Did you know the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act prohibits condominium associations, cooperative associations or residential real estate management associations from restricting or preventing members from displaying the flag of the United States on residential property located within the association? The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of the United States allows [...]

Rona has an interesting post on the crazy appraisal market out there. But there seems to be one missing component in the final analysis: Sellers who have overly high expectations about prices. Whether as a buyer, seller or appraiser, what are you seeing out there in the appraisal market? It seems to be a little [...]

Not even one of the best salesmen in Massachusetts can sell off his home. After three years on the market, auto king Herb Chambers keeps slashing the price of his Beaux Arts-style mansion at 128 Commonwealth Ave. in the Back Bay. The posh pad’s price has fallen from $14.9 million to $10.5 million, despite a [...]

An update on the Ritz: 36 condos are for sale. Only 5 have sold this year. Most expensive sold 2/26/10 for $2,100,000 or $937 per sq ft. Least expensive sold 4/12/10 for $623,000 or $485 per sq ft. Avg. days on the market for the existing listings – 246.08 Avg. list price – $2,544,361 Avg. [...]

Click photo to enlarge. Click here to see how the oil spill compares to 12 major U.S. cities.

It can be all yours, assuming Kenneth I. Starr is thrown in prison and his hip $7.5 million pad in Manhattan is auctioned off to repay all the celebrities he allegedly ripped off to pay for his swanky lifestyle. File under: FBI supervised foreclosure PS: At $7.5 million, Starr’s condo looks like a pretty good [...]

First, I would like to thank R. Wayne Lopez for providing me with a private tour of 45 Province Street. The last time I was at 45 Province Street, the sales agent didn’t include in the tour all the amenities of the building, which I must say are impressive. Second, I was happy to hear [...]

How long does it take to sell a Boston condo? Fenway – 68 days North End – 98 days South End – 110 days South Boston – 111 days Back Bay – 137 days Midtown – 148 days Beacon Hill – 149 days Source: MLS based on the last 6 months of Boston condo sales.

Comparing Boston condo sales of $500k+ from January 1st – May 27th for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Boston condo sales $500k+ for ’08 – 416 Boston condo sales $500k+ for ’09 – 207 Boston condo sales $500k+ for ’10 – 378 Source: MLS

Boston ranks 37th on a global “quality of living” list put out by Mercer. Some might be disappointed we’re not higher. But, hey, to be in the top 50 (up there with San Francisco and Honolulu) aint’ too shabby. We’ll take it.* File under: World-class list competitor. * Yes, we’re sick of all these lists [...]