Dream of bargains draws buyers back
Dana Chapman and his wife spent 18 months looking for a condo in the Boston area -- to no avail.
"We didn't find anything that we really liked," said Chapman, who owns a home in New Hampshire and works as a guide for Boston Duck Tours.
Then, earlier this year, the couple saw several properties in the $200,000 range -- something they previously had not seen -- and recently signed an agreement for one in Randolph.
"I think the choice is a little bit better now," he said.
A year long slowdown in the real estate market has pushed down prices in Massachusetts, prompting home shoppers to come off the sidelines and buy. Yet while still tilted in the buyers' favor, brokers said the market is picking up as the number of available homes is dropping and more are going under agreement.
Donna Kemalian, a Canton-based realtor, said prospective buyers should continue to look at homes priced at least $25,000 outside of their range to get a better sense of what's available. Asking prices remain negotiable.
"I always see it as a starting point," she said.
Mike Reynolds, a construction superintendent, had been looking since last August and saw prices on some drop as much as $70,000. He believes he lucked into a good deal when he recently found a two-bedroom house in Braintree in move-in condition for $250,000.
"I thought I was going to end up in an apartment," Reynolds said. "I wouldn't have been able to do it if the market wasn't so low." And, he said, "it doesn't seem to have leveled off yet."
Maybe not. But there are some indications the market is tightening, albeit modestly. For example, inventories of homes for sale dropped to 45,000 listings in February, according to the realtors association. While that is still considered a heavier-than-normal supply, it represents a 17 percent drop over last year.
Todd Webster, a South Shore real estate agent, said his office carried more than 20 properties for sale at any given time last year, with an average of four under agreement. Lately, his office regularly has about five properties for sale, with about seven under agreement.
Webster said the inventory decline is due both to more homes selling and some sellers taking their houses off the market. While buyers for the most part are still able to negotiate, Webster also has seen some properties -- those that are priced reasonably and have no defects -- spark bidding wars.
"When people know it's a good one, they usually step up," he said. He advises clients to look at as many houses as possible so they recognize a good value when they see one.
And while there is room for negotiation, some agents said prices appear to have stabilized and that most sellers are sticking to their bottom line. Ron Morrison, a realtor based in Chelmsford, compares it to negotiating with a car dealer.
"There's only a certain amount of discount," he said.
Morrison said he has seen homes in his area sell for, on average, about 4 or 5 percent below asking price. He advises prospective buyers to look at both prices and local tax assessments when determining how much to offer. Websites such as Zillow .com can be helpful tools for this, he said, but he also noted that all situations are unique and factors such as the condition of the house, location, and the parties' determination also come into play.
Mel Martocchia, a Waltham-based realtor, said inventory of single-family homes in the city has dropped to 80 this season, from about 150 last year, which he attributed to more houses being sold.
Currently, almost 50 properties are under agreement in Waltham, he said, making for a "healthy" sales scenario.
Like many agents, Martocchia believes buyers are starting to make decisions, and yet still pushing for the best deal.
"I don't discourage people from making offers," he said. "You can't ever close the door on anything."
