Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Many Buyers assume that when they purchase a property, it will be delivered clean and move-in ready. That is not always the case.

In Massachusetts, properties are sold “as-is.” Unless there is specific language to the contrary in a contract / offer to purchase or a purchase and sale agreement, a buyer purchases a property in the condition that it is in at the time the contract is signed, wear and tear notwithstanding. There is nothing that requires a seller to remove trash and debris and/or clean the property prior to the closing. The condition of the property at the time of closing needs to be agreed upon in advance.

Rising mortgage interest rates seem to have slowed the overall U.S. housing market, but will more expensive home loans curtail the red hot Massachusetts real estate market?

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index declined 1.3 percent to 109.5 in July from 110.9 in June, but the index is 6.7 above July 2012 when it stood at 102.6. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) tracks contracts, but not actual closings. It is a forward-looking indicator. U.S. Pending home sales have stayed above previous year levels for 27 months. 

July 2013 marked the ninth straight month of year-over-year declines in foreclosure starts in Massachusetts, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported September 10, 2013.

A total of 407 foreclosures were initiated in Massachusetts in July, a 66 percent decline compared 1,198 foreclosure petitions in July 2012. Foreclosure petitions are the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts. Through July 2013, there have been 3,350 petitions recorded, down more than 68 percent from 10,623 during the same seven-month period a year ago.

The median price of a single-family home in Haverhill, Massachusetts jumped nearly 32 percent in July compared July 2012, according to data tracked by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. 

The median price for a single-family home in Haverhill, MA in July stood at $259,000, an increase from $196,500. During the first seven months of 2013, the median price increased 17.59 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Through July, the median price stood at $254,000 compared to $216,000 for a single-family home during the same seven-month period in 2012. 

Home sales in Haverhill increased 12 percent in July to 37 sales, up from 33 home sales in July 2012. Similar to other cities and towns around Massachusetts, tight inventory has put a cap on home sales in Haverhill. Through July, homes sales declined 1.54 percent compared to the first seven months of 2012. There were 195 single-family home sales January through July in 2012 and 192 sales during the same period this year. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Sharon, Massachusetts increased 25 percent from 28 sales in July 2012 to 35 home sales in July 2013. 

The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, provided the data. 

The foreclosure crisis that has plagued the U.S. housing market for more than six years seems to be wrapping up, with the number of completed foreclosures and potential foreclosures declining. 

There were 49,000 completed foreclosures in July 2013, down from a 65,000 the previous July, CoreLogic, Inc., a provider of residential real estate data, reported August 29, 2013. The 49,000 completed U.S. foreclosures represented a 25 percent decline from the previous year and an 8.6 percent decline from June. There were 53,000 foreclosures in June 2013, down from an originally reported 55,000.

The median price of a condo in Acton, Massachusetts increased nearly 19 percent in July to $264,000 from $222,000 in July 2012, according to data provided by The Warren Group. 

Through the first seven months of 2013, the median price of a condominium in Acton increased nearly 65 percent from $222,000 last January through July to $366,300 this year. 

Twenty months and counting.

New Hampshire marked its 20th consecutive month of year-over-year home sale increases in July, The Conway Daily Sun reported August 30, 2013.

New Hampshire homes sales increased 23 percent in July compared to July 2013, and the price of homes in the Granite State increased 11 percent in July compared to the previous year.  The New Hampshire Association of Realtors provided the data. 

With average U.S. 30-year mortgage interest rates more than 1 percent higher than average rates in May, sales of new construction homes across the nation declined 13.4 percent in July 2013 compared to June 2013, Yahoo! Finance reported August 23, 2013.

Sales of newly built homes stood at a seasonally adjusted rate of 394,000 in July, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. July's sales numbers for new homes were the lowest in nine months, as sales fell from a rate of 455,000 in June. The June numbers were revised down from a previously reported 497,000 sales. 

Depending on your perspective, Massachusetts home buyers continued to purchase homes in July despite, or because of, rising mortgage interest rates. Mortgage interest rates began to rise in May and currently are about 1 percent higher than three months ago. 

Our neighbors to the north also are experiencing a real estate recovery. 

The New Hampshire Association of Realtors said that 1,587 single-family homes sold in June, the most sales since the September 2005 housing peak, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported July 31, 2013. 

If the do-nothing landlord and the noisy neighbors weren't incentive enough, three straight years of rising rents in Boston have many renters weighing their first-time home buyer options.

For three straight years, rents in five of Boston’s student populated neighborhoods are rising while the vacancy rate has fallen below 2 percent, the Boston Business Journal reported July 19, 2013. Rental Beast, a Somerville-based real estate market tracker, compiled the data.