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
Beating up the house
This is not the first time, and I regret to say, it will not be not the last… I just saw a house that was...

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.



