Glimmers of Hope? Or Grasping at Straws?
Two recently released reports raised hopes that the real estate market in Massachusetts might be reheating a bit after months of slower-than-normal activity.
Spring Selling Season Is Over. Here’s What Agents Learned
From a rise in “whisper listing” and buyers’ ability to demand home inspections to seasonal patterns that just aren’t what they used to be, lots of things have changed.
Housing Shortage Drowns Out Buyers’ Climate Fears
Intense competition to buy homes may be overriding any concerns buyers might have about climate-driven property risks in Massachusetts. But homes’ climate change adaptations are starting to become selling points.
Worcester Housing Market Outperforms Despite Headwinds
The COVID-era rush to buy more spacious homes with big yards in the Worcester area may be over, but Worcester County’s price advantages and growing amenities list appear to be driving relative strength.
Fewer Comps, More Buyer Power Makes Pricing Homes Harder
With prices bouncing slightly up or down from day to day or week to week for everyday homes across the state, agents are having a trickier time accurately pricing the listings they’re bringing to market.
Condos No Shelter from Rising Prices, Agents Say
Experienced agents say there’s a number of possible reasons why more Boston-area single-family listings appear to be hanging around on the market than condos. But one thing is certain: Condos are no longer the affordable option.
Communal Living Spreads to Senior Housing
Homebuyers fed up with high real estate prices and lack of inventory on the market might want to consider one potentially affordable option that’s starting to gain market share in Massachusetts: cohousing.
Robotic Valets Take Over Parking Duties
The ever-rising cost of land and construction in Greater Boston is leading many developers to opt for automated parking garages in new condominium, office and mixed-use projects alike.
Suburbs Gain, Downtown Lost in 2021 Market
Downtown Boston prices slumped, elite suburbs’ prices spiked, demand for second homes boomed: This is 2021 in residential real estate.
Merrimack River Projects Bank on Haverhill’s Future
In recent years, the city of Haverhill has been steadily rejuvenating its downtown district with mixed-use developments that have added new residences, restaurants and retail shops to the once-gritty riverfront area. And more developments are on the way.
Burlington Plots New Course for Mall Area
Burlington is blazing a new zoning trail that other suburban towns may be following in coming years, hoping for new housing and better pedestrian connections in the commercial district near the Burlington Mall.
Multifamily Development Feels the Inflation Pinch
The recent surge in inflation is starting to effect construction of multifamily housing in Massachusetts, forcing some developers to put projects on hold or revamp their financial assumptions amid skyrocketing materials and labor costs.
Home Ownership Push Proves Easier Said than Done
Roy Avellaneda, president of the Chelsea City Council, thought his idea was pretty straightforward: Impose a five-year moratorium on construction of new rental properties in the city to give councilors time to re-write zoning laws to promote home ownership.
Industrial Demand Sets off Frenzied Site Searches
Demand is simply outstripping supply for all types of industrial space, including old-fashioned light-manufacturing space, and there’s no end in sight despite recent facility conversions and new construction of millions of square feet of supply.
Self-Storage Developers Continue to Scour Industrial Market
Amazon and other ecommerce players aren’t the only ones on the hunt for vacant industrial and retail spaces to possibly convert into storage depots. And industry executives estimate the industrial-to-storage pipeline will accelerate as investors pour billions into it.
Newton Late to Join Life Science Experiment
Two projects in Newton raise the question: Is the city set to emerge as the region’s next life science cluster, as pharmaceutical and biotech companies increasingly look outside of Cambridge’s crowded and expensive Kendall Square for desperately needed space?
Is the Urban Market on the Rebound?
New housing data covering the first seven months of 2021 seems to suggest a shift may be underway in the urban market, while some suburban towns experienced a softening in prices.
Higher Ed Ready to Resume Growth Plans
As colleges and universities prepare for a resumption of in-person learning, so are higher education’s contributions to the construction pipeline.
Sewage Stymies Cape Housing Development
Cape Cod’s housing woes run much deeper, literally, than the problems facing other communities across the state.
Will the Suburbs Step Up?
Housing experts, developers and business leaders have high hopes that the recently passed Housing Choice Act will boost housing construction in Massachusetts, reversing a decades-long decline in the number of units built each year in the Bay State.
