Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Worst Places To Sell Your Home

Boston is not on Forbes' worst places to sell your home list.

Miami, Orlando and Phoenix top the list of 10 locations.

You can check out the rest of the list at the Boston Condo Blog.

Case-Shiller Shows 4.6% Boston Price Decline

The S&P/Case-Shiller index reported a 4.6 percent decline in February home prices in the Boston area compared to February 2007, The Boston Globe reported on its real estate blog April 29, 2008.

"Case-Shiller lags the reports from [The] Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, both of which released March data yesterday. But Case-Shiller is more reliable because it is based on repeat sales of the same homes, eliminating any bias caused by a change in the kinds of homes that are selling."

It is the 23rd straight month of year-over-year declines in the index, which has now dropped 12 percent from its peak in September 2005, according to the blog post.

Click here for more data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Index.

Read The Boston Real Estate Now Blog Post

Massachusetts Homes Sales Plummet In March

Massachusetts home sales declined 31.6 percent in March 2008 compared to March 2007, the Boston Herald reported April 28, 2008.

The data comes from The Warren Group, a publisher real estate market information. Just 2,637 homes changes hands in March in the Commonwealth.

The median price of a single-family home in Massachusetts sank more than 10 percent to $304,000.

Bank-owned properties and short sales certainly are putting downward pressure on prices.

Condominium sales dropped 35.6 percent, but condo prices fell just 1.8 percent.

Read The Boston Herald Article

Maxing Out Home Equity Will Affect Credit Score

Apparently maxing out your home equity line of credit will have an impact on your credit score, Bankrate.com reported April 24, 2008.

Read The Bankrate.com Article

Interactive MBTA Map

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has an interactive map on it Web site that provides train schedules, stops and more.

Pay Yourself Or Pay Your Landlord

Despite the state of the real estate market, the cost of renting in the Greater Boston Area appears to have remained steady or slightly increased,  Boston Globe reporter Binyamin Appelbaum wrote in the Boston Real Estate Now blog.

With prices down and interest rates low, renters have to ask themselves whether it makes sense to continue paying a landlord or buying a home of their own. Using a rent v. own calculator to consider the costs is helpful.

Read The Boston Real Estate Now Post

Mortgage Interest Rates Rise Above 6 Percent

For the first time in six weeks, average rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loans in the U.S. rose above 6 percent, CNN Money reported April 24, 2008.

Average rates, according to Freddie Mac, stood at 6.03 percent, up from 5.88 percent the previous week. Rates for 15-year notes rose to 5.62 percent, up from 5.40 percent.

Read The CNN Money Article

Mortgage Applications Plunge

U.S. mortgage applications plunged 14.2 percent compared to the previous week, Reuters reported April 23, 2008.

The data comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The number of applications for home purchases fell 6.4 while refinance applications dropped 20.2 percent. The drop in applications coincided with a rise in mortgage interest rates.

Read The Reuters Article

Washer, Dryer and Wind Turbine Included

The time when a wind turbine may be included with a home along with a washer, dryer and refrigerator may be coming soon, REALTOR® Magazine Online reported April 16, 2008.

An increasing number of home owners, especially in northern California and the Northeast, are interested in wind turbines, which generate electricity. These turbines sometimes generate enough electricity to power an entire house.

The technologically-sophisticated systems are expensive, but some state tax incentives, and some laws that require utilities to buy excess power from residential turbines at retail rather than wholesale prices, are making wind turbines more cost effective for home owners.

Read The REALTOR® Magazine Online Article

30-year Mortgage Interest Rates Unchanged

Average U.S. 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage interest rates remained at 5.88 percent, the fifth straight week below 6 percent, the Associated Press (AP) reported April 17, 2008.

"But other rates showed declines, which analysts attributed to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve, responding to weak economic data, will move at the end of this month to cut interest rates again."

Average rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, declined to 5.40 percent, down from 5.42 percent the previous week.

Read The AP Article