The following information is from the local MLS database, as of June 23, 2007, compared to (last week). Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 2,667 (2,672) Average # of days on market: 114 (112) Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $395,000 ($395,000) Average price [...]

Last week, the annual J.P. Morgan Basics and Industrials Conference was held in Chicago. Ryland Group Inc. was one of the presenters. The company builds and markets single-family detached homes as well as town homes and condominiums, etc. So, the CEO of Ryland Group, Chairman and CEO R. Chad Dreier, gets up and gives his [...]

The Seaport District gets its close-up, in last week’s Times’ Travel section (for some reason, the reporter calls it “South Boston”, apparently getting this mistake past the editor). Has Southie gone legit? The South Boston waterfront has long been a neglected industrial district, pocked with abandoned warehouses and vacant lots. While a few factories were [...]

Nice surprise today. The Boston Globe started a real estate blog. There’s a week’s worth of posts, already. It looks as though they have several correspondents (I will not use the word “blogospondents”). Kimberly Blanton, head real estate reporter for the Globe is contributing, as are a local Realtor®, a homebuyer, and someone from the [...]

Battery Wharf had its “topping off” ceremony, earlier today. The Boston Business Journal says the project is approaching its “impending completion”. Er, have you been by there, lately? It’s barely half-way done. Still, their advertisements are still saying, “Fall 2007 opening” … Also, ground broke on the new Two Financial Center office building, today. At [...]

So, the Mandarin Oriental hotel and residences is under construction, on Boylston Street. Next up, a 19-story office tower (if the developer gets its way) next to it, and a 30-story apartment complex, around the corner. Enjoy rush hour!

Here are four basic (very basic) tips for someone looking to buy his or her first home. 1) Assess your credit: request your credit report to see where you stand; if you plan on buying soon, you need to clear up any errors or problems. 2) Figure out how much you should borrow: your bank [...]

The Waterside Place project received final approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, yesterday. Construction for the vast block of buildings, proposed for the land and air space between the World Trade Center and the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, is scheduled to begin early next year. The plan approved yesterday includes two large retail anchor [...]

I’ve hesitated to write this entry because I don’t know how to get across what I’m trying to say. Basically, it’s this. Over the past several years, homebuyers have taken out adjustable-rate mortgage loans in order to buy as much home as possible, for as little money as possible. Adjustable-rate loans tend to be at [...]

The major slump in the housing market is nearing an end and should not have a significant impact on the overall economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said yesterday. ‘We have had a major housing correction in this country,” Paulson said in an interview with a small group of reporters at the Treasury Department. “I do [...]