Real Estate Blog - August, 2023

Strawberry Hill: A desirable and special Cambridge community

Strawberry Hill is a highly desirable residential neighborhood nestled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, offering an exceptional living experience that combines a peaceful residential environment with a balance of urban convenience and suburban tranquility. Its prime location provides easy access to amenities, including dining, shopping, and entertainment. The neighborhood is surrounded by natural beauty, with parks and tree-lined streets, offering opportunities for outdoor activities. Strawberry Hill has a strong sense of community, hosting events and fostering connections. It also offers excellent education options and convenient transportation. Additionally, it provides access to recreational amenities like tennis courts, dog parks, a golf course, and…

225 Views, 0 Comments

Understanding the Surge in 2023 Mortgage Rates and Anticipating Their Decline

As 2023 continues on, the real estate landscape is witnessing some unexpected shifts, particularly when it comes to mortgage rates. If you've been following the market closely, you might have noticed that mortgage rates have been on the rise, causing both concern and curiosity. We'll delve into the factors driving the surge in 2023 mortgage rates and explore when we can reasonably expect them to come back down.

The Culprits Behind Rising Mortgage Rates

1.  Federal Reserve Policy: One of the most significant influencers of mortgage rates is the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. To combat inflation and ensure economic stability, the Fed has opted to gradually increase interest rates. As the Fed funds rate rises, banks adjust their lending rates,…

232 Views, 0 Comments

Why You Need a True Expert in Today’s Housing Market

The housing market continues to shift and change, and in a fast-moving landscape like we’re in right now, it’s more important than ever to have a trusted real estate agent on your side. Whether you’re buying your first home or selling once again, it’s mission critical to work with an expert who can guide you through each unique step of the process. 

The reality is, not all agents operate the same way. To truly make a powerful and confident decision as you buy or sell a home, you need a real estate expert who uses their knowledge of what’s really happening with home prices, housing supply, industry projections, and more to give you the best possible advice. Someone who can provide clarity and trust like that is essential to your success. Jay…

265 Views, 0 Comments

Lego is moving its headquarters to Boston

The iconic Lego company is moving its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston.  They announced this week the site of their new corporate headquarters will be at 1001 Boylston Street when the company relocates in 2026 in a development being built over the Mass Turnpike.  

The move is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the Boston area, with the company excited to draw from the city's rich talent pool.  You can read more about it here.

183 Views, 0 Comments

Why You Don’t Need To Fear the Return of Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

 If you remember the housing crash back in 2008, you may recall just how popular adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were back then. And after years of being virtually nonexistent, more people are once again using ARMs when buying a home. Let’s break down why that’s happening and why this isn’t cause for concern.

Why ARMs Have Gained Popularity More Recently

This graph uses data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) to show how the percentage of adjustable-rate mortgages has increased over the past few years:

As the graph conveys, after hovering around 3% of all mortgages in 2021, many more homeowners turned to adjustable-rate mortgages again last year. There’s a simple explanation for that increase. Last year is when mortgage rates…

203 Views, 0 Comments

Why Median Home Sales Price Is Confusing Right Now

 The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is set to release its most recent Existing Home Sales (EHS) report tomorrow. This monthly release provides information on the volume of sales and price trends for homes that have previously been owned. In the upcoming release, it’ll likely say home prices are down. This may seem a bit confusing, especially if you’ve been following along and reading the blogs saying home prices have hit the bottom and have since rebounded.

So, why would this say home prices are falling when so many other price reports say they’re going back up? It all depends on the methodology of each one. NAR reports on the median home sales price, while some other sources use repeat sales prices. Here’s how those approaches differ.

…

199 Views, 0 Comments

Don’t Fall for the Next Shocking Headlines About Home Prices

 If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, one of the biggest questions you have right now is probably: what’s happening with home prices? And it’s no surprise you don’t have the clarity you need on that topic. Part of the issue is how headlines are talking about prices.

They’re basing their negative news by comparing current stats to the last few years. But you can’t compare this year to the ‘unicorn’ years (when home prices reached record highs that were unsustainable). And as prices begin to normalize now, they’re talking about it like it’s a bad thing and making people fear what’s next. But the worst home price declines are already behind us. What we’re starting to see now is the return to more normal home price appreciation.

To help…

238 Views, 0 Comments

Home Prices Are Rebounding

 If you’re following the news today, you may feel a bit unsure about what’s happening with home prices and fear whether or not the worst is yet to come. That’s because today’s headlines are painting an unnecessarily negative picture. If we take a year-over-year view, home prices did drop some, but that’s because we’re comparing to a ‘unicorn’ year when prices peaked well beyond the norm.

To avoid an unfair comparison to that previous peak, we need to look at monthly data. And that tells a very different and much more positive story. While local home price trends still vary by market, here’s what the national data tells us.

The graphs below use recent monthly reports from three sources to show the worst home price declines are already behind us,…

246 Views, 0 Comments

Explaining Today’s Mortgage Rates

 If you’re following mortgage rates because you know they impact your borrowing costs, you may be wondering what the future holds for them. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to answer that question because mortgage rates are notoriously hard to forecast.  

But, there’s one thing that’s historically a good indicator of what’ll happen with rates, and that’s the relationship between the 30-Year Mortgage Rate and the 10-Year Treasury Yield. Here’s a graph showing those two metrics since Freddie Mac started keeping mortgage rate records in 1972:

As the graph shows, historically, the average spread between the two over the last 50 years was 1.72 percentage points (also commonly referred to as 172 basis points). If you look at the trend line you…

235 Views, 0 Comments

How Inflation Affects Mortgage Rates

 When you read about the housing market in the news, you might see something about a recent decision made by the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But how does this decision affect you and your plans to buy a home? Here's what you need to know.

The Fed is trying hard to reduce inflation. And even though there’s been 12 straight months where inflation has cooled (see graph below), the most recent data shows it’s still higher than the Fed’s target of 2%: 

While you may have been hoping the Fed would stop their hikes since they’re making progress on their goal of bringing down inflation, they don’t want to stop too soon, and risk inflation climbing back up as a result. Because of this, the Fed decided to increase the Federal Funds Rate again last week.…

204 Views, 0 Comments