Comparing Back Bay condo sales April 2011 with that of April 2010:
Back Bay Condo Sales – April 2011
Number of Back Bay condo sales – 34
Average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,210,900.00
Average Back Bay price per square foot – $781.00
Average days on market for a Back Bay condo – 190
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Back Bay Condo Sales – April [...]

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Overall, I think we have a fairly busy week ahead of us. The big report of the week is Wednesday’s Durable Goods Orders. If Thursday’s GDP revision varies greatly from forecasts, it can also lead to sizable changes in rates. There are also a couple of [...]

Thought the housing crisis was largely over? Wrong. The national numbers are truly scary:
All told, (lenders) own more than 872,000 homes as a result of the groundswell in foreclosures, almost twice as many as when the financial crisis began in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data provider. In addition, they are in the [...]

Really. It’s true. They’ve come up with an operatic score based on Case-Shiller Housing Index data.
It should have been called “Phantom of the Subprime” or maybe the “2008 Overture.” But they settled for “Decades of U.S. Housing Prices.”
Update: Here’s the NPR story and recording. Short, silly and stupid. And funny.

According to this story, the 42-story Devonshire is now 100 percent leased and 98 percent occupied — with a waiting list — as the housing rental market heats up along with the local economy.
It’s amazing what thousands of new jobs can do for a market.
People may not be buying in droves, but they still [...]

Bankrate.com says Mortgage Rates have fallen to a five month low. Everyone thinks this is a complete surprise! Mortgage rates slipped slightly this week, remaining near record lows despite growing concerns about a potential U.S. debt default.
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The best news in a while for the housing market: State employers added 19,500 payroll jobs in April, as the state’s unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent.
More jobs has always been the key to a housing recovery — and now we’re finally seeing those jobs. The 19,500 figure for May is impressive.

Back Bay open houses May 22, 2011
Back Bay – 62 Commonwealth Ave # 1 Status: Available Price: $269,900 Type: Condo
Bedrooms: S Bathrooms: 1 Sq. Footage: 283 $/Sq. Foot: $953.71
Condo Fee: $150.00 Bldg Loc: Space: None Parking: Street
Description: Charming front facing Studio [...]

Bet you haven’t heard those words in a while.
Granted, the report notes that the current housing mess, at least in other parts of the country, still needs to be cleaned up. But the report argues that population and demographic trends point to a need for a lot more housing units within the next ten years.
It’s [...]

A good piece in the LA Times asks and tries to answer the question. The issue of short sales is huge in California, where the housing market is in far worse shape than in Massachusetts.
Still, there are plenty of short-sale horror stories out there. Feel free to share them.