more recent Massachusetts Association of Realtors report shows that the number of condos put under agreement in December in Massachusetts was up 13% to 1,179 units vs 1,046 in December 2010.  The number of single family homes put under agreement in December was up 11.7% to 3,227 units vs 2,888 units in December 2010.  Pending sales in my Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage South End office are up 20% December over December. As with the NAR and MAR figures these positive figures are a reliable sign of increased sales occurring in January and February.  Time will tell.

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analytics general info trends

Solid Year End For Downtown Boston

I love getting my hands on “hot off the presses” year-end sales results from MLSPIN, the real estate industry’s data platform.  I have written in prior posts that the South End and the $1M+ markets in particular have fared well in 2011.  Well, the good new continues as we look at initial year-end data.

Boston’s core downtown neighborhoods showed strength and resiliency in 2011.  As a group of neighborhoods including Back Bay, Midtown, South End, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Fenway, Seaport, Waterfront and the North End, the median condo sales price in 2011 was $545K,  up 1% from 2010. The average condo sales price $769K, was down only 2% year over year. Total sales units were 1727 vs 1707 an increase of 1%.  This is an important number as most of the year we had been up against the inflated sales numbers caused by the tax credit through spring 2010. Total core downtown neighborhood sales volume was even with 2010 at $1,329M. (That’s One Billion and three hundred twenty-nine thousand dollars in condo sales.)

When you look at all of Boston neighborhood’s*, including the core downtown neighborhoods and others from Allston/Brighton, Chinatown, South Boston, Dorchester, Roslindale, to W. Roxbury, the average median sale price for condos was $380K which was up 3%. The average sales price was $535K, up 3%.

These preliminary figures reflect  a market that remains consistently strong, and resilient. We are extremely fortunate to be living in Boston, and experiencing a relatively strong market where opportunity exists whether you are buying or selling. Boston is a great place to be in 2012.

*MLSPIN groups all these neighborhoods under Boston when doing a general “Boston” search.

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analytics trends

Ft. Lauderdale Ranks #5 on Realtor.coms Top 10 Early Turnaround Report.

The post below is by Steve Roberge, my South Florida contributor writing about market conditions in Ft. Lauderdale. Interesting information, and counter to what you may think. Steve is a top producing agent with Coldwell Banker in Ft Lauderdale. He was with my office in Boston before moving to Florida and has been very active in real estate in Boston, Ft Lauderdale and Provincetown. Enjoy.  Steve will be a regular contributor to the blog. Steve can be reached at [email protected].

In addition to Fort Lauderdale, six other Florida markets (Miami, Orlando, Fort Myers/Cape Coral, Sarasota and Lakeland/Winter Haven) dominate the Top 10 list, based on 3rd quarter 2011 data. All of these markets have experienced significant reduction in inventory, median price appreciation and the length of time a property sits on market for sale. Also, Florida has a lower unemployment rate and the warm climate makes it an ideal location for vacation/second home. With a decline in the US dollar, Florida has seen a steady flow of foreign buyers taking advantage of both their currency purchase power and the depressed real estate market, scooping up properties at much lower prices.

The Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market inventory has reduced by as much as 38% and real estate prices are trending upward after falling as much as 50% since 2005. 

In summary, the real estate market seems to be in a recovery mode.  Buyers who are on the fence about buying or convinced prices will continue to fall, may want to reconsider.  Interest rates are at historic lows and now be the perfect time to jump in. Besides… the weather is great!!

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analytics trends

Stable and Consistent! – The Over $1M South End Condominium Market

The over $1,000,000 high-end market gets all the attention. We all love talking about these fantastic properties! And interestingly enough, this market for all its glamour, has remained very stable and solid over the last two years in downtown Boston and specifically in the South End.

Year-to-date – as of 12.15.11 – 60 condominiums sold for over $1M in the South End vs. 64 last year. Broken down, 44 properties selling from $1M to $1.5M closed this year vs. 48 last year. Of those properties sold for $1.5M+, 16 were sold this year – the same number as last year.

Average price per square foot in this category is approximately $720 this year and last year it was approximately $702 per square foot. Very stable. The median price for properties sold for over $1M this year is around $1,575K vs. $1,525K last year. Again, very stable.

The average days on market (DOM) for properties above $1M was 140 days this year vs. 165 days last year. DOM is an excellent marker of market demand. The fact that DOM went down 15% this year means these properties are selling a bit faster than last year. This is a great sign of market strength.

The strong and consistent performance in the luxury market in the South End is excellent news for the market in general. These sales get all the glory, but they support the entire market as it instills confidence citywide. For those looking to buy or sell in any price point in the South End these encouraging figures should add an additional level of comfort for both buyers and sellers.

What is the prognosis for the above $1M market for 2012? I will post an update in the New Year with finalized year-end figures along with my thoughts on what I think the market might look like next year. I will also post the opinions of others talking about where they think the luxury market will take us in 2012. Stay tuned.

NOTE
All sales data are from MLSPIN
All price per square foot data are from LINK

Categories
analytics

South End Condo Prices Up 6%

As of 10.31.2011, average condo prices are up 6% year-over-year in the South End, according to MLSPIN. This is stunning figure given the real estate headlines day in and day out in local and national media! This is a very sticky figure that has remained steady for most of the year.

What is behind this figure? The average price of a condo sold year-to-date in the South End is $667K which represents a 6% increase over the average $630K sale price in 2010. Other figures include: a median price of $545K, which represents a 4% increase over last year’s median price of $545K; total number of sales year-to-date of 412, which is 5% lower than in 2010 and the total dollar volume of condo sales is $274M – just about flat with last year.

And most other downtown Boston neighborhoods are maintaining their value as well. Lucky for all of us, Boston remains resilient in this stormy real estate environment. Relative to the rest of the country, Boston still rocks!

In future posts, I will examine these statistics in depth and discuss what they mean now and for the future of our real estate markets.