The Massachusetts housing slump

During the state's real estate boom earlier this decade, prices for single-family homes increased 80 percent. Now new home sales and prices have dropped significantly, and a mortgage crisis is burgeoning. What does it mean for you?

The Latest

Home prices post 18.1% annual drop

While the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 major cities tumbled by 18.1 percent, it marked the third straight month the decline was not a record. And yearly losses in 13 metros improved compared to March.
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Real Estate chats
  • Sept. 12, 2008
    Buying chat transcript
    Buyer's agent and real estate blogger Rona Fischman talked about buying in the current market.
  • Sept. 11, 2008
    Mortgage chat transcript
    Holden Lewis, senior mortgage reporter for Bankrate.com, talked about the mortgage market in the aftermath of the Fannie-Freddie takeover.
  • Sept. 10, 2008
    Fixer-upper chat transcript
    Ed Zotti, editor of 'The Straight Dope' and author of 'The Barn House', talked about fixer-uppers.
  • Sept. 9, 2008
    Home inspection chat transcript
    Home inspection education provider Jim Mushinsky took your inspection questions.
  • Sept. 8, 2008
    Fannie-Freddie takeover chat transcript
    Globe real estate reporter Kimberly Blanton took your questions on the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  • June 6, 2008
    Suzanne Whang chat transcript
    The host of HGTV's 'House Hunters' took your questions on happy home-buying.
  • April 15, 2008
    Home-selling chat transcript
    Linda O'Connor, a Realtor since 1983 and theowner of REALPRO Associates in Beverly, answered your questions on selling in today's market.
  • April 14, 2007
    Mortgage chat transcript
    John O'Hara, who manages operations in the residential lending market at Sherwood Mortgage Group, chatted about navigating the mortgage maze.
  • April 11, 2008
    Home-buying chat transcript
    William Mullen III, general counsel for the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, took questions on the home-buying process.
  • Jan. 24, 2008
    Holden Lewis chat transcript
    Bankrate.com's Holden Lewis chatted about the current mortgage market, and whether now is a good time to refinance.
  • March 17, 2008
    Buying on the Cape chat transcript
    Edward McKenna and Maria Lamb, agents with Buyer Brokers of Cape Cod-Berard Associates in Barnstable, chatted about finding the best deals on Cape Cod.
  • Sept. 19, 2007
    Real estate chat transcript
    Kimberly Blanton, residential real estate reporter for The Boston Globe, took questions on the Massachusetts real estate market.
  • Sept. 17. 2007
    Mortgage chat transcript
    Peter Milewski, director of mortgage insurance for MassHousing, was took your mortgage questions.