Suddenly, area's housing market favors the buyers

http://www.boston.com/realestate/articles/2005/10/28/suddenly_areas_housing_market_favors_the_buyers?mode=PF

Suddenly, area's housing market favors the buyers
Cooling of sales to crimp economy

By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff | October 28, 2005

Greater Boston's once-sizzling home sales have cooled so much this fall that realtors are reverting to a description not heard in a decade: ''Buyer's market."

From the South End to the South Shore to Cape Ann, the list of unsold properties is growing, and so are reductions in asking prices. Attractive houses in good locations with seemingly appropriate pricetags are getting scant interest. Real estate agents, who six months ago played host to streams of buyers, are now presiding over open houses that draw few if any lookers.

For the last two Sundays, John Ford, of Ford Realty Inc., held open houses at a two-bedroom South End condo on a strong residential block of Columbus Avenue with parking, patio, and hardly outrageous asking price of $570,000. Not a single person showed up. In Weymouth, a four-bedroom raised-ranch with a view of the Fore River, priced at $445,000, attracted just one couple in the first hour and 15 minutes of an open house last weekend, prompting realtor Bonnie Goodstein to exult, ''O yay! Customers!"

In Jamaica Plain, even a $70,000 price cut -- to $399,000 -- hasn't generated much interest in a two-bedroom, bi-level condo in a 19th century mansion that has been on the market for about a month. Sunday, only four people, including two curious neighbors, came to an open house.

''My seller is willing" to consider a lower price, said the broker, Anne Connolly, ''but there's no buyers to deal with."

The fall slowdown not only represents a sea change for sellers, who for years have enjoyed multiple offers and higher prices, but also indicates the region's bull housing market is at an end. Real estate agents say a long-predicted market correction appears underway as the gap between the price of housing and peoples' incomes -- now even wider than at peak of the 1980s housing boom -- has become too great to sustain the recent pace of sales and appreciation.

----------------------

Wow, maybe in two years or so I'll be able to actually purchase a home near Boston...of course, that's assuming a sinking economy and bursting housing bubble doesn't wipe out my job. In my town I found a 4 bed, 1 bath, 1200 sq ft home for $300k last night - six months ago 'handy man specials' that size were selling for $50k more...

the mortgage interest rate . . . yup.

.

and everyone thought I was crazy. How can the majority of people possibly afford the outrageous prices ordinary houses and condos etc. were selling for. The people who bought the houses, for the outrageous prices, are going to be hurt unless they just hang on to the property.

1600 sq foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath,1974 slab-100,000. same house 30 miles to the east 150000 ,another 30 miles east to the western suburbs 250,000. 150,000 difference in 60 miles.

I just bought a condo back in April. I hope I'm not totally screwed. At least it was in a lower-priced area of MA. (Lowell)

normal -it has always been a tough sale between Nov 1 and Jan 1

When "next year planning hits in Jan sales will jump - as they always do

but prices topped out in June and will be the same level next June - assuming Bush has not further destroyed the job market.

Higher interest rates for 30 year (now 6.15%) mean going over 7% - and not much more, while Fed rate is moved to 4.5%.

At least that is my opinion.

:-)