Fsbo

Boston, MA (AHN) – Single-family house sales in Boston dipped to a 15-year low by 8.4 percent, indicating how the real estate slump has negatively affected various U.S. states. Only 50,435 new single-family homes were sold in 2007, down from 2006’s 55,054, according to a report by The Warren Group, publisher of real estate information in Boston

Also registering a steady drop was home prices, with the average home down 4.6 percent from $325,000 in 2006 to $310,000 last year. The slow sales are not expected to improve in the coming months.

Timothy Warren, chief executive officer of the Warren Group, explained, “The large drop in sales and median prices in December signal more woes ahead, and it remains to be seen when Massachusetts will pull out of this slump.”

Not even new loan regulations that President George Bush will sign into law Tuesday can turn around the Boston real estate industry, said John Battaglia, a Hingham mortgage broker. As part of the economic stimulus package, the federal government will temporarily increase limits on conforming mortgages to 125 percent of local average home prices.

The median across the U.S. for single-family units is $417,000. For Greater Boston the local conforming median loan limit of $538,000 would go up starting March until Dec. 31 to give realtors sufficient time to clear their markets.

But only 3.7 percent of Hub jumbo loans extended last year would qualify for the conforming rates to be implemented under the new system, The Warren Group said.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 7:05 am and is filed under FSBO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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