It’s the stuff of Hollywood comedies.
(Um, yeah, it actually is - it’s called The Break-Up, opening Friday, at a theater near you.)
Couple falls in love (or like), decide to move in together, relationship doesn’t work out, so they break up, then, for various reasons … end up continuing to live together.
Sometimes the couple end up […]

Popularity of this post: 5%

The Economist has been sour on the US real estate market for going on four years, now.
Eventually, they got it right, finally predicting a slowing of the market when it started to happen (perserverance pays off).
I have two issues with the Economist (and those who think like they do).
Pretty much, appraiser/blogger extraordinaire Jonathan J Miller […]

Popularity of this post: 31%

The following information is from the local MLS database, as of May 28, 2006.
Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 3303 (-9)
Average # of days on market: 105 (+3)
Lowest priced condo in city of Boston: $115,900
Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $389,000 (+/-$0)
Highest priced […]

Popularity of this post: 5%

The data regarding Massachusetts’ population trends is confusing, and sometimes contradictory.
I have always been of the mind that Massachusetts may be losing population, but that this is mostly due to a soft job market, not because of high housing prices.
I formed my opinion after looking at Massachusetts employment data (we have had a higher unemployment […]

Popularity of this post: 5%

As everyone knows, condo prices in Boston and across the country have been increasing pretty much every month, over the past four years (and beyond).
However, last month, for the first time in recent memory, the median sales price of condos in Boston actually dropped.
Unfortunately (if you’re a buyer, that is), while prices look as if […]

Popularity of this post: 5%

What a novel and unique idea.

According to the Herald’s O’Ryan Johnson (now, that’s a name) the Boston Housing Authority is floating plans to close a portion of the Charlestown housing project, the BHA’s largest housing community for low- and moderate-income individuals and families.
The plan would call for closing up to a third of the project, […]

Popularity of this post: 8%

People who are trying to sell their home or condo should use a real estate agent. Probably, someone with experience, and someone who works at a larger company (to take advantage of the company’s sales and marketing budget).
However, plenty of people decide to try to sell their property on their own.
They’re called FSBOs […]

Popularity of this post: 5%

Steve Bailey writes in today’s Globe that man-of-nine-lives Donald Chiofaro may be looking to build a largely-residential highrise on Boston’s waterfront, facing the Rose Kennedy Greenway (as-yet, unbuilt, I might remind you).
(S)ources said yesterday that Chiofaro is negotiating an option to buy the parking garage across from the New England Aquarium and wants to […]

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It’s easy enough to find a mortgage loan calculator online, but sometimes you want to play with all the numbers.
And, now you can.
Here’s a spreadsheet you can use to estimate your monthly mortgage loan payment.
You can change the purchase price, downpayment, and interest rate (fixed-rate only on this spreadsheet), plus add in estimated tax and […]

Popularity of this post: 4%

Instead of heading all the way to Las Vegas to discuss the future of the soon-to-be-sold Filene’s building site, Mayor Thomas M. Menino needed only to visit a city 1,500 miles closer, New York City.
There, a building in midtown Manhattan has transformed its neighborhood by bringing to the area a vibrant mix of residents, […]

Popularity of this post: 6%