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2009 Massachusetts Real Estate Survey

02-06-09
Richard Rosa

Where do you think the real estate market in Massachusetts is headed?

Give me your thoughts. Take a five-minute survey. Thank you!

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Haverhill, MA Home Sales Increase

02-05-09
Richard Rosa

Single-family home sales in Haverhill, MA rose 1.47 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, from 338 to 343 sales; however, the median single-family home price declined 11.2 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, falling from $300,000 to $269,900.

The data comes from MLS Property Information Network, Inc., the multiple listing service used by local real estate professionals.

Haverhill, Massachusetts
Single-family Market Data
Jan. 1st through Dec. 31st

Year No. of Sales
2005 473
2006 395
2007 338
2008 343

Year Median Price
2005 $330,000
2006 $320,900
2007 $300,000
2008 $269,900

Year DOM
2005 86
2006 117
2007 130
2008 145

Check out the latest Haverhill, Massachusetts single-family home listings.

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Essex, Middlesex Counties See Steep Price Declines

02-04-09
Richard Rosa

Essex County saw it's median single-family home price decline 10.6 percent in 2008, and single-family home prices in Middlesex County declined 8.4 percent compared to 2007, The Boston Globe reported February 1, 2009.

The Globe obtained the data from The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data.

Single-family home sales declined 9.9 percent in Essex County and 12.7 percent in Middlesex County.

"Cities with high foreclosure rates posted the largest price drops, even as sales improved in some places. In Lynn, home sales last year increased 9.8 percent, but the median price dropped 20.4 percent to $206,000. Haverhill, which had a 1.5 percent sales gain, posted a 13.6 percent price drop, to $259,000."

The data also showed that Everett's sales jumped 17.4 percent in 2008, but prices declined 17 percent. Revere's home sales spiked 24.6 percent, but prices tumbled 19.1 percent.

For more real estate market data around Massachusetts, visit the Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide.

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MA Foreclosure Deeds Rise; Foreclosure Petitions Decline

01-27-09
Richard Rosa
Foreclosure_yellow_pad Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts surged 62.4 percent in 2008 compared to 2007 and was nearly four times the level seen in 2006, The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported January 21, 2009; however, foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, ended the year below the level reported in 2007.

A total of 12,430 foreclosure deeds were recorded last year, up from 7,653 in 2007 and 3,130 in 2006. In December, there were 936 foreclosure deeds, a 5.4 percent increase from November’s 888 deeds and 37 percent increase from the 683 deeds in December 2007.

December marked the fourth consecutive month in 2008 that foreclosure deeds fell under 1,000. The bulk of the foreclosures, nearly 60 percent, occurred from March through August, when more than 1,000 foreclosure deeds were recorded each month.

Lenders filed 21,804 foreclosure petitions in 2008, down 26.3 percent from 2007 when there were 29,572 foreclosure petitions. The drop-off is linked to a law that went into effect last year that requires lenders wanting to initiate a foreclosure to give delinquent borrowers 90 days to pay off mortgage loan defaults. During the month of December, foreclosure petitions jumped 21.7 percent to 1,625 from 1,335 in November, but were 40.4 percent lower than the 2,724 petitions filed during the same month in 2007. Lenders filed more than half of the year’s petitions during the first four months of 2008.

The silver lining in the data is that there weren’t as many people entering the foreclosure process in 2008 as there were in 2007. In early 2008, lenders were filing an average of 3,000 petitions to foreclose each month. Toward the end of the year, that number fell to below 2,000. Of course, there is no good news for the more than 12,000 people who lost their home.

The Warren Group also tracked 19,270 auction announcements in 2008, a 32.5 percent increase from 14,546 in 2007, and 189.4 percent higher than the 6,659 auction announcements reported in 2006. Auction announcements in December climbed 6.3 percent to 1,206 from 1,134 in November and 11.6 percent from 1,081 during the same month a year earlier.
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Loan Modifications May Become Mandatory In MA

01-27-09
Richard Rosa

House_of_money Legislation filed in Massachusetts would require lenders to modify home loans in certain circumstances, the Boston Business Journal reported January 27, 2009.

The legislation named, An Act to Require Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Avoid Foreclosure, was filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, with Senator Susan Tucker and Representative Steven Walsh, would mandate loan modifications in certain circumstances.

Specifically, the legislation requires that creditors make "commercially reasonable efforts" to avoid foreclosure upon mortgage loans securing homes that are owner-occupied. This would apply only to loans on principal residences, and to loans with certain risky features, such as interest-only loans, adjustable rate mortgages, and loans with short-term, introductory interest rates. The legislation also provides a "safe harbor" for creditors to comply with this requirement of commercial reasonableness.

A violation of this legislation will constitute a violation of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 93A, which is the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.

This really is an amazing piece of legislation. State government is now forcing private businesses to operate their business a certain way and mandating those business to make certain business decisions.





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