Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

More Multi-property Auction Woes

Others misfortune has created opportunity for potential home buyers, but buying a home at a multi-property auction has been difficult, if not impossible, in Massachusetts.

The Boston Globe reported May 14, 2008 that another winning bidder, Alexandria MacKinnon, on an allegedly foreclosed Massachusetts home auctioned by Real Estate Disposition Corp. has found she can't close on the home because the foreclosure process is not yet complete.

After a March auction, Real Estate Disposition Corp. told MacKinnon and her husband to prepare for a closing by May 8, 2008, so the couple gave notice to their landlord and went through the process of qualifing for a home loan. Then the closing was postponed indefinitely because the mortgage company that was working for the buyers told them it couldn't make the loan because the seller did not yet own the home.

"Real Estate Disposition was warned by state regulators before the March auction against including any properties it did not have the right to sell. The company has said it auctioned several such properties at a previous event in November."

Buyers are faced with a great deal of frustration when dealing with banks and the companies that represent them. Buyers also make the mistake of attempting to complete the process without professional representation.

Read The Boston Globe Article

A Green Neighborhood

Looking for a "green" neighborhood?

Somerville's Davis Square neighborhood is trying to do its part to be environmentally friendly, according to a May 9, 2008 post on The Green Blog on Boston.com.  The initiative is called GoGreen Davis Square.

"In Somerville's Davis Square, restaurants have started discarding waste in compost and recycling bins and screwing in compact fluorescent light bulbs. They tidy up with green cleaning products and recycle cooking grease. Customers at two cafes sip beverages from biodegradable cups, and one restaurant encourages customers to ride their bicycles to dinner by providing a bike valet service."

Read The Green Blog Post.

2008 May Be The Year To Buy A Home

Wellesley College professor Karl Case is a nationally-recognized expert on the housing market.

He might be best known for predicating the decline of the housing market a few years back when others thought the market had more growth ahead. Well, Case is speaking out again, and I have some good news and some bad news.

First the bad news: If you were hoping for the market to decline another 10-20 percent over the next 18 months, you may be greatly disappointed.

The good news: You probably can stop procrastinating about buying a home. The deals aren't likely to be any better in 2009.

Case believes there are "strong signs of a possible [housing] rebound," the Boston Herald reported May 9, 2008. His optimism is based on a key economic indicator: housing starts.

Case said the decline in housing starts nationally reached an important threshold last month, dropping below the one million mark.

"Over the past 30 years, this has signaled the end of a real estate market downturn. Housing construction rebounded sharply in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s after reaching this low point, Case said."

The Greater Boston Area may even rebound sooner.

"While prices rocketed locally during the recent real estate boom, the Boston area did not see the orgy of construction that flooded markets like Florida and Nevada with new homes."

Not everyone agrees with Case. Even his business partner, Yale economist Robert Shiller, disagrees. Case and Shiller put together the Standard & Poor/Case-Shiller housing index.

What I found interesting is the lack of coverage regarding Case's prediction. I was interested in finding more news coverage about Case's  beliefs, but I could not find one. Most of the media clearly isn't interested in reporting good news about the housing market.

Read The Boston Herald Article

Going Green With Solar

With energy costs up and rising, more than a few people have considered alternative forms of energy in their home. Solar power is one alternative.

FindSolar.com has information about solar power, including a nifty "solar estimator" that, based on your location, will estimate costs, energy savings and more.

For those people that just want to go "green" to save the environment and are willing to pay for it, NStar will soon offer customers wind power.

Mortgage Interest Rates Move A Little

The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan in the U.S. nudged lower, from 6.06 percent to 6.05 percent, United Press International (UPI) reported May 8, 2008.

Despite all the talk about interest rates moving higher, the current average for the 30-year rate is below the 6.21 percent from the same time last year.

The 15-year note remained increased slightly, moving from 5.59 percent to 5.60 percent.

Read The UPI Article

Mortgage Applications Decline Again

U.S. mortgage applications declined 11.1 percent compared to the previous week, the second straight week applications fell, USA Today reported May 7, 2008.

"The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity dropped 11.1% to 567.0 in the week ended April 25, lowest since the week ending Dec. 28."

