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?
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The Latest Foreclosures continue decline
The number of Massachusetts residents losing homes to foreclosure dropped nearly 29.5 percent to 6,778, compared with the same period last year, according to data released.
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Recent news
High-end condos a tough sell
The slumping downtown condo market is showing signs of improvement, but still has not stabilized at the top end. This quarter data show sales fell 32.3 percent.
- Gallery Boston condo auction
- Discuss When will condo market hit bottom?
- Single-family home sales up
- Mortgage rates near record lows
- Home prices, sales on rise
- Also Case-Shiller index shows US quarterly price increase
- Report: Many behind on loans
- Affordable housing law faces new challenge
- Survey Bypassing zoning laws for affordable housing
- Mass. median home price rises above $300,000
- Locals fall behind on mortgages
- April home prices post 18.1% drop
- Plan to modify mortgages makes slow progress
- Mortgage firm, state reach deal
- Foreclosures in Mass. plummet in May
- Loan rates fall from 7 month high
- May housing construction jumps
Features
A renter's market?
Justin McGuffee relocated to a one-bedroom apartment in the South End, where he pays $300 less per month than his previous apartment.
- Survey Has your rent gone down?
Mortgage industry news
- Late mortgage payments hit highest level since '72
- Short-term loans for $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit
- Mortgage rates highest in 7 months
- Beware of those who offer to help with mortgage
- Once-safe mortgages endangered
- Mass., Goldman reach $60m deal
- Mortgage rates rise slightly
- More banks tighten home loan rules
- Plan to let judges alter loans is killed
- Six lenders get funds to modify mortgages
- Obama urges refinancing
- Loan changes may not help
Foreclosure news
- State foreclosures drop
- Many in Mass. may get mortgage help
- March foreclosure deeds down
- Bayside Expo Center facing foreclosure
- Feb. foreclosures dropped 4%
- Foreclosure relief for renters
- Homeowner foreclosure-prevention program help
- Hancock Tower owner reworks Ill. debt
- Funds for foreclosed home buyers
- 12,430 homes foreclosed on in '08
- State foreclosure database unveiled
Home prices
- As home values fall, so should your property tax bill
- First-quarter US home prices fall
- Massachusetts home sales, prices fall in April
- US home sales rise, prices fall
- Today's realty reality
- Double-digit drops in Mass. home sales, prices
- Home prices post 18.6% annual drop
- Report: US housing market is slightly undervalued
- US home price drops set records in Jan.
- Mass. home prices fall
- Existing home sales unexpectedly rise
- Detroit sees rock-bottom prices
- Gloucester, Georgetown lead plunge in house prices
Condo market news
- Boston's luxury condo market reflects economy
- Developer offering office condos at a steep discount
- Graphic Boston's condo crunch
- Pace of city condo sales cools down
- Midrange squeeze in Back Bay
- Downtown condo sales slide 15%
- Condo sales in Boston drop off
- Downtown condos to be auctioned
- Revere Beach condos on auction block
FHA Eases Condominium Lending Guidelines
Welcome back to Attorney Richard D. Vetstein. The FHA guidelines for condos are changing again. Here's what Atty. Vetstein has to say about them: With...
Real Estate chats
- Sept. 12, 2008Buying chat transcriptBuyer's agent and real estate blogger Rona Fischman talked about buying in the current market.
- Sept. 11, 2008Mortgage chat transcriptHolden Lewis, senior mortgage reporter for Bankrate.com, talked about the mortgage market in the aftermath of the Fannie-Freddie takeover.
- Sept. 10, 2008Fixer-upper chat transcriptEd Zotti, editor of 'The Straight Dope' and author of 'The Barn House', talked about fixer-uppers.
- Sept. 9, 2008Home inspection chat transcriptHome inspection education provider Jim Mushinsky took your inspection questions.
- Sept. 8, 2008Fannie-Freddie takeover chat transcriptGlobe real estate reporter Kimberly Blanton took your questions on the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
- June 6, 2008Suzanne Whang chat transcriptThe host of HGTV's 'House Hunters' took your questions on happy home-buying.
- April 15, 2008Home-selling chat transcriptLinda O'Connor, a Realtor since 1983 and theowner of REALPRO Associates in Beverly, answered your questions on selling in today's market.
- April 14, 2007Mortgage chat transcriptJohn O'Hara, who manages operations in the residential lending market at Sherwood Mortgage Group, chatted about navigating the mortgage maze.
- April 11, 2008Home-buying chat transcriptWilliam Mullen III, general counsel for the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, took questions on the home-buying process.
- Jan. 24, 2008Holden Lewis chat transcriptBankrate.com's Holden Lewis chatted about the current mortgage market, and whether now is a good time to refinance.
- March 17, 2008Buying on the Cape chat transcriptEdward 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, 2007Real estate chat transcriptKimberly Blanton, residential real estate reporter for The Boston Globe, took questions on the Massachusetts real estate market.
- Sept. 17. 2007Mortgage chat transcriptPeter Milewski, director of mortgage insurance for MassHousing, was took your mortgage questions.