Adam Geragosian Real Estate Blog

Real Estate — Value and Volume

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:51:33 +0000

The most recent complete statistics for a month that we can report comes from March of 2012. This is the month that proved a continued upward trend in the real estate market not just in and around the city of Boston, but throughout the whole of Massachusetts. What was concluded was that for March, single-family home sales increased by a very optimistic figure of 20%! From a 2,688 transactions in March of 2011 to this year achieving 3,205 sales, there is much to get excited about as the energetic ‘Spring Market’ began to take off.

For condominiums, the total number of sales and even the median sales prices both rose across the State for March. Sales saw a bump from 1,067 in March of 2011 to 1,189 this year, a 11.4% increase. Moreover, the median sales price of a condo was $265,000 which was up 15% in 2012 year-over-year. As sales continue to rise it is only a matter of time until the lowering of prices becomes less and less until they to see increases throughout all of Massachusetts. Single-family homes are already in such a transition.

Real Estate — Welcome Back

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:30:36 +0000

After a long, 2 year, hibernation… Olive’s is officially open and ready for business. This Charlestown staple is the Flagship restaurant of Todd English. Olive’s was the first stop on Todd’s illustrious career as a chef and restauranteur. Charlestown has been starved of fine dining since a kitchen fire put Olive’s out of business back in 2010. The anticipation, rumors, and speculation on re-opening can now be put to rest. After a careful redesign of the restaurant layout and function, they are now ready for business. The sometimes stuffy atmosphere has been transformed into a welcoming, high class, restaurant/lounge. I spoke with Todd on Monday afternoon and got his thoughts on the changes. He said the redesign is aimed at drawing a young professional crowd, while still providing the fine dining so many desire. The menu will feature new items along side the traditional favorites.

Olive’s will have a positive impact on everyone from real estate brokers, to tourists, to local businesses, home owners, landlords; etcetc. The value this restaurant adds to Charlestown cannot be over-stated.

Real Estate — Ever heard of the ‘Spring Market’?

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:55:09 +0000

Well it is back in full force and looks to be stronger than ever this year when pegged against recent memory. Many reasons account for this great optimism about the Spring of 2012. For one, the mild weather has been a major contributing factor to the heightened interest in property.

According to Forbes, warmer temperatures during the months of April, May, June and July frequently result in over 40% of all real estate transactions for a year.

Boston was even mentioned as one of only three notable cities nationwide that Forbes is certain will experience growth in their home prices. The improving economy and expanding and new businesses settling in The Greater Boston Area will also have a large effect on the real estate market. People securing jobs and a future in and around our city will greatly contribute to the prices and frequency of properties being sold.

Real Estate — As Investment

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:51:34 +0000

OwnAmerica recently conducted another survey, this one regarding what the public insists is the true best long-term investment strategy. If one had to invest their capital, what direction would they choose in today’s economic climate; would it be to invest in bonds or savings accounts, stocks or mutual funds, or perhaps real estate? It comes to be known, as reported from Business Wire in late February of 2012, that respondents as a whole declared real estate was far and away the best long-term investment route to take.

With all of the recent scrutiny about home values decreasing across the board, granted some areas far more than others, it is surprising that real estate has garnered so much trust from this poll. Overall, 84% of people voted real estate as the best long-term investment, while bonds came in at 4%, savings accounts at 2%, and stocks and mutual funds in second place at 9.9%. These are very strong numbers and shows that the public is clearly educated by understanding the recent news about just how much the real estate market (especially in Massachusetts) is improving.

Real Estate — Full House

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:33:22 +0000

We are seeing it in the Boston and Greater Boston neighborhoods. Buyers are coming in droves to open houses to tour the low number of properties that are currently on the market. In some cases there have been 20, 30 or more parties reported having come through a Sunday open house, even with buyers waiting at the property before the doors are opened.

What is happening? There are a few factors that we can speculate that are contributing to the current state of the real estate market. First, the current rates are still proving to be at historical lows, even sometimes making it cheaper to own your home than rent. Next, this year’s extremely mild climate has invited the spring real estate market to arrive earlier than normal. Finally, with the number of active homes for sale in MLS being low, buyers are quickly jumping on any properties that are coming on the market.

Real Estate — Value in the Burbs

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:21:01 +0000

Housing in small cities is likely to be hot in 2012. Once again, Jed Kolko, the chief economist at Trulia.com expressed his opinion about places such as Boston, San Jose, Austin/Houston, and Rochester in upstate New York and how they are some of the smaller cities that will out-do the rest of the country in real estate.

