OK, so housing prices were down in April compared to a year ago. But the WSJ notes that March-to-April figures show a slight 0.8 percent uptick in U.S. housing prices, the first increase in more than a year.
Massachusetts actually saw a month-to-month increase of 2.2 percent, apparently tops in the nation. Texas came in at [...]

Developers have filed yet a new plan to more fully develop the giant Government Center garage near Haymarket. The latest plan would call for more office, residential, retail and hotel space.
A previous proposal to build two huge skyscrapers on the same site got shot down by neighbors and the mayor’s office. The most recent effort [...]

The story goes that Milton Fiedman was once taken to see a massive government project somewhere in Asia. Thousands of workers using shovels were building a canal. Friedman was puzzled. Why weren’t there any excavators or any mechanized earth moving equipment? A government official explained that using shovels created more jobs. Friedman’s response: “Then why [...]

On one of the morning news shows, Rober Toll, the founder of Toll Brothers, predicted that mortgage rates will begin to rise in the next few weeks as the Federal Reserve’s Quantative Easing program, or QE2, ends. When the Fed stops buying bonds, the largest element of demand will leave the market. Mr. Toll feels this [...]

Here’s a list of the 28 most expensive private high schools in America. Massachusetts lays claim to nearly half of them.
Let’s put it this way: Paying for a couple of kids in these schools are going to cost you the rough price equivalent of a pretty decent home or condo, depending on the location, of [...]

“When I was young I thought money was the most important thing in life. Now that I’m old–I know it is.” —Oscar Wilde

Coldwell Banker’s Home Listing Index has some interesting data about the Massachusetts housing market.
Among other things, its Home Listings Index shows Springfield at the bottom of state towns/communities, with an average home listing price of $133,404. At the top: Weston, $1.2 million.

In case you didn’t read yesterday’s Sunday Washington Post column,  here are some interesting life lessons:
Money won’t buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large research staff to study the problem.
-Bill Vaughan
“Amat victoria curam.“
(Translation:  “Victory loves careful preparation.”)
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
-Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy [...]

Over the weekend, I watched the U.S Golf  Open. Afterwards, I was in remote control overdrive, clicking through channels, when I came across one of those real estate programs about searching for your first condo. These programs are fun to watch, but for the most part are unrealistic. To think that a Boston condo buyer will [...]

Boston Beacon Hill open houses for Sunday (Father’s Day) June 19 ,2011:
Beacon Hill – 112 Pinckney St # 3 Status: Available Price: $339,000 Type: Condo
Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Sq. Footage: 568 $/Sq. Foot: $596.83
Condo Fee: $241.00 Bldg Loc: Corner Space: Common Roofdeck Parking: Street
Description: [...]