Boston's #1 Ranked Neighborhood, The 'South End'
The numbers from the first four months of 2012 all across Massachusetts are looking extremely positive when put up against the same term limit during 2011. The Boston Business Journal provided some key analysis of the final data that has been collected. What was found is that the higher-end homeowners are finding themselves in quite the lofty position.There has been a very impressive lift by 27% in sales for high-end homes selling for $2 Million or more from January through the end of April. Looking to all homes across the State for the same duration of time not taking into account any categories for price, there was also an increase, this time by 19% over the corresponding months from a year prior.
As has been frequently spoken in more than one of our many past blogs, the low interest and mortgage rates are much to do with the reason for such uplifting results in our local markets. As prices seemingly hit rock bottom in and around Boston, the recent improvements are providing enough of an inkling for buyers that this is the opportune moment to invest in their future.
Looking towards the median prices being achieved during these times, the figure realized came to $269,000, down a mere 2% from the same four months in 2011. For the same $2 Million and above listings, the median sales price also fell, this time by just 4% to $2.6 Million. For the market as a whole, the average days on market stayed the same at 150, whereas those above $2 Million increased by 18% to 299 days.
Some fascinating news that came out of this report from CBS Boston was that Gibson Sothebys International Realtys own Beth Dickerson was quoted on her opinion of these results and more. Beth went on to discuss that no longer are homeowners placing themselves out of a market by pricing their properties far too high. If youre taking 7 percent off a $10 million home, thats not that bad. I tell sellers to expect offers that are 3 to 10 percent off asking price. Selling multi-million dollar single-family homes at asking price is rare, unless theres a bidding war. She then went on to say, Typically, buyers make a bid low and meet somewhere in the middle. But this is nothing new, no one pays asking prices for these over $5 million properties. Therefore, it can be inferred that this can easily be the reason for a slight reduction in the median prices.
What is more essential here is that there has been a stabilization in prices. This notion of strength is what has The Greater Boston Areas real estate markets far and away out-performing the majority of the other markets across the nation. Clearly, this is a time for great optimism and growth.
More Information: CBS Boston
