Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The number of homes listed for sale across the U.S. increased by 4.3 percent in June to 1.9 million homes, the highest level in the last year, Realtor.com reported July 15, 2013. 

Nationally, the number of homes listed for sale stood 7.3 percent below year ago levels; however, the year-over-year decline stood at 18.6 percent in February 2013. June was the sixth straight month real estate inventories rose. 

Boston homeowners didn't get the memo.

This current Massachusetts real estate market has seen a significant increase in demand in home buyers looking to purchase over the past year. At the same time the number of homeowners willing to sell has plummeted, causing a dramatic decrease in inventory.

Many factors play a role in the condition of any real estate market, including, but not limited to, the economy, interest rates and employment; however, the most important factor is supply vs. demand. 

New Hampshire first-time home buyers looking for an extra tax break will want to investigate the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority home buyer tax credit program.

Launched in March 2013, NH Housing designed the program to save first-time home buyers in the Granite State up to $2,000 a year on their federal income taxes, making homeownership more affordable for low- to moderate-income home buyers that qualify.

The median price of a single-family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts increased 11.2 percent in the first half of 2013 compared to the first six months of 2012. 

MLS Property Information Network, Inc., the local multiple listing service, provided the data.

The following are brief summaries of the latest real estate news in Massachusetts and around the United States to keep home buyers informed. 

A couple of weeks ago two Buyers Brokers Only, LLC home buyers closed on Massachusetts homes on consecutive days with fixed, 30-year mortgage interest rates of less than 3.5 percent. One couple were first-time home buyers and the other couple were moving to a newer, more modern, home.

Mortgage interest rates may not be that low again in their lifetime; however, not everyone thinks it is a bad thing for the real estate market, especially hot markets, such as in Greater Boston, where home prices have been rapidly rising over the past year and real estate inventory is tight.  

Burlington, Massachusetts, a suburban town about 25 minutes north of Boston and 35 minutes south of the New Hampshire border, is home to many industries, retailers and a diverse real estate market.  

Burlington, MA is close to the junction of Routes 3 and 128 and not far from Interstate 93, making it a popular commuter location for Massachusetts home buyers. Burlington is bordered by Bedford, MA; Wilmington, MA; Woburn, MA; and Lexington, MA. It is about 12 miles from Boston, and it is 224 miles from New York City.

The number of Massachusetts foreclosure petitions – the first step in the Bay State foreclosure process – declined 86 percent in May compared to May 2012, leaving little doubt that the Massachusetts foreclosure crisis is history. 

The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported June 20, 2013 that there were only 248 foreclosure starts, the first time the number of foreclosure petitions fell below 250 since The Warren Group started collecting foreclosure data in 2006.  

While the media and the real estate industry earlier this week trumpeted the fact that single-family home sales reached the highest level since 2006 in May 2013 the more important number for Massachusetts home buyers is the jump in the median price of homes compared to May 2012.

After reports last year about how affordable homes were historically speaking, the Massachusetts real estate market heated up. Now that home prices have increased and mortgage interest rates have begun to rise recently home buyers, especially first-time home buyers, are feeling squeezed in a market still lacking sufficient inventory.  

The number of advertised auction notices in Massachusetts plunged 75 percent in April, as well as other types of foreclosure activity, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported June 5, 2013.

There were 348 auction announcements in April, down more than 75 percent from 1,403 in April 2012. Auction notices through the first four months of the year are down 74 percent to 1,450 from 5,577 during the same period in 2012. It appears that the chance to buy a foreclosure is about over for most Massachusetts home buyers. Investors will pounce on anything halfway decent, and properties that need substantial work are not usually a good fit for first-time home buyers. 

A recent Boston Real Estate Now blog post on the competitiveness of the real estate market in the Greater Boston Area indicated that "roughly 15 percent" of Greater Boston home buyers "waived the inspection contingency" in their offer to purchase.

While the median price of a single-family home increased 10.5 percent statewide in April 2013 Walpole, Massachusetts saw its median price for a single-family home decline 20.4 percent, according to data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

The median price of a single-family home in Walpole, MA stood at $410,000 in April 2013, down from $515,000 in April 2012. During the first four months of 2013, the median price of a single-family home declined 14.4 percent, from $450,000 in 2012 to $385,000.