Boston Real Estate Blog

House passes massive homeowner rescue plan, defying Bush veto threat

Elad Bushari — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:56:46 +0000

Yahoo! Finance reports today that the Democratic-controlled House, on Thursday, passed a homeowner rescue plan that would provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers and bolster an economy crippled by the housing crisis. Opponents of the plan say more prudent home buyers and renters shouldn’t be called upon to bail out borrowers who gambled on ever-rising housing prices and lost. The plan is projected to cost $2.7 billion over the next five years.

What do you think?

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Milton, Mass. made it to CNN Money’s top 10 Best Places to live

Elad Bushari — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:36:46 +0000

As every year, CNN Money prepares a list of the 100 best places to live in the US. This year’s list focused on smaller places that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.

Milton, MA made it to number 7 in the prestigious list, and this is why: “Just eight miles south of the heart of Boston, Milton borders the Blue Hills Reservation, a 7,000-acre park with hiking, swimming and skiing. Proximity to the city is what brings - and keeps - Milton residents where they are. Its loyal citizens do age, but even then they don’t move.”

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CNN Money: 10 Markets Set For Steep Losses

Elad Bushari — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:27:46 +0000

The worst isn’t over for Miami, Phoenix, and hard hit areas of California, which are forecast to see big price drops in the next 12 months, according to Money Magazine. Here are the top 3:

Miami, FL: -29.9%

Fort Lauderdale, FL: -22.2%

Orland, FL: -20%

Boston was not on the list…

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Many Americans Don’t Understand Homeownership: Survey

Elad Bushari — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:14:37 +0000

A new survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and MSN Money finds that many Americans struggle to understand mortgages and the home-buying process, and they lack basic financial skills and resources to cope with economic hard times. One in 10 Americans with a mortgage, or about 10 million adults, reported being late or missing a mortgage payment in the past year. One in four Americans said they do not know enough about owning a home to consider buying one.

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NAR Forecasts Improving Home Sales Later This Year

Elad Bushari — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:01:46 +0000

Existing-home sales activity is projected to remain soft for the next few months before improving by the end of the summer, reports NAR in its latest forecast released today. Existing-home sales are projected to total 5.39 million for 2008, down 4.6 percent from 2007, and then rise 6.1 percent to 5.72 million in 2009. The median price of an existing home is forecast to be $213,700 this year, down 2.4 percent from 2007, and rise 4.1 percent to $222,600 in 2009.

New-home sales are expected to fall 30.9 percent to 536,000 units in 2008 before rising 10.1 percent next year to 590,000, NAR reports. The median new-home price is forecast to fall 3.7 percent to $238,000 this year, and then rise 5.4 percent in 2009 to $250,900. Housing starts are expected to drop 29.5 percent to 955,000 units in 2008, and then rise 1.3 percent to 967,000 next year.

The Pending Home Sales Index edged downward 1.0 percent in March and was 20.1 percent lower than a year ago. In the South, the index dipped 0.1 percent in March, but is 26.7 percent lower than a year ago. In the West, the index slid 1.4 percent and is 9.5 percent below March 2007. The index fell 10.4 percent in the Midwest in March and is 22.3 percent below a year ago. Only in the Northeast did the pending sales index show improvement, jumping 12.5 percent in March, though it is still 15.4 percent below last year’s level.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says better access to affordable loans will aid the recovery process. “As anticipated, we continue to look for a soft first half of the year, for both housing and the economy, before notable improvements in the second half. Some time is needed for FHA and new conforming jumbo loans to become widely available.”

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AP Survey: More Homeowners Avoid Buying Homes

Elad Bushari — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:26:35 +0000

A growing number of Americans say they don’t plan to buy a home anytime soon, according to a new Associated Press-AOL Money and Finance survey. Nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of homeowners say they definitely will not buy a home within the next two years, up from 53 percent in September 2006. More than a quarter of homeowners worry that their home will lose value over the next two years, and one in seven fear they won’t be able to make a mortgage payment on time over the next six months.

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Homebuyers Lose Case Against Buyer’s Agent

Elad Bushari — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:25:34 +0000

A jury ruled against the Carlsbad, Calif., couple who sued their real estate agent for fraud and negligence, claiming his actions caused them to overpay by approximately $150,000 for the home they purchased in 2005. Marty and Vernon Ummel claimed their buyer’s agent withheld information that similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for less than the home they eventually bought for $1.2 million. The jury found that the agent “executed a reasonable standard of care” when he showed the Ummels more than 80 homes in 2005 prior to the couple’s purchase, Voice of San Diego reports.

When news of the lawsuit broke in January, some real estate lawyers predicted that a ruling against the real estate agent might trigger more lawsuits against REALTORS® from homeowners saddled with shrinking home values.

David Bright, the agent’s defense attorney, said, “I think REALTORS® are scapegoats for a declining market. There are always people out there who will blame someone for something that is beyond their control.”

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Foreclosures Rise in March

Elad Bushari — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:19:58 +0000

Foreclosure filings nationwide increased 5 percent in March from the previous month, and they were 57 percent higher than in March 2007, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosure properties. One in every 538 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month — including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — on a total of 234,685 properties.

Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate again, which was 3.9 times higher than the national average. California and Florida ranked second and third, respectively, for the fourth straight month. States posting the lowest foreclosure rates were Vermont, North Dakota and South Dakota.

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Columbus Center Project moving forward

Mara Tamaroff — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:24:39 +0000

The 1.3 million-square-foot mixed-use development to be built above the Mass Turnpike seems to be pushing forward. Despite financial setbacks, Columbus Center’s developer said the $800 million project is still alive and well.”We have no intention of abandoning it,” Roger Cassin, managing partner of WinnDevelopment, told Banker & Tradesman in an interview.

The Columbus Center Project will consist of 443 Condominiums, a 162-room hotel, three parks and 39,400 square feet of retail space. The project will stradle the Back Bay, South End and Bay Village neighborhoods of Boston. Other new developments in the area are 285 Columbus Lofts and The Clarendon.

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Some Cities Still Boast Low Foreclosure, Unemployment Rates

Elad Bushari — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:22:34 +0000

MainStreet.com compared U.S. foreclosure data from RealtyTrac to employment rates supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to compile a list of five cities that are surviving the mortgage and foreclosure problems best. All five cities had low foreclosure rates and a February unemployment rate lower than or equal to the national average of 4.8 percent. They are: Lubbock, Texas; Charlottesville, Va.; York/Hanover, Pa.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Burlington, Vt.

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