The western suburbs of Boston, in particular locations such as Cambridge, Newton, Weston, Wellesley, Lexington and even Framingham and the northern suburbs like Burlington, Winchester, Andover are all going to fair well. This is largely due to their strong job markets and the biotech and high-tech firms that are booming and constructing far more office and research space. Vacant office locations are highly diminishing, down to now 13 percent in the town of Waltham, as an example. We will see if this continued attraction for companies to flock to the Greater Boston area and develop our suburbs has what is predicted to be a significant positive influence on the real estate market in this new year.

Real Estate — Innovation District

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:10:29 +0000

The much discussed ‘Innovation District’ is totally renovating the South Boston and Waterfront neighborhoods. The plan is for young, tech-savy individuals to come from the world-class universities in the area or from afar, all to settle down in this new neighborhood. It certainly is one that is destined to keep people in the area permanently, with roughly 90 new firms and some 1,700 or so units planning to set root.

Some of the developments soon to on the drawing board include:

Waterside Place – 236 apartments, 19-stories
Pier 4 – 357 apartments, 21-stories
Seaport Square – 750 apartments, 22-stories
411 D Street – 197 apartments, 2 buildings (one will be 5-stories, the other 6-stories)
319 A Street – 202 apartments, 20-stories

Real Estate – Extending the Limits

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:05:57 +0000

If you were to go to an area with many outlet stores, how far outside of Boston do you think it is? 10 minutes, maybe 20? Both are incorrect. Surprising as it may seem, the closest outlet center is at least 45 minutes away in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Well, the town of Somerville, only 12 minutes away from Beantown just down Interstate 93 looks to change all of that. Especially with the recent economic troubles for many families, we are constantly looking for the best deals for classic brand names at accessible locations. Well, you will be happy to see the new developements taking place at Assembly Square.

Developed by Assembly Row, the proposed plan will cost upwards of $1.5 Billion dollars and is expected to get underway sometime in the new year. About 50 stores, many offices, a pair of 450 housing unit buildings with an additional third one to be designed (developed by AvalonBay Communities Inc.), a 12-screen movie theatre, a variety of restaurants, a new MBTA station and a completely new park perfect for outdoor concerts are all in the works. The Federal Realty Investment Trust began their involvement in this process 6 years ago. They are anticipating that the traditional mold will be broken which typically has seen such outlet stores clustered far outside of metropolitan areas. The increased competition with stores in Boston and the mass amount of consumers in the area will make this a desired location that will also increase value of real estate nearby.

Real Estate – Rate Status

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:12:50 +0000

According to Market Watch and real-estate website Zillow.com, 30 year mortgage rates have recently reached an all time low. Zillow reports the 30 year fixed rate mortgage is currently holding at an average of 3.73%, down from 3.81% a week earlier. The previous low was 3.74%, which was in September.

Many mortgage trackers have reported record low rates in the recent weeks. Furthermore, the rate for 15 year mortgages is currently holding at 3.07%, which is down from 3.11% from the previous week. These excellent, low rates make now the perfect time to consider purchasing a home.

Real Estate – Boston, Top Ranked.

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:41:28 +0000

Bloomberg Businessweek has recently released a list of their top 50 cities within the United States. Judging the cities on various criteria, the results that came back were exciting. This is because Boston was listed as the #16 in the country. The term city applies to even localities that many of us would have assumed to be a town. With that said this #16 ranking is very impressive.

The central premise for praising Boston in such a manner is because Bloomberg Businessweek notes that because of the plethora of fine restaurants, world-renowned educational institutions and historical importance, Boston is extremely unique. The above factors, including low foreclosure levels, constant population making high medium income and below average unemployment rates, among other points have helped the city hold on far better than other American cities after the recession.

The following information was taken from Bloomberg Businessweek and highlights some of the statistics about Boston that has resulted in this city being placed so favorably:

-Percent with bachelor’s degrees: 42.9
-Percent under poverty level: 19.1
-Median household income: $52,433
-Property crime rate: 3,324
-School score: 69.94
-Pro sports teams: 4
-Foreclosure rate: .0032
-Percent Unemployment: 7.1
-Park acres per 1,000 residents: 7.6
-Bars: 199
-Restaurants: 1,863
-Museums: 148
-Colleges: 34
-Libraries: 59
-Air Quality Index: 104