It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 2008 was a tough year for the residential real estate market. Countless of experts, analysts – and yes – bloggers, have spewed out an endless stream of the same old depressing news about plummeting home values and sales.

With Housing Scene, a new blog on Banker & Tradesman’s new Web site, I hope to look beyond some of the most frequently cited statistics. For example, most people already know that prices and home sales in Massachusetts were down last year. And many home sellers weren’t too thrilled with the offers they were getting. A sampling of transactions from The Warren Group shows that roughly 30 percent of single-family home and condo sellers sold at a loss – meaning that they sold their property for less than what they originally paid for it.

The Warren Group, Banker & Tradesman’s parent, will be releasing its year-end data tomorrow morning and the report won’t be upbeat. Seven months in 2008 saw double-digit percentage declines in statewide home prices.

For some who have long complained about the sharp increase in home prices and the lack of affordable housing in Massachusetts, the drops are a welcome relief. But with the median price hovering around $300,000, the Bay State still ranks as one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. And home seekers in some towns aren’t getting the bargains they expected. Single-family home prices actually jumped by 10 percent or more in a few Bay State communities, including Cambridge, Hamilton and Manchester-by-the-Sea. (Cambridge’s median home price reached $750,000 last year!)
 
Keep an eye out for tomorrow’s report.