Boston Beacon Hill housing trends

Boston Condos for Sale Search

Boston Beacon Hill housing trends

Peace be with you

Boston Beacon Hill housing trends

I have been reading the predictions for the Boston condo for sale market for 2024. People who work in the real estate industry are predicting a marvelous year. Those predictions are good for the moral of Boston condominium for sale agents here to score.

Most experts are predicting that mortgage interest rates will go down which will make Boston properties more affordable for some but they are still expensive and too expensive for most. Those who can buy are going to have some challenges because home owners who are locked into 3% mortgage rates are not going to jump at the chance to sell and end up with a larger mortgage.

In other words next year probably see low inventory for some home buyers on the lower end of the scale. Will people buy Beacon Hill condos? Absolutely.

For those who managed to purchased a Beacon Hill condo for sale this year before the holidays I have a poem that I wrote with the help from AI:

No more carols sung in rented halls,
No more dreams confined by thin, shared walls.
This Christmas tide, a joy most bright,
Your own a brick condo bathed in winter’s light.

The stress of offers, papers piled high,
Fades as you file them a final a good bye.
Keys jingle soft, a whispered chime,
Your first Yule log, burning bold and prime.

Stars peek through window, frosted white,
As laughter dances through the halls at night.
Stocking hung above by the cozy fire,
Whispers of wishes rising ever higher.

No landlord’s grumbles, no paint chipped thin,
This condo belongs to you, within, within.
Hanging window planters in the frosted air,
From every appliance and kitchen ware.

So raise a glass, let carols sound,
Cheers to your condo, newly found.
May every joy this season bring,
Fill your home with the warmth of spring.

For this Christmas, wrapped in frosted bliss,
You’ve gifted yourself a Beacon Hill happiness.

Merry Christmas, new homeowners bold,
May your stories, like snowflakes, forever unfold.

If a Beacon Hill condo is a goal for 2024. Ford Realty is here to help you score.

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Boston Beacon Hill housing trends

Buying a Boston condo for sale right now is probably not the best idea. Five thousand real estate agents just clicked off of their web browsers, I know, but 64% of potential home buyers agree with me. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index for June reveals the big “turn off” this housing bubble has caused. The best move may be to wait a while until the housing market levels off or cools.

New home building permits are down, but completions seem to be buoying decreasing demand

Boson Condo Sellers

The good news for those selling their homes is that the same report shows 77% of those surveyed saying it’s time to sell. Also, some reports indicate that the bidding wars are cooling off now, which could mean a gradual deflation of the real estate balloon some fear might burst any day now. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President, and Chief Economist, offered this:

“Consumers also continued to cite high home prices as the principal reason for their ongoing and significant divergence in sentiment toward homebuying and home-selling conditions. In addition, while all surveyed segments have expressed greater negativity toward homebuying over the last few months, renters who say they are planning to buy a home in the next few years have demonstrated an even steeper decline in homebuying sentiment than homeowners.”

Duncan went on to say affordability concerns are the main reason first-time homebuyers have chilled out on buying. However, he also says demand for housing seems stable now since relative stability in the economy and record low interest rates continue to buoy the bubble. Still, a recent Redfin report showed warring bid offers made to agents in June were at 65% compared to 74.1% back in April. For me, this indicates that supply and demand may be leveling out owing to potential buyers being priced out of the market and because new housing supply is gaining. 

A June report from the U.S. Census seems to support my statement above. The report shows that April and May new housing completions beat expectations by as much as 16%. Building permits for may stood at 1,681,000, while housing starts and completions reached  1,572,000, and 1,368,000 respectively. As you can see from the chart above, we’ve not seen these numbers since before 2006. By next month the combination of demand factors and supply may start to drive down prices without the FED jockeying interest rates. 

Boston Condos  for Sale and the Bottom Line

So, instead of a market bubble bursting, we will hopefully see a gradual deflation of the impossible boon that’s been going on. Barring any unforeseen economic variables, the U.S. real estate market will reach a kind of equilibrium in the Fall. The only problem I foresee is the fact that new housing permits have fallen off sharply. This means that demand may continue to exceed supply even with new buyers reconsidering purchasing their first homes. It looks like investors may be chilling as well. Only time will tell.  

 

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Beacon Hill Trends

Over the past few years, two trends have emerged in the Beacon Hill housing market:

1.  Beacon Hill Home renovations have shot up
2. Inventory of Beacon Hill condos available for sale on the market has dropped

A ‘normal’ housing market is defined by having a 6-month supply of homes for sale. According to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors, we are currently at a 4.4-month supply.

This low inventory environment has many current homeowners worried that they would be unable to find a home to buy if they were to list and sell their current houses, which is causing many homeowners to instead renovate their homes in an attempt to fit their needs.

Low housing inventory

According to Home Advisor, homeowners spent an average of $6,649 on home improvements over the last 12 months. If that number seems high, it also includes homeowners who recently bought fixer-uppers.

A new study from Zillow asked the question,

“Given a choice between spending a fixed amount of money on a down payment for a new home or fixing up their current home, what would you do?”

Renovations by Age

Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said that they would rather renovate their current homes than move. The results are broken down by generation below.

Beacon Hill Real Estate

More and more studies are coming out about the intention that many Americans have to ‘age in place’ (or retire in the area in which they live). Among retirees, 91% would prefer to renovate than spend their available funds on a down payment on a new home.

If their current house fits their needs as far as space and accessibility are concerned, then a renovation could make sense. But if renovations will end up changing the identity of the home and impacting resale value, then the renovations may end up costing them more in the long run.

With home prices increasing steadily for the last 6.5 years, homeowners have naturally gained equity that they may not even be aware of. Listing your house for sale in this low-competition environment could net you more money than your renovations otherwise would.

Bottom Line

If you are one of the many Boston condo homeowners who is thinking about remodeling instead of selling, let’s get together to help you make the right decision for you based on the demand for your house in today’s market.

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Contact me to find out more about this property or to set up an appointment to see it.

John Ford, Broker
realtyford@yahoo.com
Janet Lamb, Vice President
lamb.janet@yahoo.com
Ford Realty
137 Charles Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 720-5454 (9:00 – 5:00 EST)
(617) 595-3712 (On Call Broker After Hours)

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