In a recent study conducted by Forbes Magazine, Boston was named the number one city to go from renting to buying. The study looked at how the premium to buy (the spread between what you’d spend on renting and what you’d pay each month for a mortgage) has decreased across a number of cities, as well as economists prediction of significant home price increases over the next five years.
At the top of the list of cities where buyers should begin to buy is Boston, where economist predict that the home price index will increase by approximately 19% over the next 5 years.
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Chicago
The premium to buy figures are relatively straightforward, however, the home price index increase predictions are a function of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which does carry with it intricacies that are not entirely representative of the downtown Boston condo market (see
Debate Ensues over Case-Shiller Index).
Keith Munsell 
19% over 5 years? that’s about 3% annually. Not great growth and shows just how distorted one can make the numbers look
These are exactly the same economists that said housing would rise 5% in 2008. Not sure why anyone would quote them now, the have a track record of being more wrong than right.
A average increase of 3 percent to 4 percent per year for real estate prices sounds like steady, healthy growth, and I believe that type of price appreciation is in line with historic price increases for real estate over the longterm.
Roger B. has a point about economists who are as about as accurate as meteorologists most of the time; however, the real story about the housing market around the Greater Boston Area is inventory, which has significantly declined over the past 12 months.