The Warren Group, publishers of Banker and Tradesman, is out with their report on the Massachusetts real estate market.
2006 - The Year in Numbers (warning, .pdf)
It is an awesome read.

Hey, I just report the news.
The Massachusetts real estate market is rebounding, at least in terms sales volume, according to two reports released today.
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which collects data from multiple listing services, said single-family home sales jumped 12.6 percent, and condominium sales were up 5.3 percent in January, compared to the same […]

If you are buying a condo, ask the seller if he or she pulled building permits for any work done.
If you don’t, you run serious risk.
For example, what if the electrical wiring was not done up to code and suddenly the building burns down? Ooops.
Or, what if your seller put an addition on the […]

What causes heartbreak to a new homeowner? Walking in the door an hour after closing and realizing that the seller has taken 1) all the drapes; 2) all the floor lamps and hanging chandeliers; and, 3) the refrigerator.
Legal? Most definitely (the chandeliers are the only items up for debate …).
What’s a fixture? […]

The elderly used to hold onto their primary residence, mostly so they could tap into the equity to pay unforeseen medical expenses, I assume.
But now, with government-sponsored healthcare, and with more of us setting up 401(k)s and other retirement plans, other options are available.
It can be a case of having your cake and eating it, […]

I would assume very few of us are able to plunk down half a million dollars cash for a new home. However, you might be in the situation where you could take the money out of your retirement fund, or some other way.
Should you? Or, should you borrow as much as you can, […]

Most first-time homebuyers hesitated this past year, not sure if they should take the plunge into ownership, given the (relative) high cost of buying.
Sometimes, people compare renting vs. buying, before they buy. Is it more expensive to buy, or, should I say, MUCH more expensive to buy?
There’s been plenty of argument in this blog […]

The following information is from the local MLS database, as of February 24, 2007, compared to (last week).
Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 2,109 (2,052)
Average # of days on market: 139 (141)
Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $399,000 ($399,000)
Average price of all condos for […]

In June, 2006, there were over 3,300 condominiums listed for sale in our local MLS, within the city of Boston. This was the highest number of listings since I started tracking the data, in early 2005.
In February, 2005, there were over 2,500 condominiums listed for sale in our local MLS, within the city of […]

We definitely had an uptick in business, in the city of Boston, over the past thirty to forty-five days, based on real data as well as on information I’ve gathered from other agents.
Whether or not this improvement will continue is anyone’s guess.
Experts aren’t sure what’s going to happen, although most agree that the unemployment rate […]