Is the Charlestown Real Estate Market Doing Better Than Last Year?

How is the Charlestown real estate market doing? With the interest rate at its lowest in 40 years, the Boston Charlestown real estate market has shown dramatic improvement since 2011. Here is a comparison of 1st quarter single-family home and condominium sales in 2011 v. 2012, and highlights will follow.

Highlights:

1.     Sales have either stayed steady or declined, which makes sense since low interest rates make sellers more likely to hold on to their inventories.

2.     Inventory has decreased. Single-family homes have dropped by more than a quarter, and condos by almost 17%. This also reflects hesitance in sellers to sell under such low interest rates.

3.     The number of days that condos stay on the market has decreased significantly. Condos are selling quicker, and I offer 2 possible explanations:

i.     People who used to rent apartments (e.g., students, young professionals, working couples) now find it more appealing to buy instead of rent. Even if they move away in the future, the steady supply of renters in Boston and the central location of Charlestown make investing in condos a sound idea, now more than ever.

ii.     People who would otherwise buy single-family homes now find it more reasonable to buy condos instead. While the average price for condos increased by almost 10%, the average price for single-family homes jumped almost 25%. It’s an increase of approximately $220,000, which was almost half the price of a condo in 2011.

4.     What does this all mean? It’s good news to sellers AND buyers, because

i.     It’s a great time to be a buyer. With the interest rate at an all-time low in 4 decades, buyers can afford the most right now. If the interest rate rises by even 1%, that translates to a 10% loss in what the buyers could afford. Now is an excellent time to buy.

ii.     It’s a great time to be a seller. The lower inventory means there is less competition among sellers, and decreased supply raises prices. In addition, buyers are giddy over the low interest rates, and increased demand also raises prices.

That is what I call good news.  If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate please call Chris Remmes at 617-861-3645 or visit chrisremmes.com

First Quarter 2012 Single Family Sales in Charlestown

·      Source is MLSPIN

The information in this blog post was gathered from third party sources including the internet and public records.  The author disclaima any and all representations or warranties as to the accuracy of this information.