Should you ever find yourself in a situation where, during the purchase of a home, the home appraisal comes in low, what do you do? Educate yourself with tips on disputing an appraisal on your home. To have a low appraisal come back from your Lender’s Appraiser is somewhat of a rare happening, but it does occur on occasion, so prepare yourself for dealing with a low appraisal.
Rent? Buy? You Do the Math
February 22, 2007 By
Think of the buy-versus-rent relationship as akin to a price-earnings ratio for stocks. The housing ratio rises as rents fall, home prices climb, or both. Some markets sport historically high–maybe dangerously high–ratios. The P/E in Miami, where p is the median mortgage payment and e is the median apartment rent, has spiked from approximately 13.5 in 2001 to 24.3 in the summer of 2006.
Other similar markets: Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. Until these housing P/E ratios revert back to a more normal range (the national average is 15 ) you may find renting a bargain. These types of markets force homebuyers to take a hard look at their motivations for buying.
Bryant on Columbus – Wow…Move in Today!
February 21, 2007 By
Can you believe it, the Bryant on Columbus condos are now built and ready for you to move in! At least that’s what this picture is showing, right? Well, unfortunately, there is still a big hole in the ground with a large crane in the middle of it….so, you can’t move in just yet, but this picture is a nice mock-up of what the development will look like in a couple of years.
Boston Condos – Is the Worst Over for Sellers?
February 21, 2007 By
The worst may be over for the condominium market in greater Boston, as newly released data show that sales of condo units rebounded in the city of Boston during the fourth quarter of 2006, climbing 0.9 percent over the same three-month period the previous year, while condo sales in the 54 cities and towns served by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) fell by just 100 units, or a modest 4.7 percent, in the final quarter of last year compared to the same quarter in 2005. The relatively stable sales pace follows sales declines of 12 percent and 15 percent in Boston during the second and third quarters of 2006 respectively, and decreases of 8 percent and 20 percent throughout the GBREB jurisdictional area in last year’s second and third quarters, an indication that demand is improving and a recovery in prices may not be far off.
Notably, in greater Boston, the median selling price for condominiums slipped 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter to $327,000, but was down just 1.4 percent on an annual basis last year, declining from an all-time high median price of $345,000 in 2005 to $340,000 in 2006. Meanwhile, in Boston proper the median selling price for condos sold in the final three months of the year fell 7.1 percent from the same period a year earlier to $325,000, however the annual median selling price was flat in 2006, at $349,000.
On an annual basis, sales of condominiums declined 7.6 percent in the City of Boston during 2006 from one year earlier, while sales activity dropped 9.5 percent across the larger 54 community GBREB jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the 9.529 condos sold in greater Boston in 2006 is the second highest yearly sales volume on record, topped only the 10,526 units sold in 2005. Statewide, last year, condo sales fell 12.1 percent, from a record 23,536 in 2005 to 20,698. For complete quarterly and annual data on the condominium and single-family home markets in both greater Boston and Massachusetts, visit the Housing & Research Data section of marealtor.com.
Boston Condos – Web Technology Galore
November 29, 2006 By
The Web Innovators Group of Boston held a meeting on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA. The evening was kicked off with informal conversation and “side dishes” of innovative start up companies in the Boston Area.
From a real estate perspective, the interesting online service Citysquares.com was pitched, which is a local Boston company that brings together local businesses and their consumers – and we’re talking really local here, as in what’s down the block.
Boston Audio Walking Tours
November 8, 2006 By
How can you get to know the city of Boston? Well, one innovative new way is to hook up an iPod / MP3 audio walking tour of Boston. Audissey Guides has developed high-quality audio walking tours of various cities across the country, including Boston, and have partnered with notable locals and recording artists to make the experience a notable one. Boston walking tours are made fun and hip with Audissey Guides efforts to deliver something unique and interesting to the market.
The Bryant – Boston Condos Making Noise
October 11, 2006 By
The buzz is out on the streets, those being Columbus Avenue and Dartmouth – the site of one of Boston’s newest condo developments in the South End, The Bryant on Columbus. Local residents to the 50-unit mixed-use complex, which will see unusually large living areas, are perhaps doing more complaining than talking about the new complex.
Demolition and excavation has rendered structural damage for neighbors to The Bryant Condos. Imagine coming home only to find a nice crack in your ceramic tile floor…welcome to the neighborhood! Neighbors to the condo complex construction are also on a regimented sleep schedule, with a construction wake-up call beginning at 6:30 am – is breakfast being provided?
Residents in the area may chip in on the weekends to see this complex brought to fruition before its established Spring June August 2008 completion date. Stay tuned for more breaking news.
Boston Broadluxe Condo Development
September 29, 2006 By
At the corner of Franklin and Broad Streets in Boston’s Financial District, the Boston Broadluxe Condominium Development Project will go to market with over forty distinctive condo dwellings.
The Boston Broadluxe will feature fourteen unique floor plans and a plethora of different options for its Boston inhabitants, in an elevator and concierge served building.
Broadluxe Boston Condo Development Project
September 11, 2006 By
The Broadluxe of Boston is a stunning new nine-story residential property in the heart of downtown Boston at the intersection of Franklin and Broad Streets. Designed by the Boston firm of Melton Ferre Associates, Broadluxe Condos artfully combines elements of original 19th-century mercantile architecture with a stylish, new contemporary glass and steel addition. The effect is at once familiar, but intriguing, balanced in scale but set firmly in the 21st century.
Floors 7, 8, and 9 of the Broadluxe Condos are sold as shell units, to be finished by the Buyer. Spaces range anywhere from 540 square feet, up to the 1,800 square foot penthouse. Different ceiling heights impact pricing, whereby the 6th floor units have the most economical pricing based upon 8 foot ceilings. Pre-construction units are available. There are currently possibilities for the combination of some units, which would create a larger living space for the Buyer.
Rising Mortgage Payments
August 7, 2006 By
No doubt about it, interest rates have been steadily moving up from the once lows that we saw not too long ago. Given the situation, many home owners are faced with increasing loan payments. Look to the following four tips and tricks to aid you in this time of rising interest rates.
1) Think both realistically and creatively on the use of home-equity lines of credit. Typically, borrowers can save interest on a month-to-month basis by moving balances from a home-equity line of credit to, a credit card for instance, oftentimes finding zero percent, or very low, interest rates. A borrower can make this work, however, a borrower must be attentive to detail (i.e. the small print), and moving money around at the proper times given the situation.
2) Consider a fixed-rate second mortgage to replace a large home-equity line of credit. Typically, borrowers can find a lower rate by ferreting out the details on this one., and perhaps remove the possibility that a rate hike will increase your costs, and set a fixed term so you fence in just how long you will be paying for the home improvements, or the condo development project that you took on.
3) Be on the lookout for mortgage brokers who will entice you to come back by offering home-equity credit lines with interest rates of prime plus zero or even below prime. If you do your research, this might allow you to get over that hump.
4) If you have an option loan, consider the idea of using the option to make interest only payments, while you go out and look for a better (longer term or fixed) rate. You will not build equity while doing this, perhaps one of the main reasons for buying a condo, but you will not hurt your credit by doing this.
Keith Munsell 
