Single-family home sales dropped precipitously, in November, according to The Warren Group.
Condo sales, although lower than 2005 and 2004, were still at their 2003 levels, which were at historic highs, at the time.
“We’re still in a decline, but the slope is not as steep as it was in the summer and early fall,” said Timothy […]

Moody’s Economy.com and Fiserv Lending Solutions have estimated where real estate prices will be, a year from now.
The Boston-Quincy real estate market, an ill-defined area (it’s a Census Bureau thing) is estimated to drop 1.7%, next year. In 2008, prices should increase a nominal 0.2%.
(I can live with that!)
This puts the area 78th out […]

I don’t know.
Several weeks ago, I wrote a post, based on an article in the Boston Herald:

[I]f you took out a new loan so you could free-up some cash, getting what’s known as a “cash-out refi

Is it better to put down 20% (if you can) or finance 100% of your purchase price, and invest that 20% somewhere else?
Apparently, it’s better to put 20% down. You’ll get a better rate on your 80% loan, if you don’t take out a second, “piggyback” loan (or, if you get the same rate, […]

I’m not a cranky person. I only get annoyed at things that are annoying.
Like, noisy neighbors.
If you live in a condo, you probably have an upstairs neighbor, a downstairs neighbor, and perhaps a neighbor or two on your own floor.
A potentially disastrous situation, all around.
We had a very noisy neighbor, downstairs, the last place […]

The following information is from the local MLS database, as of December 16, 2006, compared to (last week’s numbers).
Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 2,189 (2,324)
Average # of days on market: 146 (143)
Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $399,000 ($395,000)
Average price of all condos […]

Suppose your mortgage loan payment is low enough, and you’re rich enough, that you have some extra cash on hand, every month?
Should you make extra payments on your loan? Or, should you invest that money, somewhere else?
Some people think you should pay off your mortgage loan as quickly as possible, the idea being, build […]

I was curious as to what the average seller is doing, in the city.
My guess was that sellers were being stubborn, that they weren’t lowering their prices. I assumed this was a big reason why buyers were pulling back.
I based this on the FACT that the number of sales has dropped 20-25%, while average […]

I work with many first-time homebuyers. Between January and September, I noticed a precipitous drop in my client base, as many of these buyers decided to wait out the market, first because of high home prices, and second because of uncertainty over the direction of the real estate market.
Starting in September, however, things began […]

Good news for those who have been forced to take out Private Mortgage Insurance on their loans. (Banks pretty much require it, if your loan is for more than 80% of your purchase price).
Congress passed a law that makes mortgage insurance tax deductible …
… The deduction applies only to mortgages that are originated in […]