The Greater Boston Real Estate Voice: A Blog Dedicated to All Things Boston Real Estate

HomesinBostonMass.com by Realtor Michael Mahoney

HomesinBostonMass.com by Realtor Michael Mahoney

Excited to launch our new web site www.HomesinBostonMass.com which has access to thousands of properties in Greater Boston including bank owned properties, pre-foreclosures and foreclosed properties.

 

 

 

Questions to Ask When Purchasing a Condo in Massachusetts

Questions to Ask When Purchasing a Condo in Massachusetts

Before you make your Boston condo purchase, there are a lot of things your should find out when buying.

Making a purchase in development is more involved than buying a home here in Massachusetts. The reason being is that not only are you buying a piece of property you are also buying a condo association.  In a way you are making two purchases overall.  If you are getting a mortgage to make your purchase, your mortgage lender or mortgage banker will definitely scrutinize the condo association as much as your financial worthiness and in some cases more. When loans are made on condos they are basically underwritten in two ways. First the borrower is underwritten and then the condominium association is closely looked at.  Before you make your Boston condo purchase here are some things to consider finding out.   The list of questions to ask before you buy your condo in Boston is a bit lengthy. Since  have been a Greater Boston Realtor for over 15 years, I would suggest these items be looked at minimally. 

 

Here are the Basic Questions to Ask When Buying a Condo in Massachusetts

Remax of New England Issues Monthly Report by Michael Mahoney of Remax Boston

By Michael Mahoney of Remax Way Covering Boston
617.615.9435

Today, I wanted to share with you the current state of the market according to the most recent Remax of New England Report with the latest numbers.

Here is what Monica Nichols Marketing Manager for Remax New England had to say to say on Linkedin.com

 

 

 

 

Dan Breault, Executive Vice President of Remax New England, had this to say...

"Sellers are still a little reluctant to list their home, forcing inventory to decrease as sellers wait for the temperature to rise and spring to set in,” commented Dan Breault, EVP/Regional Director of RE/MAX of New England. “The New England market is starting to see median prices uptick, as buyers are in bidding wars for the limited properties on the market. It’s apparent that homeownership continues to be an important milestone for most Americans.”

You can Download Remax of New England February-Housing-Reportv3 Here

While prices and transactions have largely increased, inventory levels have dropped across Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island over the last year. In fact, on average, they are down 30.8% in these states.

What does this mean to the buyer right now? Well, it certainly means there is even more competition to find a home. Across New England, despite an incredibly harsh winter of blizzards and storms, pending sales in every state are up over this time last year. Connecticutis up 31.6%, followed by Vermontat 21.5%, New Hampshireat 9.1%, Rhode Island at 7.1% and Massachusetts at 1.4%.

What does this mean to the seller? Get motivated and get your home on the market. With inventory down more than 30% in many New England states, there is no better time than the present to list a home.

So, what’s a REALTOR® to do? Encourage your buyers to get prequalified and be able to move quickly if they find a home that suits their budget. Waiting is fast becoming a luxury and buyers stand to lose out on the home of their dreams if they procrastinate. 30-year mortgage rates are still in the mid 3% range and 15-year rates are in the high 2% range; home ownership is an incredibly affordable option.

Similarly with sellers – take action now! Get your home listed and get it priced properly out of the gate. While it seems like a daunting task, talk to a RE/MAX Agent who can educate and guide you along this process.

Today’s market is incredibly exciting for both buyers and sellers. Nothing stimulates an economy more than a robust housing market. And, from all signs, we’re well on our way to economic recovery. The birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Take advantage of this busy spring season and let’s continue the momentum throughout the year.

 

Areas I cover include: Abington | Allston | Back Bay | Beacon Hill |
Boston | Braintree | Brighton | Brockton Brookline | Canton | 
Dedham | Dorchester | Hingham | Hyde Park | Jamaica Plain | 
Mattapan | Milton Mission Hill |Needham | Newton | Norwood | Quincy 
| Randolph | Roslindale | Roxbury | Sharon | Somerville 
South Boston | South End | Stoughton | Walpole | West Roxbury | 
Westwood | Weymouth

Michael Mahoney Remax Boston Realtor
617.615.9435 

BNI Back Bay Feb 5th 2012

Back Bay BNI Meeting February 5th 2013

Michael Mahoney
Remax Realtor
http://www.HomesinBostonMass.com

617-980-9025

Today, we had an unbelievable BNI meeting at the Back Bay BNI which meets Sonsie on Newbury Street in Boston.

Guest Visitors

We had several guests visiting the chapter today. The guest were Alyssa and Ben from McElroy Films out of Burlington, Mass. Mcelroy Films is a Boston area videography company. 

BNI Educational Moment

Carmine Camerato  from Alphagraphics in Boston did the educational moment which was on how to get people to like you and not in the Facebook sense of the word.

Carmine talked about how to get someone like you in the three main stages. The idea is to move from one stage to the next, thus creating more trust in the networking relationship.

The three stages were:

1. Get to know me stage
2. The Like me stage
3. The third was getting to trust me stage

Carmine talked about listening and eye contact and how important these two things are when having a conversation with someone.

When involved with someone networking situation you don't have to spend a lot of time you don't have to consciously create an impression. You can simply being present and give 100% of your attention to the other person and often this is more than enough.

60 Second Presentations

The couple of the 60 second presentations that stood out for me today were:

 

Mike St. Pierre of O’Lyn Roofing indicating home important it is to take care of the few shingles that may have been removed by a windstorm. He also talked about how he has work with homeowners and their insurance companies to help file claims and get the clients the maximum value towards getting the roof fixed.

