Meredith Whitney, who a few years ago was the first to accuse the financial emperor of having no clothes, still maintains there’s going to be a double-dip price drop in housing, though she said it will probably be a “light” double dip.
She blames the shadow inventory of homes and a broken bank model for the continuing woes. According to Whitney, the broken bank model boils down to this: The banking system doesn’t know how to make large numbers of affordable mortgages available without securitization of mortgages — and the only institution now making large mortgage-securities purchases is the Fed, she says.
The Fed wants out of the mortgage-securities business, but it may have to backtrack on its stated policy, Whitney argues.
She makes some interesting arguments. What do you think?
Boston’s luxury condo market is starting off 2010 in better shape, after suffering through a rocky couple of years.
Excerpts of a radio interview with Tracy Campion on WBUR 99.9 fm:
Tracy Campion sells units at one development, Bryant Back Bay. She said the crash rattled her clients, even the ones who pay with cash. “There’s still a lot of people with money out there,” Campion said. “They’re just nervous, and they want to feel a sense that everything’s OK.”
It may now be OK. Sales of high-end condos nearly doubled in January, thanks in part to two properties newly on the market: the ‘W’ and the Clarendon.
It has also helped that banks have made it easier to get the jumbo loans that finance such purchases. The big question now is whether sales can keep up this pace.
Julius Caesar once observed that ”After 20 battles, a mule is still a mule.” Such pithy sayings made him a hit on the dinner-party circuit in downtown Rome, circa 70 B.C., but they often left his audience puzzling over what he actually meant. Sorry some of you had to wait over 2,000 years, but what he meant was this: Not everyone gains from experience.
This brings to mind some MA real estate brokers who, on the surface, seem to have in common many qualities of mules, with one exception, we actually do gain from experience (or at least, we’re are capable of it). But perhaps not these two real estate agents who took the following photos for their MLS listings:
Peeping Tom Realtor – 665 E 2nd St. Boston Ma.
Yum … those baked cookies on the stove look good next to that fly paper hanging from the light fixure.
Click to enlarge picture
State officials sound confident they’ll secure federal funding for the new Green Line extension through Somerville, opening up five new stations by 2014.
Considering the overly long time it seems to take to finish any state project, it doesn’t take a cynic to wonder if the T’s timetable is a bit rosy. But cynicism aside, it does look like this project is a definite “go” – and it may well transform real-estate prospects throughout central Somerville in future (perhaps distant) years.
Check out the Somerville map where the new T stations will be located.
Actually, it would be living at the site of the old L’Espalier restaurant at 30 Gloucester St. in the Back Bay — now available for $1.5 million. The article adds: “Or, you can make an offer for the whole building and create an elegant single-family home.”
One thing is clear: It’s a beautiful, landmark building.
The piece mentions Herion Karbunara of H & Co. Real Estate as the listed agent. Contact Ford Realty if you want buyer’s representation.
This blog post may suprise you. According to a recent Boston Herald news report, Boston apartment rents may be on the rise. The following excerpts are from the Herald:
Vacancy rates in Greater Boston’s apartment buildings are expected to decline in 2010, pushing up rents slightly, according to a forecast by CB Richard Ellis.
The commercial real estate broker projects the region’s vacancy rate to drop to 4.6 percent this year from 5.4 percent at the close of 2009, while the average effective rents are expected to increase by nearly 3 percent to $1,458, up from $1,417.
“Boston is faring quite well, due in part to the fact that the residential housing market has held up compared to lots of other cities,” said Gleb Nechayev, senior economist at CB Richard Ellis.
I’m suprised by this article. For example, why are they interviewing a “commercial real estate brokerage firm” about residential apartment rents? With all do respect, I don’t see any indication that Boston apartment rents are on the rise now or in the near future.
I must confess, I wasn’t present when Gleb Nechayrv, the senior economist at CB Richards, was interviewed, but I think it might be similar to this one:
