March Market Update: Massachusetts North Shore Housing Trends

In January of 2007, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that it is my belief that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can once again expect to experience an appreciating market.

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my March update (February 2008 statistics) of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston. The area of observation consists of 22 towns on the North Shore and considers only SINGLE FAMILY homes for comparison purposes.

So how did we do in February and thus far this year? This February, 357 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 169 homes went under contract. Once again more listings came on than went off the market: +188 during the month of February. In January, that difference was +150 for a total of +338 so far in 2008.

So, what does this mean in general for our market area?

It means that we remain in a DEPRECIATING market and will remain there until this trend reverses. The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses.

Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2005 or 2006 or even 2007 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve. As you can see, many homes are still selling, but they are the ones that are priced properly and AHEAD of the declining value curve. I will provide another update again in the beginning of April (for the month of March) and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.

Regards,
Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
North Shore, Massachusetts

The December Market Update for Massachusetts

In January, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that I felt that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can expect to once again experience an appreciating market.

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my December update (November statistics) of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston. The area of observation consists of 22 towns on the North Shore and considers only SINGLE FAMILY homes for comparison.

So how did we do in November and thus far this year? In November, 247 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 197 homes went under contract. That's means that many more homes came on the market than went off - marking the eleventh month in a row that more listings came on than went off the market: +50 more during the month of November.

In January, that difference was +195, in February, +135; in March, +287; in April, +288; in May, +315, in June +255, in July +129, in August +142, in September +236 and in October +130.

That's 2,159 more homes that came on vs. going off since the beginning of the year:

So, what does this mean in general for our market area? It means that we continue to remain in a DEPRECIATING market and will remain there until this trend reverses.

Here's a recap of the previous nine months:

In September, 463 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 227 homes went under contract.

In August, 405 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 259 homes went under contract.

In July, 442 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 313 homes went under contract.

In June, 554 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 299 homes went under contract.

In May, 655 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 340 homes went under contract.

In April, 550 single family homes came on the market in the North shore and 262 homes went under contract.

In March, 543 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 256 homes went under contract.

In February, 377 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 242 homes went under contract.

In January, 404 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 209 single family homes went under contract (off market).

The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses.


Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2005 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve. As you can see, many homes are selling, but they are the ones that are priced properly and AHEAD of the declining value curve.


I will provide another update again in the beginning of January (for the month of December) and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.

Regards, Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
North Shore, Massachusetts

October's Massachusetts North Shore Real Estate Market Update

In January, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can expect to once again experience an appreciating market.

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my October update (September statistics) of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston.

The area of observation consists of 22 towns on the North Shore and considers only SINGLE FAMILY homes for comparison.So how did we do in September and thus far this year?
In September, 463 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 227 homes went under contract.

That's means more than twice as many homes came on the market than went off - marking the nineth month in a row that more listings came on than went off the market: +236 more during the month of September. In January, that difference was +195; in February, +135; in March, +287; in April, +288; in May, +315, in June +255, in July +129 and in August +142. That's 1,979 more homes that came on vs. going off since the beginning of the year.

So, what does this mean in general for our market area? It means that we continue to remain in a DEPRECIATING market and will remain there until this trend reverses.

Here's a recap of the previous six months:

In August, 405 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 259 homes went under contract.
In July, 442 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 313 homes went under contract.
In June, 554 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 299 homes went under contract.
In May, 655 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 340 homes went under contract.
In April, 550 single family homes came on the market in the North shore and 262 homes went under contract.
In MARCH, 543 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 256 homes went under contract.
In FEBRUARY, 377 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 242 homes went under contract.
In JANUARY, 404 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 209 single family homes went under contract (off market).

The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses. Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2005 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve. As you can see, many homes are selling, but they are the ones that are priced properly and AHEAD of the declining value curve.

I will provide another update again in the beginning of November (for the month of October) and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.

Regards,

Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
North Shore, Massachusetts

Is the Market Changing?...Here's the May 2007 Update

In January, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can expect to once again experience an appreciating market.

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my MAY update of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston. The area of observation consists of 22 towns on the North Shore and considers only SINGLE FAMILY homes for comparison.

So how did we do in May and thus far this year?

In May, 655 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 340 homes went under contract. That means that many more listings came on than went off the market: +315, or nearly double. In January, that difference was +195; in February, +135; in March, +287; and in April, +288.

FORECAST: We will continue to remain in a DEPRECIATING market until this trend reverses.

Here's a recap of the previous four months:

In April, 550 single family homes came on the market in the North shore and 262 homes went under contract.

In MARCH, 543 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 256 homes went under contract.

In FEBRUARY, 377 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 242 homes went under contract.

In JANUARY, 404 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 209 single family homes went under contract (off market).

The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses. Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2004 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve.

I will provide another update again in the beginning of July (for the month of June) and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.

Up or Down?...The March Real Estate Market Update

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my MARCH update of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston.

In January, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can expect to once again experience an appreciating market. So where do we stand so far this year?


In JANUARY, in my 22 town Massachusetts North Shore area, 404 single family homes came on the market and 209 single family homes went under contract (off market).

In FEBRUARY, 377 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 242 homes went under contract.

In MARCH, 543 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 256 homes went under contract. That's more than TWICE as many coming on vs. going off.

The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses. Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2003 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve.

I will provide another update again in the beginning of May and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.