Uncategorized

7 Ways Boston Can Stop Rising Development Costs

Many potential avenues cited to help alleviate costs The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2015 was released last week, the news was not good. The report called the situation in Boston “fundamentally unmanageable,” thanks to high development costs and strong

Boston’s Affordability Issues Continue

High development costs and restrictive zoning plague Boston Affordability has been a reoccurring problem in the Greater Boston area thanks to a population boom, especially among young professionals. The influx of people has vastly outpaced the amount of new

5 Big Trends in Boston Real Estate

Boston has seen its share of ups and downs since the recession There’s no shortage of discussion about the rising prices throughout Boston. However, when looking at the overall status of the market, the The Boston Globe reported some interesting findings

LeadingRE Adds Wellesley Brokerage to its Ranks

The Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has added Benoit Mizner Simon, a brokerage from Wellesley, to its ranks, along with 37 other companies from 18 countries. LeadingRE members benefit from many business enhancing services perks, including world class conferences

4 Omens for Boston’s Housing Market

New numbers are out for Greater Boston’s housing market – is the news good or bad? “The third quarter of 2015 has ticked its last tock with the hands pointing firmly upon a reliable clock of a market.” So

Ranch Home Style the Most Popular in U.S.

The most popular home styles in the U.S. are ranch style, conventional, split level, colonial and traditional, according to a RealtyTrac study of 25 million homes. The least popular style homes are cottages, log homes, gambrel, garrison and tudor. Interestingly, those

Agent Snapshot: Hamid Babrak, Agent, Boston Green Realty, Boston

What was your first job in the realty industry? Real estate agent. Where did you grow up? Boston. Growing up, what did you want to be? Doctor/Spider-man. What do you do to relax when you’re stressed? Take deep breaths.

Boston 7th Most-Segregated Metro Area in U.S.

A new study has found Beantown ranks high in housing segregation Greater Boston is the seventh most segregated metropolitan area in the United States, according to a new study by 24/7 Wall St. Just over 40 percent of Greater Boston’s population

As Housing Market Improves, Average Down Payments Rise

Recent study shows national increase in average down payments. In 2015’s second quarter, the average down payment in Massachusetts was 19.15 percent, which was an increase from the first quarter’s 18.31 percent, according to a recent study by online loan marketplace, Lending

CoreLogic: Massachusetts Home Prices Drop 5 Percent

Massachusetts defies nationwide trend of rising home prices Massachusetts was one of four states who saw home price depreciation in CoreLogic’s June 2015 Home Price Index (HPI). Massachusetts saw a drop of 5 percent, the largest statewide drop. Connecticut (-0.6 percent),

TILA-RESPA: Industry Leaders Urge Congress For More Time

A letter from industry leaders to Congress is urging lawmakers for a safety net against the Aug. 1 TRID deadline In less than two months, enforcement of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) regulation, which aims

What Boston Brokerages Have the Best Social Media Presence?

Boston Agent crunched the social media numbers on Facebook and Twitter, and collected the findings in the infographic below. The numbers were pulled the week of May 18 directly from the brokerages’ social media pages, and the brokerages are

Are Boston Home Sellers Undervaluing Their Properties?

We may think we have a firm grasp of our market’s value, but new research suggests that’s not the case. Boston homeowners undervalue their listings by 2.04 percent, at least compared to what certified appraisers judge as the value of the

Brace Yourself – Mortgage Rates Will Likely Increase this Summer

Could the removal of one word mean that mortgage rates are set to increase in 2015? Believe it or not, the future of mortgage rates in the U.S. housing market could hinge on a single word. Back in December,

Viewpoints: Andrew Marquis, Senior Loan Officer, Prospect Mortgage, Boston

Every week, we ask an Boston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top trends in Boston real estate. This week, we talked with Andrew Marquis, a Senior Loan Officer with Prospect Mortgage.  Boston Agent (BA): When financing a condo,

Bad News For the Middle Class = Bad News For Housing

Whenever you see a report on America’s evaporating middle class, you should think about the implications for housing. Homeownership is a defining symbol of American middle class life; indeed, the quintessential image of a single-family detached house, complete with

Oops! We could not locate your form.