Tuesday, May 26, 2009
FHA Changes
A big Yay! for that.
Sigh.....
Typical sales that are adversely affected are:
Foreclosures where more than one unit is foreclosed/owned by same entity.
All low-down-payment buyers that want to buy into a new development.
New Developments
Developments that went rental that are still trying to sell some units.
I will have more news to about this to come...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Dorchester Ave Project
Some notes from the meeting:
- The project has been fast-tracked due to the money being sourced from the federal stimulus package. Project bidding will start this summer and will be abbreviated. The reason explained at the meeting is that the money will expire if not acted upon within a certain time frame.
- Mass Highway has become the administrators of the project because of the way the money must be directed, DND will still have major influence.
- They realize that the plan is not perfect, but they have made the best effort to compromise to make as many positive changes as possible.
Of course, this means traffic and construction but I am willing to live through that for the time being. I really think this will be a major catalyst for positive change along the avenue.
Check it out here.
Very busy
We are also seeing occupied foreclosures. It seems that banks are not evicting tenants/squatters/former owners after foreclosure. I think banks have realized two things, it's far too expensive in Massachusetts to evict and a vacant home attracts trouble and vandalism. At least with a tenant the copper is not being stripped out and squatters/trouble makers are kept away.
This of course presents a problem for the foreclosure buyer as it becomes the buyers' tenant at closing. Usually, this tenant has not been paying rent to the bank and is reluctant to start, meaning the buyer will then have to evict. I haven't run into this while representing a buyer yet, but I will update you if I have to and how it goes.
Cheers!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Commercial News
Loopnet is a commercial real estate listing service similar to MLS. It picks up where MLS leaves off in the commercial realm as far as listing information collected. We currently use it to list our larger commercial properties. In addition to listings they have commercial real estate news and info.
Recently they ran a poll about the commercial real estate market for their users to complete. There are some interesting results. Most notably is that access to financing is still a huge problem for sales. Personally, I can echo that on our commercial listings. The price really is not the larger issue but rather finding a buyer with significant amounts of cash that can access the financing needed to make it work.
Here is a summary of the poll results.
When do you expect the number of completed commercial real estate transaction sales to begin to pick up vs. 2008? | |
Q1 2009 (already happening) | 3% |
Q2 2009 | 3% |
Q3 2009 | 12% |
Q4 2009 | 22% |
2010 | 47% |
2011 or later | 12% |
Total | 100% |
What do you view as the biggest obstacle to commercial real estate sale transactions getting completed? | |
Different price expectations between sellers and buyers | 22% |
Access to financing | 59% |
Uncertainty of economic forecasts | 19% |
Other | 0% |
Total | 100% |
How much further will prices need to fall vs. 2008 in order for transaction volume to increase? | |
0-5% | 12% |
5-10% | 28% |
10-20% | 28% |
20-30% | 25% |
More than 30% | 6% |
Total | 100% |
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dancing with the Stars
Fields Corner Main Streets (FCMS) is dedicated to the commercial interests of businesses and residents in the Fields Corner area and are frequently looked to for advice and support of various interests.
On June 18th FCMS will have their annual fund raiser "Dancing with the Stars" It looks to be a great event with local celebrities and politicians dancing and judging. I encourage you to check it out and buy a ticket. The proceeds go directly to FCMS and support their operations and programs. If you cannot attend think about becoming a member. Check it all out at www.fieldscorner.org.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Check your calendar!
If I didn't know any better I would think it was 2005-2006 in the condo market. Condo units (in decent locations) priced $200k-$300k have been flying off the shelf. Below are the units that have gone under agreement in the past 30 days and have not closed yet as listed in MLS.
Some notables
Status | Address | Days on Market | List Price |
UAG | 54 Percival St U:2 | 9 | $175,000 |
UAG | 88 Walnut Street U:3 | 9 | $299,900 |
UAG | 465 Ashmont St U:3 | 10 | $199,000 |
UAG | 979 Dorchester Avenue U:3 | 16 | $209,000 |
UAG | 7 Bearse U:2 | 26 | $249,900 |
UAG | 78 Sawyer Ave U:2 | 28 | $259,000 |
UAG | 226 East Cottage St U:1 | 28 | $269,900 |
UAG | 55 King street U:#1 | 31 | $269,900 |
UAG | 2-4 Centre Ave U:4A | 37 | $199,000 |
UAG | 3 King St U:2 | 42 | $219,000 |
UAG | 3 King St U:3 | 42 | $239,000 |
UAG | 126 Richmond Street U:1st Floor | 61 | $219,900 |
UAG | 572 Freeport U:101 | 64 | $299,000 |
UAG | 365 Savin Hill Ave U:1 | 78 | $169,000 |
UAG | 365 Savin Hill Ave U:3 | 90 | $249,900 |
UAG | 53 Minot St U:3 | 147 | $229,000 |
UAG | 78 Train St U:3 | 348 | $229,000 |
There are some properties that I know have accepted offers but haven't been updated in MLS yet as well. It has been a great spring for condo sellers. If I were a developer, this is the price range I would be targeting.