I need to read the Banker & Tradesman more often, because they have some fascinating data on the local condo market. Here are my two favorite excerpts from today’s article:
… condominium sales for the second quarter more than doubled from a year earlier, and posted the strongest sales pace for any second quarter since The [...]

Economist Karl Case was interviewed by BusinessWeek regarding housing starts, which he says is “dead flat in the mud.” Here’s an excerpt on why Case thinks housing starts are slow:
Case attributed this disconnect to fewer immigrants and more emigrants, as well as the “doubling-up phenomenon” where more people choose to live together or reside with [...]

Click on chart to enlarge.
More sales data on the Massachusetts real estate market from the Warren Group via Banker & Tradesman:
“Pent-up demand from buyers who were delaying purchases because of their concerns about the economy, low interest rates and the tax credit have helped push up sales,” said Warren. “But don’t be fooled by the [...]

More signs that the economy is improving, the Patriot Ledger reports: The Cape and Islands summer rental market is rebounding from an anemic season in 2009, when economic downdrafts put a damper on vacation plans. Now, the most sought-after listings – oceanfront cottages available from mid-July through mid-August – are leasing quickly, and high-end properties [...]

The following are excerpts from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors Study:
The median income of buyers was up to $94,800 compared to $88,100 in 2007 and higher than the $73,100 national median income. Fifty-nine percent of home buyers were married couples, 15 percent single females, 14 percent single males, and 12 percent unmarried couples. [...]

The Great Recession certainly took its toll on cities across the United States. But even with high unemployment rates and declining wages, some communities have done very well for themselves. Portfolio.com surveyed 420 of the largest cities and Newton, MA came in second for highest income.
Excerpts from Portfolio.com: Rich City, Poor City
Newton. MA ranked 2nd.
Median [...]

According to a new study 50% MA home buyers in 2009 were made by first-time buyers.
February 10, 2010 – A new study on Massachusetts home buyers and sellers found that over 50 percent of all homes purchased in the Bay State in 2009 were made by first-time home buyers (compared to 47 percent nationally). [...]

Okay, tell me what you think of this idea. Natick-based RE/MAX of New England and The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. of Quincy have partnered to develop “micro real estate offices” in local supermarkets.
This is the first time a major real estate brand has teamed up with a large consumer retailer to house real estate [...]

Reversing a four-year trend of sliding sales, single-family home sales in Massachusetts crept up 3 percent in 2009 from 2008, according to new data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Median home prices, however, dipped 6.6 percent from 2008 and were almost 20 percent lower than the market peak in 2005.
An excerpt [...]

An interesting article from today’s Washington Post regarding the federal government’s plans to exit the mortgage markets: “For more than a year, the government pulled out the stops to revive home buying by driving down mortgage rates. Now, whether the housing market is ready or not, the government is pulling out.” But apparently not [...]