Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

It is very likely that 2012 will be remembered as the year the real estate market turned around in Massachusetts. Not every community saw brisk home sales, but many Greater Boston Area and Eastern Massachusetts cities and towns saw good homes in good locations sell fast, many times within a few days. 

A recent article entitled, "10 Things Real Estate Listing Sites Won't Say" found on the MarketWatch.com Web site stated it was very difficult for home buyers to find reviews on real estate agents.

Maybe that is the case in general around the nation, but Massachusetts and New Hampshire consumers have a few good sources to find reviews and information about real estate buyer agents, as well as listing agents, when searching for help in buying a home or selling a home. 

The article used as an example the short-lived attempt by real estate company Redfin to roll out a feature called "Scouting Report" that provided information about agents' sales and other data. Redfin pulled the plug on Scouting Report about a week after it's September 2011 debut because of reported "inaccuracies in the data."

If the mortgage interest tax deduction were eliminated or limited, Massachusetts taxpayers would be disproportionately hurt because homes are more expensive than in other parts of the country, The Boston Globe reported December 10, 2012. 

New Development in Roslindale Square

The Boston Globe reported December 13, 2012 that a dilipated power station, out of use for 40 years, in Roslindale Square is set to be transformed into a mixed-use development with about 40 apartments, restaurants and a produce market.   

Exclusive buyer agent real estate firm Buyers Brokers Only, LLC has earned the service industry-coveted 2012 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor awarded annually to approximately 5 percent of all the companies rated on Angie’s List, the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service companies.   

U.S. home loan mortgage applications rose last week, with home loan purchase applications hitting the third straight high point on the year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported December 12, 2012.

Both single-family and condominium pending home sales in Massachusetts increased in November compared to November 2011, marking the 19th straight month that pending home sales increased, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported December 11, 2012. 

According to some political commentators speaking last month at the 2012 Realtors Conference & Expo, the mortgage interest deduction (MID), though not specifically targeted so to speak, will likely emerge altered from the deficit talks in the nation's capital, Realtor Magazine reported November 12, 2012.

The number of Massachusetts homeowners who faced foreclosure increased 22 percent in October, the highest number of foreclosure petitions filed since October 2009, the Boston Business Journal reported December 3, 2012.

Will home warranty companies top the list of companies that receive the worst grades on Angie's List for a seventh straight year? Home warranty companies consistently perform poorly, according to Angie's List members.

Buyers Brokers Only, LLC again will be collecting unwrapped toys this holiday season for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program.  Toys can be dropped off at Buyers Brokers Only, LLC's Haverhill, MA office located at 200 Merrimack Street, Suite 301, on the following dates:

U.S. home prices rose in September for the sixth straight month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home-price Index report released November 27, 2012. The report states that the data signals that the U.S. housing market is "in the midst of a recovery."