Refinance applications declined 16.7 percent. Purchase applications fell just 4.8 percent.

Read The USA Today Article

Massachusetts Foreclosure News

For the latest in Massachusetts foreclosure news, you'll want to visit MassForeclosed.com.

NStar Offers Customers Wind Power

If you're willing to pay a premium for your power, NStar is offering customers the ability to power their homes with environmentally-friendly wind power, The Boston Globe reported May 1, 2008.

Consumers will have a choice between having half or all of their power originated from wind farms.

Customers who opt for the green power will pay $4.25 a month for half their electricity from wind farms and $7.25, if they buy all their electricity from wind power. The program, called NStar Green, is the first of its kind for a Massachusetts utility.

"NStar, with 1.1 million electric customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, proposed the program last summer. The Boston utility signed 10-year contracts with two wind farms to buy a total of 60 megawatts, enough to power about 60,000 homes."

The wind farms are located in Maine and upstate New York.

Read The Boston Globe Article

 

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Federal Funds Rate Cut Quarter Point

The Federal Reserve cut its key rate, the federal funds rate, by a quarter point April 30, 2008.

At 2 percent, the rate is at its lowest point since December 2004. The rate cut was the seventh reduction in a campaign that has brought rates down by 3.25 percentage points since September 2007.

The hope in the real estate industry is that financial institutions will now be more willing to lend money to consumers.

Mortgage Interest Rates Rise Again

Average rates in the U.S. for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loans increased to 6.06 percent from 6.03 percent the previous week, United Press International (UPI) reported May 1, 2008.

A year ago, the same loan averaged 6.16 percent.

The 15-year loan's average rate declined from 5.62 percent to 5.59 percent.

Read The UPI Article

Boston Ranked 5th Smartest Metro Area

Bizjournals, the publisher of the Boston Business Journal, has compiled a list of the smartest metropolitan areas across the country.

Madison, Wis. tops the list , with Washington D.C. and San Jose rounding out the top three. Boston ranked fifth.

The rankings were compiled as part of an article about how important an educated population is to an area's economic strength.

"A recent federal report proves the point. It shows that a worker holding a doctorate will earn 70 percent more, on average, than a colleague with a bachelor's degree and 215 percent more than someone who never progressed beyond high school."

Seventy-five percent of Madison's adults have attended college, about three percentage points higher than any other market, according to the study. Its high-school dropout rate of 4.3 percent was the lowest in the study.

Check out the "Brainpower" rankings for the top 100 metro areas.

Read profiles of the top 10.

Mortgage Applications Drop

U.S. mortgage applications declined 11.1 percent compared to the previous week and reached a yearly low, USA Today reported April 30, 2008.

The Data comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Refinance applications fell 16.7 percent while purchase applications dropped 4.8 percent.

Read The USA Today Article

Please Vote For This Blog

The FHA Mortgage Center, which is a resource for FHA loans, is holding a real estate blog contest. I'd appreciate your vote.

There is a $500 prize for the winner. If I win, I'll donate that money to Rebuilding Together Greater Haverhill, Inc., which helps revitalize homes and neighborhoods for low-income homeowners and communities in need, especially the elderly, the disabled and families, helping them to live in warmth, safety and independence.

Vote for the Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide blog. Thank you.

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Real Estate Blog Contest

presented by FHA Mortgage Center

 

Worst Places To Sell Your Home

Boston is not on Forbes' worst places to sell your home list.

Miami, Orlando and Phoenix top the list of 10 locations.

You can check out the rest of the list at the Boston Condo Blog.

Case-Shiller Shows 4.6% Boston Price Decline

The S&P/Case-Shiller index reported a 4.6 percent decline in February home prices in the Boston area compared to February 2007, The Boston Globe reported on its real estate blog April 29, 2008.

"Case-Shiller lags the reports from [The] Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, both of which released March data yesterday. But Case-Shiller is more reliable because it is based on repeat sales of the same homes, eliminating any bias caused by a change in the kinds of homes that are selling."

It is the 23rd straight month of year-over-year declines in the index, which has now dropped 12 percent from its peak in September 2005, according to the blog post.

Click here for more data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Index.

Read The Boston Real Estate Now Blog Post