A new study on real estate price was conducted by MIT and CBRE Econometric Advisors. It addresses the question whether or not the current market is actually a “buy” market. A big “booooo” because Boston is missing from the detailed data! In any event, the answer is basically if you take the post 2002 bubble [...]

We can’t take credit for this idea — Scott Van Voorhis over at the Real Estate Now blog actually wrote about this earlier this week. The idea is that there’s positive news coming from the National Home Builders Association annual meeting in Orlando … and no one is really buying it. Maybe it’s because everyone [...]

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Beacon Hill condo sales 2005 – 2010
Beacon Hill condo sales 2005 – 300
Beacon Hill condo sales 2006 – 203
Beacon Hill condo sales 2007 – 213
Beacon Hill condo sales 2008 – 220
Beacon Hill condo sales 2009 – 178
Beacon Hill condo sales 2010 – 165
Source: LINK
View new Beacon Hill condo listings.

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Zillow home values comparing 10/1/08 with 10/1/10:
Boston average home value 10/1/08 – $359,000
Boston average home value 10/1/10 – $379,000
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Boston South End average home value 10/1/08 – $609,000
Boston South End average home value 10/1/10 – $549,000
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Boston Beacon Hill average home value 10/1/08 – $653,000
Boston Beacon Hill average home value 10/1/10 – $749,000
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Boston Back Bay average home value 10/1/08 – [...]

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From Bloomberg’s chart of the day:
“Levkovich drew the conclusion by tracking the equity in single-family homes and other owner-occupied real estate as a percentage of U.S. household net worth, using data compiled by the Federal Reserve.
As the CHART OF THE DAY illustrates, home equity accounted for 16.2 percent of net [...]

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Boston South End Condo Sales Stats for October 2010
Lowest paid Boston South End condo – $325,000
Highest paid Boton South End condo – $1,560,000
Median sales price of a South End condo – $574,000
Average sales price of a South End condo – $654,484
Boston South End condo market sales voulme – $20,320,000
comparing to October 2009…
Boston South [...]

From David Streitfeld at the NY Times: Recovery Signs in Housing Market Stir Some Hope

After a plunge lasting three years, houses have finally become cheap enough to lure buyers. That, in turn, is stabilizing prices, generating hope that the real estate market is beginning to recover.
Looking to buy Boston condo

You want proof that the recession is over? According to one little-known (perhpas I should say unknown) economic indicator, the white paint index, we’re on the way to recovery.
Economists track the price of a key ingredient in white paint, titanium dioxide. The price of titanium dioxide took a huge plunge back in January, and [...]

The National Association of Realtors is trumpeting a fourth consecutive monthly gain in their report of pending home sales. The index tracks the number of contracts signed on homes, which increased in May by just 0.1% from the previous month. Pending sales are up 6.7% from a year ago.
In the past those contracts would give [...]