3 Responses to “Weekly Boston Condo and Real Estate Sales and Listings Update, June 14, 2008” »»

1. The Lonely Condo Market
   Comment by The Lonely Condo Market | 06/15/08 at 8:54 pm

   John,

   Not trying to stir up any trouble, but…have you ever been concerned about the weekly sales report?

   No offense, but I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now, and I don’t think you’ve ever been “down” on year-over-year sales.

   …Just sayin’…

2. Ashland MA Real Estate
   Comment by Ashland MA Real Estate | 06/16/08 at 11:38 am

   Hi John - Interesting information. Boston seems to be really holding their own in the condo market. Out here in Metrowest the days on market are a lot longer and our prices seem to have taken a larger hit.

3. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 06/16/08 at 1:30 pm

   Not offended.

   Fair enough question. The truth is, yes, I am often concerned about the “state of the market”.

   Trouble is, I usually am in a rush when I post the weekly reports, so I don’t have time for a complete analysis. I just take a quick look to compare the numbers from this week to last and think for a quick second about what my perception of the market is, and write a sentence.

   My other posts have much more analysis, so go by them, not by the comments accompanying the sales reports.

   There have been a couple times when I’ve said “negative” things about the sales - I’ve said several times that sellers will need to price their homes correctly if they want to sell, this in response to rising inventory. But, inventory levels when back down, so it turned out to be okay.

   I’ve also talked a lot about lower sales volume. Not lower prices, but lower volume. We’re at around 75% of the level of sales of 2003-2005, I think, and we’ll probably never see the higher level of sales again. Well, that’s my opinion. So, this can be seen as a negative, I guess - if you’re an owner and want to sell, supply and demand may not be in your favor for awhile. Again, you’ll want to price wisely. You can’t just add 5% to what things are selling for, like you used to.

   If you are a buyer, it seems to me that prices haven’t come down by as much as you’d hope, at least not in the city-central areas. What have prices dropped, if at all - 3% on average? That’s not going to bring many more buyers into the market. Supply and demand favors sellers, in Boston Proper. I don’t see that changing.

   Not to beat a dead horse, but last year I think I was more “down” on year to year sales, as there was a much more precipitous drop in volume. This year, we’re a bit lower, but last year was already lower, so it doesn’t look as “bad”.

   If you think I’m being too optimistic, in the future, let me know.

Leave a Reply »»