Today is called Black Friday, probably created by a retail marketing company to put Americans more in debt.  It’s a celebration (or, err, orgy may be the more appropriate word) of buying stuff — and getting it at seductive discounts.
No, no — don’t go cancelling Black Friday on my account. I want you to have [...]

The state is moving to sell the Middlesex County Courthouse.
But there are a couple of buyer-beware caveats. First, the 22-story building is stuffed with asbestos. OK, developers have dealt with such tricky problems before. But the building also has some tenants. Not paying tenants. But non-paying tenants who all generally want to break their leases: [...]

Six long years after putting his Ritz condo on the market, Manny has finally sold the Boston abode for $5.5 million.
He’s lucky. He lost “only” about $300,000 compared to what he paid for it in 2001, though it’s $3 million short of what he once was asking for it.
It was the most ridiculously long [...]

Real Estate Housing Confession

Boston Beacon Hill condo sales from January 1st through November 1st for 2100 and 2011.
Number of Beacon Hill condos sales 2010 – 135
Average sales price for a Beacon Hill condo 2010 – $702,866
Median sales price for a Beacon Hill condo 2010 – $520.000
Average price per square foot Beacon Hill condo 2010 – $704.00
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Number of Beacon [...]

Much to say: In the next three days here’s my agenda, in case you care.
1. Tomorrow, the busiest traffic day of the year, I’ll be sitting near the cafe car on the Amtrak Acela.
2. Thursday, eating Turkey and watching the Detroit Lions footballl game.
3. Black Friday, like most Americans, I plan to shop, around 10am [...]

Comparing Boston Back Bay condo sales from Jan 1st – Nov 1st 2011 with 2010..
Number of Back Bay condos sales 2011 – 381
Number of Back Bay condos sales 2010 – 395
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Average Boston Back Bay condo sales price 2011 – $1.172,689.00
Average Boston Back Bay condo sales price 2010 – $1,122,541.00
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Median Boston Back Bay condo sales price [...]

I have three short stories to tell you regarding duct tape. I promise you each story is more extreme than the first.
Since the Patriots weren’t playing Sunday, Mona thought it would be a good idea if I fixed some items around the house. We started in the basement (we also ended there) and we noticed [...]

The Globe has a big piece about our dysfunctional housing market.
Granted, we’re not as bad off as other cities. But prices are still down 15 percent from pre-recession peaks, sales this year are expected to hit their lowest level in 20 years, and there’s no sign of a sustained recovery.
To top it all off: [...]

For every Boston real estate office, some rain must fall. Likewise, Newt has a storm over his head, resulting from his realtionship with Freddie Mac.
So here’s the Boston real estate quote of the day:
Gingrich was on the wrong side in the housing fight, but hey, he needed the money.