5 Responses to “New Report – Boston Housing Prices to Rise” »»

1. CambridgeLandlord
   Comment by CambridgeLandlord | 03/10/09 at 10:21 am

   I’m offended that you used the personal pronoun “I” in this post. This blog isn’t about you. It’s about real estate in Boston. You narcissistic jerk.

2. Mike
   Comment by Mike | 03/10/09 at 11:02 am

   Hi John –

   Here’s the report: http://www.mass.gov/Ehed/docs/dhcd/media/thestateofmahousingm.pdf

   Still looking it over, but I’m not sure if their “housing shortage” language is what you think – I think they’re more referencing affordable housing, not hosing stock in general.

   From the paper:

   “Statewide annual housing shortages have been in evidence since 2000. While slow population growth and increased construction narrowed the gap in the early 2000s, current and projected slowdowns in building will likely lead to continued housing shortages through 2012.”

   Mike

3. Gus
   Comment by Gus | 03/10/09 at 12:56 pm

   First of all, I have no idea what CambridgeLandlord is talking about. It’s a perfectly ordinary and proper blog item.

   As to the referenced article, I question the conclusion. Housing prices were significantly and increasingly out of whack with supply vs demand for the first five years of this decade, stopping their rise only when anyone who could fog a mirror was already in the game. Why should we be convinced that prices will respond immediately and rationally now?

   This goes for many news articles now coming out that say prices or sales have fallen below their long term averages or below some purported “rational” level. It is entirely possible that this condition may continue and intensify for an extended period.

   That is generally what happens in the aftermath of a bubble. A quick example is the Dow Jones Industrial Average for stocks took 25 years to return to its 1929 high, and were quite cheap compared to company earnings for most of that time.

4. JohnF
   Comment by JohnF | 03/11/09 at 8:02 am

   Mike, thank you for the link to the housing report.

5. c burg
   Comment by c burg | 03/23/09 at 2:40 pm

   Greater Boston area real estate market appears “bottomed out”; sales
   activity and prices could be poised for take off says Real Estate Analyst
   Walter Hall
   Local real estate analyst Walter Hall,
   Chairman of HouseSavvy (housesavvy.com), has released his latest
   analysis on real estate market trends throughout the Greater Boston area,
   data that indicates the market could be “bottoming out” and is now poised
   to expand in sales activity and increase in average sale price.

   “Given no further substantial deterioration of consumer confidence, the
   Greater Boston market should benefit from increased sales and prices. On the
   other hand, if consumer confidence improves, that expansion should
   accelerate,” said Hall.

   While the number of sales in the Greater Boston market area (the six
   counties surrounding Boston and their 167 cities and towns) is presently
   down 7.9% year-to-year, February 2009 sales figures show that for the first
   time in nine months, month-to-month sales increased, rising 15.5% over
   January of 2009 from 1,617 to 1,868.

   Moreover, the decline in the average sale price for closed sales has slowed
   down to 4.6% in the last three months, and most significantly, for the first
   time in months, the month-to-month average sale price in February showed an
   increase over the preceding month – from $351,205 in January to $355,271 in
   February – another significant indication that better times could be on the
   way in the Greater Boston housing market.

   “These are very healthy signs,” said Hall, noting that the wellbeing of a
   specific real estate market can be measured by documenting and analyzing
   three primary indicators: number of sales, average sale price and the supply
   of unsold listings.

   In keeping with the positive trend indicated by the most recent number of
   sales and average sale prices, figures also indicate that year-to-year the
   supply of unsold listings has dropped 13.75% from an eight-month supply to a
   6.9 month supply. “A six month supply of unsold homes is considered to
   reflect a Balanced Market Hall said, “with the number of sellers and buyers
   about equal and home values holding steady.”

   “The current trend is even more positive, showing an acceleration of
   improvement in the market over the last three months,” said Hall, noting
   that the supply of unsold listings dropped 8% over that time period, from
   7.5 months in December of 2008 to 6.9 months this February.

   About HouseSavvy
   HouseSavvy is the premier online resource for all things real estate. Home
   sellers are provided free MLS/Internet Listings; home buyers get mortgage
   closing cost rebates and access to all listings everywhere; and everyone
   interested in real estate has access to a wealth of real estate knowledge
   and market activity, plus an online help desk. HouseSavvy believes that the
   long-established “one-size-fits-all” real estate business model has failed
   to respond to the needs of today’s sellers and buyers who want a fair and
   reasonably priced service that gives them flexibility – plus involvement and
   control over the process on their terms. Interested parties can learn more
   information about HouseSavvy by visiting housesavvy.com
   HouseSavvy maintains corporate offices at 683 Main Street, Norwell, MA.

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