 

Attorney Marc Canner discussed how important it is to review the details of the condominium that you're purchasing particularly the budget and the reserves. Lending by banks and mortgage companies has become stringent with regard to analyzing the reserves that condo associations have in the bank. He mentioned that most institutional financing companies such as banks and mortgage companies will not make a loan if there is not enough reserve in the bank.

Bill Daskowski from Will Charles Salon talked about how they have the 20% off coupon for anyone looking to have work done at the salon for the first time. In addition to this, there is a coupon for Boston students in the collegiate coupon book.

Gail Nickse from Waddel and Reed talked about how it's tax season right now and one of the preparations you may want to make is a contribution to your IRA whether it's a SEP IRA or a traditional IRA to reduce the amount of tax you have to pay out. She recommended that you work with tax accountant/attorney Natalie Hoppel.

Matt Honan of the Honan Sign Company in Winthrop asked of us to think of clubs and organizations that have awards and plaques. The Honan Sign Company can make all kinds of awards and plaques for clubs and organizations.

John Greeley  of Blue Hills Bank talked about how their bank is currently offering financing for dental practices. Specifically, if dentist is looking to upgrade their equipment they can get them ten-year loans for upgrading their office dental equipment.

Darryl Laforest of Liberty Mutual talked about how if you have teenage motor vehicle operators you need to make sure that you're covered from a motor vehicle insurance standpoint.

The best 60 second presentation was one by John Greeley of Blue Hills Bank

 

10 Minute Presentations

Gail Nickse / Waddell and Reed

The first guest speaker for the week was Gail Nickse of of Waddell & Reed. Gail is a Certified Financial Planner.

Gail said that one of the things that motivates her in life is “to be the spark that ignites action in other people.

Gail talked about why people choose to work with certain planners. Gail described in detail some of the background that brought her to where she is today as a financial planner.

Another part of Gail’s presentation that really stuck with me was her analogy about not having to be a little twig floating downstream and letting the stream take you to where it wants to take you, but rather that you can get oars and create your own destination.

 

Susan Symonds / Infinity Portrait Design

The second guest speaker was Susan Symonds of Infinity Portrait Design in Beacon Hill.

What struck me about Susan’s presentation was her love of creating photography that mattered to her clients.

Susan described in detail how she likes to create timeless imagery that will live in your home through infinity.

The other part that really stuck with me was her circular life philosophy which basically is that you give first and then you get to take.

She mentioned how she donates some of her photography and time to photographing civic events and nonprofit events throughout the Boston area.

 

Michael Mahoney
Remax Homes in Boston Mass 

617.980.9025

www.MMahoney.com

Read my blog @ www.TheGreaterBostonVoice.com Sent from my iPad

 

Boston Area Real Estate Market Statistics

Boston Area Real Estate Market Statistics

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board has just released it latest statistics which is up until the end of November 2012. 

2012 is starting to look like it was the turnaround year for the real estate market in Greater Boston.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All around these are positive signs.

If you would like the full report.   Download Greater Boston Real Estate Statistics. 

Boston Mass Condos Open House Report for this Weekend

 

Boston Open House This Weekend

There are 159 condos with open houses this weekend in Boston. This might be a good weekend to hit the trail and check out some condos if you are on the path for a new home. 

I have made the report available for you. This report details all of the locations and the times of the open houses. This is for condos only.

If you are looking the list of Boston single family homes which will be hosting their open houses this weekend, I have posted in my previous blog post.

 

If you miss the open houses and you have questions or need to visit any of the houses please feel free to give us a call anytime @ 617.980.9025

Download Boston Mass Condos Open House Report for this Weekend

 

Boston Mass Single Family Open House Report for this Weekend

 

Boston Open House This Weekend

There are 61 single family open houses in Boston this weekend. This might be a good weekend to hit the trail and check out some houses if you are on the path for a new home. 

I have made the report available for you. This report details all of the locations and the times of the open houses. This is for single family homes only.

If you are looking the list of Boston condos which will be hosting their open houses this weekend, I will post in my next blog post.

 

If you miss the open houses and you have questions or need to visit any of the houses please feel free to give us a call anytime @ 617.980.9025

Download Boston Mass Single Family Open House Report for this Weekend

 

Open Houses in Boston this Weekend

 Good Morning,

There are 61 open houses in Downtown Boston this weekened. You can get your Boston Mass Open Houses Report for This Weekend Right Here Have a GREAT Weekend! If you need anything...give us a call @ 617.615.9435

Boston Luxury Condo Market / What Recession?

In Boston in 2010, there were 348 condo sales with sales prices over $1mm. The average sales price of these condos sold in the over 1mm mark was  $1,903,697.
The median price of the 348 sales was $1,525,000.

The highest recorded sale in Boston for 2010 according to the MLSPIN was the penthouse at 51 Commonwealth Avenue. This property sold for $10.8m.

The total dollar volume of these sales was $662 million.

Just to put this into perspective, I reviewed the 2009 statistics as well. In 2009, there were only 238 total sales over $1mm in the Boston condo market and the total dollar volume of these sales $414mm.

To see all of the condos in Boston over $1mm you can simply click here.

Down below, I have posted the over 1mm sales for 2010. You can look at the PDF file which has the actual individual properties or the table below which has the stats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download Boston Luxury Market Sales Over 1 Million in Boston 2010