Boston Movers Blog

As mentioned here in an earlier article, economics 101, an increase in MA home price was predictable. Supply has been trending down for almost 2 years and demand has been up for the last 8 months. A rebound in price seemed in order as the spring market neared. But, double digit increases in both condos and single family homes was still a surprise. Today, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported that median prices of single-family homes were up 14.1 percent compared to January 2009 while condominiums experienced 26.5 percent increase compared to the same time last year. The jump in median condo prices in January is the largest annual increase since MAR has been tracking median prices. Home sales were up 9.1 percent compared to the same time last year while condominium sales were up 35 percent. Is this strictly due to the homebuyer credit which expires 4/30 or will it last? We will keep you posted!
For more details NEWS!!! Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Great news to start 2010! Marathon has won its 6th straight Super Service Award from Angie’s List. Angie’s List is pretty picky about whom they give the award to and frankly they have a right to be. Less than 5% of all companies on Angie’s List qualify for a Super Service Award in any given year and Marathon has done it for 6 years running. We would like to thank all our clients who have posted and helped other members find out about our company. Marathon first appeared on Angie’s List in 2002 and has been a straight “A” grade since. With over 117 reports submitted, numerous honor roll and page of happiness acknowledgments, it is easy for Angie’s List subscribers to see that Marathon delivers on its promise to provide the best value in the industry!

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported yesterday that 9.73 percent of Massachusetts customers were at least 30 days late on home loans during the fourth quarter. That’s the highest delinquency rate in the 31 years the association has tracked such data. The MBA also found that Massachusetts had a record 8.28 percent of borrowers in “serious” delinquency, defined as at least 90 days behind on loans or already in foreclosure.
One of the reasons that MA is near the top in delinquencies is laws that provide borrowers with more time to avoid foreclosure. Such efforts help some struggling consumers, but also keep lots of mortgages that banks would have quickly foreclosed upon listed on the books as delinquent instead. These policies are very effective in slowing down foreclosures, but the flip side is that loans stay in the ‘delinquent bucket’ for longer and longer. MBA researcher Mike Fratantoni said.
Nationally, the MBA found that a record-high 4.62 percent of all U.S. mortgages were at least 90 days late during the fourth quarter. However, fewer loans were severely delinquent - a sign that the U.S. foreclosure crisis might be winding down. Fratantoni said that although long-term unemployment remains at record highs, things are looking up for homeowners who only recently lost jobs. “We’re talking about this as being the beginning of the end for this problem,” he said.
For the whole story NEWS!!! BostonHerald.com.

Supply for single family homes in MA has dropped from year to year for 23 straight months and fell to a 9 year low last December. This coupled with 6 straight months of year over year sales increases in homes sold has many believing that prices will be on the mend and soon. MA has seen a 5.6% increase in sales price from March of last year, but median home price is still off 15.6% from its peak in 2005.
The increase from last March may just be the tip of the iceberg as many potential buyers are feeling left out in the cold with offers of over asking coming out on the first day for some homes. If the sellers who were waiting for the market to stabilize decide to list, prices should remain stable. But if the sellers do not return and inventory is brought down even further by the spring and summer seasonal increase in buyers, then prices may very well get close to peaking again.
For more details NEWS!!! Boston.com.

In an article for the Boston Globe, Michelle Maurice, a home stager, says it sure is. She states that a staged home sells on average two to three times faster than an unstaged home. And it also sells for six to nine percent more! A six to nine percent sales increase translates into $18,000 to $27,000 using the median home price of $300,000. With the average cost of staging at advice at $300 it seems like a wise investment.
For more details NEWS!!! Boston.com.

As you may know, the fed has been buying mortgage backed securities to keep rates low to stimulate a housing market recovery. With the depth of that recovery debatable, is now a good time for the fed to pull out?
The simple answer is yes. The fed currently has about $89 billion left to spend from its original $1.25 trillion. This would allow the fed to purchase close to $2 billion a day in mortgage backed securities through the end of Q1 2010. This figure is lower than the $3 billion a day in purchases made in mid January but should be sufficient due to the seasonal adjustment in mortgages produced. This purchase amount should keep rates near historic lows throughout the Q1.
At the end of Q1, rates will start to increase but that should coincide perfectly with the increased demand of new home purchase requests which typically happens in Q2. The fed will then be allowed to exit just as demand rises which should keep pricing stable. The stability of price coupled with the exit of fed intervention should then lead to more confidence in the housing market overall.
For more details NEWS!!! Mortgage News Daily.

Opinion by Paul Nelson
Source Mortgage News Daily

First, the good news: Foreclosure filings dropped nearly 10% between December and January. Now, the bad news: Filings rose 15% compared to a year ago, and the number of people who actually had their homes repossessed jumped 31% to 87,648.
"January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago," said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO. "If history repeats itself, we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan-modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works."
Most industry observers also expect home prices to decline further this year before they stabilize. That will push more homeowners underwater -- meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth -- making them less likely or able to pay off their mortgage loans.
By Les Christie, staff writer
Edited by Paul Nelson
For more details Yahoo Finance.

U.S. mortgage applications dipped last week, reflecting reduced demand for home purchase loans even as rates on 30-year loans fell to their lowest since December, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, decreased 1.2 percent for the week ended February 5.
A continuation of lackluster demand for home purchase loans would not bode well for the U.S. housing market, which remains highly vulnerable to setbacks and heavily reliant on government intervention. The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was up 3.8 percent. With the four week average up and the inventory of homes for sale declining, one would think prices would be on the rise. But Celia Chen, senior director of housing economics at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said "Home prices will fall, probably until the end of the year," Chen said. "The large pipeline of distressed properties that may turn into foreclosure sales weigh down the home price outlook." "There is a great deal of uncertainty over how many properties will end up on the market as a foreclosure sale, however," she said.
The housing market faces plenty of obstacles ahead and we will keep you posted on early signs of changes. For more details NEWS!!! Yahoo Finance
Rueters
Edited by Paul Nelson

2009 was one of steady improvement in the Boston Moving and Real Estate markets. The monthly average of home inventory available approached the 6-8 months of supply that is considered by most a balanced market. The average monthly inventory (11,330 units) was 19.25 percent lower than 2008 average level of 14,030 units statewide. This translates to 8.6 months of supply on average for 2009, compared to 10.8 months of supply on average in 2008. Many realtors are reading this as a sign that the strict buyer's market is nearing its end. Time will tell if this is the start of recovering prices, or if the continuing drag of high unemployment and the end of the homebuyer tax credit will lead to another stall. But for now, everyone is taking the report as a breath of fresh air after 3 years of poor market performance. The number of detached single-family homes sold in 2009 went up 4.1 percent from 2008 (from 35,565 to 37,020 homes). The number of condominiums sold in 2009 went up 2.1 percent (from 15,039 to 15,361 units). The median price for a single-family home declined 6.8 percent from 2008 (from $311,000 to $290,000). The condominium market saw median prices decrease 7.2 percent from 2008 (from $271,500 to $252,000). For more details NEWS!!! Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in January was up 8 percent over the same time last year, while condominiums were up *12 percent. January marks the seventh straight month that the number of both single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement had increased over the year before.
For more details NEWS!!! Massachusetts Association of Realtors.