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Here in the land of perpetually overpriced homes, drunk on a little good news

Posted by Scott Van Voorhis  August 28, 2009 09:00 AM
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OK, so home prices appear to be edging up here in the Bay State after hitting bottom this winter amid fears that we were headed for another Great Depression.

It may turn out to be the turnaround we’ve all been waiting for, but it’s a bounce after a very long and hard fall.

But many homeowners around here apparently believe the days of haggling with bargain hunting buyers are now officially over, according to a recently released survey of local Realtors by HomeGain.

Wow, that’s sure one quick turnaround

All told, nearly half of Massachusetts homeowners believe their castles should be listed for 10-20 percent more than what their brokers are recommending, the survey finds.

That’s up from 31 percent in the second quarter, according to HomeGain.

But home buyers, not surprisingly from the comments I often see on this blog, take a much different view.

Just 6 percent think homes are fairly priced, down from an already measly 31 percent in the second quarter.

A whopping 65 percent now believe homes are overpriced by 10-20 percent, up from 35 percent in the second quarter.

Still, here’s a bright spot for liberal thinkers out there.

Our local Realtors are much bigger fans of President Obama than their counterparts nationally, with 59 percent either approving or strongly approving of his performance.

I had some fun the other day with the national results, with just 42 percent of Realtors across the country giving our new president the thumbs up.

The outraged comments by Realtors out in the hinterlands of Texas were even better.

Apologies to our local real estate folks, who have much better sense than that.

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About boston real estate now
Scott Van Voorhis is a freelance writer who specializes in real estate and business issues.
Rona Fischman is a buyer's agent who provides a look at the local housing scene, from basements to attics.
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