Residential Real Estate
Personnel File – No. 320
Who’s on the move? From new VPs to fresh project managers, see who’s been hired, promoted and honored: it’s The Personnel File.
Cautious Optimism for the Spring Market
If the key to getting this market unstuck is convincing more sellers that they can confidently list their homes without fear of being unable to find a new place to buy, this spring could be a good place to start.
The Face of an Industry
David McCarthy has been selling homes for almost 30 years, but only three weeks ago he became the face of Realtors across Massachusetts at an inflection point in the housing market and housing policy on Beacon Hill.
Tax Appeal May Bring Big Savings
Property taxes are rising right along with the cost of food, gas and other necessities. One main difference: You won’t have to wait for inflation to come down to lower your property taxes.
Top-Tier Lead-Generation Tips, and How to Convert Them
As we put 2022 behind us and confront the challenges of high mortgage interest rates coupled with fewer sales and lower prices, marketing fundamentals will be more important than ever in 2023.
Economist Sees Surtax Avoidance, Rather Than Relocation
Legal tax avoidance strategies – like structuring transactions in a way that minimizes reported taxable income or curtailing stock trading – could reduce the state’s Millionaires Tax revenue by about $670 million.
2023 Outlook for Remodeling Cools
Higher home prices, recession fears and the near-death of the refinance market are likely to spell a significant slowdown in homeowners’ remodeling spending this year, researchers say.
Fiscal Groups Focus on Energy, Taxes
Business-minded, small government groups from each New England state think it’s critical to “start working together as a region” to address cost of living issues, high energy prices and economic competitiveness.
Meet Massachusetts’ Most Expensive Homes of 2022
The list of Massachusetts’ most expensive single-family and condominium sales of 2022 is very nearly a list of Nantucket’s most expensive home sales of 2022, despite numerous notable transactions involving Boston’s new luxury towers and high-end historic homes last year.
Mass. Home Prices Rose Only 2 Percent in December
Massachusetts home sale prices hit another all-time high last month, but they grew at the slowest rate seen all year as the housing market continues its long cool-down.
Q&A: Redfin CEO Sees Buyer-Seller ‘Standoff’ in 2023
Soaring mortgage rates knocked the housing market into a deep slump in 2022, and the prospects of a swift turnaround in 2023 look dim, especially with the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage still hovering above 6 percent, or double what it was this time last year.
Sellers Should Consider a Buydown to Snag a Buyer
With the inventory of unsold houses rising on a daily basis, it’s time for sellers to consider taking a page out of the homebuilders’ playbook – especially when it comes to financing.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: How the Tables Have Turned
Sellers’ concessions to buyers are on the upswing, and some folks are more than a little excited about it.
Top Dems Defer to Revenue Hearing When Asked About Tax Relief
Gov. Maura Healey has until March 1 to file her first annual budget, and told reporters Monday that “the budget season is upon us.”
Poll: Likely Voters Say Leave Tax Cap Law Alone
A clear majority of likely Massachusetts voters want the state legislature and Gov. Maura Healey to leave untouched the 1986 tax law that triggered nearly $3 billion in mandatory rebates last year, according to new polling results.
Share of Boston-Area Sellers Offering Concessions Slid Up in Q4
The Greater Boston housing market has slowed down substantially, by all accounts, but by one marker it’s doing so much more, well, slowly than its peers.
SJC Decision Knocks Back Frivolous Abutter Lawsuits
Justices made clear that 40B developments were covered by a provision of Housing Choice meant to deter anti-development abutter lawsuits, and set boundaries on how it could be used.
Taking Buying, Selling to New Heights
Two hot new trends in real estate – designing and buying a custom home sight-unseen, and having your home renovations paid for by someone else – could become forces in 2023’s housing market.
One Pandemic-Era Tech Tool for Realtors Beat Out All Others
A new survey by the National Association of Realtors says one of the many tech upgrades real estate agents embraced during the pandemic has outstripped all others in its long-term usefulness: electronic documents.
Few Specifics from Spilka, Mariano on Transit, Housing, Tax Relief
There was never much doubt that House and Senate Democrats would return Ron Mariano and Karen Spilka to the top posts in the legislaure, but Wednesday’s swearing-in speeches did produce glimpses into where each veteran legislative leader will attempt to wield their supermajorities in the coming months.
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