The whacky world of Boston condo sales
Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent
The whacky world of Boston condo sales
The Bay State condominium market had a different story to tell with more sales.
Condo sales rose 5.8% to 1,076 transactions, compared to 1,017 in February 2023. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 6.5% to $490,000, also marking a new high for the month.
While condo sales had that 5.8% increase year over year, Nortno said activity is still nowhere near what we saw even two or three years ago.
“Record high prices and high interest rates are likely a big factor in the long-term decline in activity, and prospective buyers shouldn’t expect much relief in the near future,” she said.
So far this year, 2,051 condos sold across the state, down 6.5% from 2023, with a median sale price that’s up 6.4% to $499,900.
The Greater Boston Market
The Warren Group’s report also included activity in the Greater Boston housing market, which encompasses the 139 communities located within Route 495.
Greater Boston single-family home sales in February fell 2.7% from 2023 to 888. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price increased 11.9% to $693,750.
Condo sales in Greater Boston increased last month 8.8% to 776 transactions, compared to 713 in February 2023. The median sale price increased year over year by 5.7% to $570,500
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One of the greatest frustrations I have with Boston condo sales is that the process seems murky at times and somewhat unpredictable. There is ambiguity when there should not be. Everything is spelled out in a contract yet sometimes it just doesn’t work the way the contract says it will work.
Why Boston condo sales are different?
Boston condo sales are different than other types of purchases because in most cases the seller is a store or a business. In the Boston condo for sale market, no two homes are the same and home owners and lenders can be unpredictable at times. After having been involved in hundreds of home sales I still see situations that no one could have anticipated or prepared for. Things happen that just are not supposed to happen.
What can go wrong in a Boston condo closing?
In my 20 plus years as a Boston condo broker I’ve seen many mishaps during a closing. For example, maybe the seller had a family emergency and leaves town and can not get everything removed from the home on time before the closing or a pipe starts leaking the day before the closing. Occasionally a party to a real estate sale dies before the closing, or a bad storm rolls through and a tree falls on the house. Usually when a closing is delayed it isn’t because of a catastrophe it is because a loan underwriting department wants more time.
I’ve been in situations schedule a closing just to have it re-scheduled and then re-scheduled again and again. Sometimes I have to change my own schedule and then change it back. There are so many details that are out of our control. When I work with home buyers or sellers I sometimes spend more hours getting the sale to the closing than I do marketing the home for sale or working with the buyers . I get paid the same if it is a little bit of work or a lot of work.
What should apartment renters do to schedule their Boston condo closing?
Boston condominium buyers who are currently renting and apartment should try to stagger their closing so that it overlaps with the rental. Rent is generally paid the first of the month and your first mortgage payment is due at the end of the month. That doesn’t mean that the cost of having two places goes away it just makes it more doable and the overlap can make the home buying and moving experiences a little more sane and take some of the stress out of it. When I moved from an apartment to a home I closed in the 20th of the month giving us extra days to move and clean.
Boston condos for sale and the bottom line
Boston condo for sale buyers who are looking for a guarantee when it comes to an on time closing will suffer some disappointment when it doesn’t happen.
