Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The price of a single-family home in Belmont, Massachusetts has increased in 2013, according to data provided by the Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman. 

From January through August 2013, the median price of a single-family home in Belmont, MA increased 15.07 percent to $782,500 compared to $680,000 during the same eight-month period in 2012.  For August 2013, the median price increased to $818,000 from $662,500 in August 2012. 

Massachusetts first-time home buyers, and really any home buyer, should keep in mind that certain personal and financial moves may hurt their chances of, or disqualify them from, obtianing a mortgage loan or delay their closing. Several seemingly innocent financial or personal changes by a borrower during the loan process may have unintended consequences. The following are 12 things a potential home buyer should not do when seeking a mortgage. 

The median price for a single-family home in Tewksbury, Massachusetts through the first eight months of 2013 increased 6.29 percent compared to the same period in 2012, according to data provided by MLS Property Information Network Inc.

The median home price through August 2013 was $321,000, compared to $302,000 from January through August 2012. Tewksbury, MA single-family homes sold in 2013 showed a wide price range, with the cheapest sold at $88,000 and the most expensive at $700,000.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued new guidelines in July that prohibited dual agency in Federal Housing Authority (FHA) short sales; however, after pressure from the National Association of Realtors, HUD announced it has postponed the dual agency guidelines, according to an article in Inman News September 26, 2013

The new rules, revealed through a letter to mortgage servicers in July, were suppose to take effect October 1, 2013 and would have prohibited brokers and agents from representing both buyers and sellers in FHA short sales. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) opposed the new guidelines. HUD's new, now postponed, guidelines state, "To meet [Pre-foreclosure Sales] Addendum requirements, brokers and their agents may only represent the buyer or the seller, but not both parties."

The median price for a single-family home in Braintree, Massachusetts increased 7.52 percent during the first eight months of 2013; however, the median price declined 4.88 percent in August compared to the previous year, according to data provided by The Warren Group. 

The median price of a Braintree, MA single-family house stood at $330,000 January through August 2012. The median price increased to $354,800 during the same period this year. The median price in August stood at $366,200 compared to $385,000 in August 2012. 

Average U.S. mortgage interest rates for 30-year, fixed rate loans declined for the third consecutive week, USA Today reported Thursday October 3, 2013.

Continued chaos in Washington D.C., some bleek economic news and the Federal Reserve's decision to continue purchasing mortgage-backed sercurities have resulted in rates dipping below mid August highs. 

The Massachusetts housing recovery, especially the increase in home prices, clearly has spared many homeowners from foreclosure. Other factors, such as loan modifications, have played a role in the decline in foreclosures, but the decline in foreclosure activity has coincided with the improved Massachusetts real estate market. 

August marked the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year foreclosure deed decreases in Massachusetts, The Warren Group reported October 1, 2013. Foreclosure deeds are the final step in a Massachusetts foreclosure. 

The median price of a single-family home in Amesbury, Massachusetts increased 9.49 percent in August 2013, according to data provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. 

The median price in August increased to $300,000 from $274,000 in August 2012. From January through August, the median price of a single-family home in Amesbury, MA increased 17.47 percent to $297,500 from $253,250 during the same eight-month period in 2012. 

Many real estate industry professionals have recently expressed concern that rising mortgage interest rates would slow the real estate recovery around the United States. There's one problem with that theory: Mortgage interest rates have declined slightly over the last couple of weeks. 

The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate home loans in the United States declined to 4.32 percent this week, the Detroit Free Press reported September 26, 2013. Freddie Mac provided the data.

The median price of a single-family home in Massachusetts increased 10.6 percent to $340,000 in August 2013, The Warren Group reported September 24, 2013. 

Last August the median price of a single-family home stood at $307,500. Median prices for single-family homes have increased 11 straight months. Through August 2013, the median price was $325,000, an increase of more than 12 percent from $290,000 during the first eight months of 2012.

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.