We'll now hear from folks who'll say "no way - home prices NEVER go down. Every year since 1940, they've gone up. So they have to go up every year for the history of mankind". They'll post again that chart that shows US median home value since 1940.
Then I'll say "past performance does not dictate future returns".
Then we'll read about Boston, one of the ugliest markets in the US.
Stick a fork in it folks, this one is kaput.
BOSTON -- Housing prices are projected to drop 5 percent during each of the first two quarters of this year and Bay State residents remain highly concerned over the cost of housing, market analysts said yesterday.
The claims came as economic analysts released the results of a second annual housing survey during a presentation sponsored by the Citizens Housing and Planning Association and the UMass Donahue Institute.
A "sharp" drop in Massachusetts housing prices has begun, said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a professor at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass.
The same economic forces that led to very high and fast-growing prices here in the past are now working in reverse," he said. "Housing prices are almost certainly going to decline in the near future."
February 08, 2006
The Boston POPS
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4 comments:
One example from Cambridge: A pos house needing a gut rehab. Probably 200k worth of work needed.
1. went on the market in November for about $470k
2. price was lowered to 409 within 3 weeks
3. price was just lowered again to 370k
I'm sure there are more examples, but this house is a block away.
can you imagine if you were a sucker (come to phoenix) who made a mistake and bought it at $470, only to be "worth" 370? or heck who knows, maybe 270? maybe 170?
My sister is renting in Brookline, MA (where people who can do better than Cambridge live). She calls every week to thank me for stopping her from buying in Nov '05. Instead they rent for 2/3rds the cost of owning. She's a $1m cash buyer and I'm afraid her smile is going to cause neurological damage as she sees the bank account balance grow and the asking prices shrink.
You know that the picture you show is not Boston? That's Tanglewood about 150 miles west of Boston. Art, (as in Fiedler) the guy in the picture hasn't looked that good for two decades. He used to come out, this in the mid, 80s and perform with the summer orchestra of the BSO. The BSO is not the "Pops" just as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra is not the Los Angeles Phil. Souds snooty, I know but blogs are about sharing and how many other posters have had season tixs to all 4? I say this because while Boston is totally in the toilet the city nearest to Tanglewood is Pittsfield and they are already so cheap there's no down for them. Instead they've seen their "vacation" homes skyrocket. Crap, high taxes, remote, and expensive. I have no idea where that market bottom may lie.
The only thing Arthur "Art" Fiedler could have performed in the mid-80s was the "Sounds of Silence." He died in 1979. But about these houses...dang.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pops/about/fiedler.html
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