This Saturday!

Don’t Forget to check out the South End House Tour tomorrow!!  For more information go here to the Historical Society’s homepage and you can also purcahase tickets there as well.

The South End Historical Society has helped preserve much of the Victorian townhouses that exist today. Without them, there would not me many of these buildings left.

Check out some homes and Support the South End Historical Society.

 
http://www.southendhistoricalsociety.org

74 Beacon Street, Boston MA

Infinity Roof Deck Pool with Boston Common Views.

I was looking online and saw that the Median household income for Boston was about $70,000. After taxes, the average Boston family could rent this gem for about 5 weeks, then be absolutely penniless. My advice to someone looking at this rental…., be rich, have refined and extravagant taste and love Beacon Hill. I’ve been in this listing a few times and its nothing short of amazing.

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 71442100 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

Till The First Open House!!!! Ugh

Well, Here it is, The Pet Peeve of the season. A nice new listing comes on the market, my buyers and I are on our game, ready to view properties promptly after they are listed. What comes next…. Boom!  We are slapped with the now all too common showing instruction that says: “no showings until the first open house. ” Really?  This listing is the perfect location,  its in our price point, we want to see it, and now we have to wait 5 days in order to see it with 25 other groups?  This is just another sign that it is just not a buyers market out there right now.

This is a trend that has been haunting my buyers and I since the fall market began. I did notice this a fair amount in the past Spring market, but now it almost seems to be standard practice in certain pricepoints in Boston. I currently have buyers in the $450k, 1 Million and 1.5 million range and each of these pricepoints are affected by this ugly buyer affliction.

As a listing agent as well, I don’t think this is a bad practice because it is the smartest way to increase visibility to the listing.  It also is a proven method to bring in the top dollar. If the property is in a good location, priced well and has a good layout,  there is a good chance there will be multiple offers on the property and the condo could go under agreement for over asking price.  It’s smart, it works, but it is not ideal if you are a “ready, willing and able” buyer who wants (or needs) to find a home.

The bottom line is that it is stressful out there for buyers. Nobody wants to get into a bidding war. Nobody wants to pay over asking and lastly, nobody ever wants to over pay. In this Fall market, in order to secure a great home in a good location, you will most likely have to pay full asking price if the property is brand new to the market. If you get stuck in in a multiple offer bid, in order to get the property you will most likely have to pay a bit more to get your offer signed over the others.  How much more? that’s a whole other topic of conversation.

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My best advice is to be prepared if you decide to enter this market.  If you “have to buy” then you will most likely pay top dollar or have to settle for a property that may not be your dream condo. Also, you will need to ask yourself , do i have flexibility to buy now or can i wait till the Spring? I love buyers  that have month to month, 60 or 90 day notice  leases, because they are in the best position to wait for better inventory and increased options.

My last points of view are if you are a buyer, know the market and look at the comps. If you don’t have to buy right away, its not going to kill you to wait till the inventory grows a little more (downtown Boston of course). Lastly, if you are a seller looking to sell your property, now is the time!! We say it all the time, because that is the truth.

It’s just the name of the game this Fall and the million dollar range is just Hot!! I called on this last night to schedule a second showing for my buyers…..4 offers. 4 days on the market, not surprised and i wonder how much it went over asking. Guess we will have to wait till it closes to find that out.

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 71440238 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

“The Caravan Indicator”

There are several indicators and indexes that people follow to determine market conditions.  The indicator i am going to use that sparked this blog entry is  going to called the “Caravan Indicator”. What many people don’t know is that behind the scenes here at Coldwell Banker (downtown), every few weeks, we hire a bus to drive us all around town to check out new listings in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, South Boston and the Seaport District etc. Its a great way for us to view new inventory and for us to be knowledgable of the market in all price points. Today, is caravan day and it was cancelled due to lack of inventory…..Wait, What?! I can undestand there being a cancelled caravan in late fall or August when everyone is on vacation, but not now, not September, not in the second week of the second strongest time of year to get new inventory. Really?

I was ready to bounce around the city and view some properties, but, since that wasn’t happening, I did some reasearch to see how limited inventory really is. I went on MLS and looked up current inventory, the amount of listings currently under agreement and the amount of listings that have been sold in the past 2 months. The numbers don’t lie and I found them pretty shocking. Since I really only focus on the downtown neighborhoods. I used the 4 neighborhoods i do a lot of business in . Here are the Stats:

Neighborhood         # of Listings    # Under Agreement      # Sold in last 2 months

Back Bay                            104                                  57                                   124

South End                          78                                   57                                    110

Beacon Hill                        59                                  14                                      41

Seaport District               16                                  7                                        23

Last Year (2011)              # of Listings                          % Decrease from 2011

Back Bay                                213                                                           52%

South End                             183                                                           58%

Beacon Hill                            82                                                             28%

Seaport District                   37                                                             57%

The way I look at this information is that it is a great time to sell and list a property. There are a ton of buyers out there and they are in desperate need of decent inventory. On the flip side, If you are a buyer looking in these neighborhoods, be prepared to be frustrated and be ready to enter a multiple offer situation (if you are a serious buyer looking in a popular area). In the South End alone there have been 24 places go under agreement in the past 2 weeks.  If you are a buyer looking in the South End under $450k. there are only 9 places on the market and only 3 of them are north of Washington Street. If you are a buyer looking in the 800-1 million range in the Back Bay, there are only 11 listings on the market.  Six of those listings have been on the market for over 100 days, so quality is as compromised as quantity right now. If you are a Beacon Hill buyer looking from 600-900k there are only 3 listings on the market. 2 of those listings have been on the market for over 170 days. Brutal!!

I can understand that sellers are hesitant to list because there isn’t much to move into if they sell and want to stay in downtown Boston. But if you are a possible seller looking to move out of state or to the “burbs” this could be an ideal time to make the jump.

I know all downtown agents are saying “list your property now” but hopefully some of this data, makes you think about the scenario with a different tone. Have hope and don’t be afraid to enter the market, just be informed and realistic.

Happy Hunting and Start Listing!!

This is one of my favorite blocks in all of Boston. If you are looking at a Single Family home in the South End under 3 million, you should definitely check out this brand new listing.

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 71433125 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.