Boston Area Homes Real Estate Blog

The obverse of “Irrational Exuberance” – made famous by Alan Greenspan –  Irrational Pessimism now reigns in all markets. For those of us who believe that one should “buy low – sell high” and avoid the “herd instinct”, NOW is the time to buy. Great opportunities are to be found in the Rental Residential Investment Market as well as the Home Market as a whole. In spite of low inventories in choice areas, there are sellers who are motivated to sell. Some want to sell because they have to and some want to sell to benefit from wonderful trading-up opportunities.

To find out about Boston Area Homes for Sale, please click here

To find out about opportunities in Rental Investment Properties, please click here

The answer is “YES” to all of the above.

BUYERS -  The market offers many advantages(1) ASKING PRICES  are substantially lower then they were two years ago, and (2)  INTEREST RATES  are still favorable. and (3)  Sellers who do place their property on the market for sale are MOTIVATED. The supply of homes available for sale is noticeably down as many seller prefer to wait out the market.

SELLERS -  This is a very good time to TRADE-UP – selling your current home and buying a larger home and/or moving to a more upscale location. Even though your sale price will be lower than it would have been two years ago, the purchase price of the trade-up home , equally discounted, will give you a substantial monetary advantage. For example, assuming a 20% discount from the peak, if a house is sold for $400,000 now, instead of $500,000, and the seller then buys a house for $600,000, instead of $750,000 – an equal discount factor – this trade-up seller/buyer would have realized an advantage of $50,000.

STAY PUT -  If you do not have enough equity in your home yet and, therefore, you cannot absorb the price discount, and you do not have to sell, it is best to STAY PUT and ENJOY YOUR HOME.

Find Out About Sold Home Prices, Value of Homes,  MLS Listings for Boston Area Homes, and Residential Investment  Property  in the Boston area and Brookline, Newton, and Cambridge   – see www.selmasellsbostonareahomes.com

The Market is Active

Let Us Review a Few Facts – as Reported by the Boston Globe:

• 12/19/2007: “Massachusetts – A Top US Economic Competitor”
• Beacon Hill Institute Study – MA 2nd highest US location in attributes that create and sustain high levels of income.
• The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation – MA 1st in ability to compete in a dynamic, innovation driven global economy.
• 03/13/2008: “…tech companies an oasis” – MA high-tech sector still hiring strongly.
• 05/18/2008: Population in Massachusetts up by 86,545 – up 1.4% – since July 2000. And since January 2007, the State gained 20,000 jobs
• 06/22/2008: Massachusetts 5th among the top ten States with the highest percentage of high-net-worth households.
• 07/18/2008: Massachusetts unemployment rate below the national average. Massachusetts rate – 5.2%, national average – 5.5%.

As they say: IT IS THE ECONOMY

Employment comes first, then Housing, and then Business and Retail services.

Our Main Problems are:

• A tight Housing Market , and

• High Housing Costs

Welcome to Selma Newburgh’s Real Estate Blog. This blog will provide you with  updated information on national and economic trends affecting the real estate market, housing  market updates, “how to” tips, and general insight into  residential real estate in the Boston Area – concentrating on Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Belmont, Arlington, Watertown, Needham and Natick.