Towns and neighborhoods where sellers still rule
OK, you have been hearing it's a buyers' market for years now.
But here in Greater Boston, while that's true for some towns and neighborhoods, it's definitely not for others.
Yes, prices are starting to fall again. Even here in the perpetually overpriced Boston housing market, a growing number of sellers are starting to take it on the chin.
Yet while we are catching up, the Hub is still behind the national curve when it comes falling home values. Prices have fallen 27 percent nationally from peak, compared to 17 to 22 percent locally, according to various estimates.
And in some coveted towns and zip codes, frustrated buyers and cocky sellers can legitimately feel as if not much has changed since 2005.
Some of the the trendier enclaves in Cambridge and Somerville come to mind - Davis Square for one.
One of my favorite long-running exchanges in the comments section of this blog is between franksmartin, an unabashed cheerleader for home ownership in general and the value of Davis Square real estate in particular, and some of our more hardened commentators.
OK, Frank takes a lot of abuse - and yes, at times he does seem to get stuck on a single note.
Yet whether inflated or not, Davis Square prices don't appear to be going down all that fast. Check out this listing at 8 Kingston St. - would you pay nearly $1 million for this?
Of course, there are an array of such pockets across Greater Boston - pick a community everyone seems to want to live in around here, whether it's Lexington, Weston or Cambridge, and there are price points where sellers hold all the cards.
If you are looking to break in below the median in one of these towns, the competition can be as fierce as ever, I found recently.
Once you get inside Route 128, the number of homes, new or not, in good condition and listed at less than stratospheric prices starts to dry up pretty quickly.
Is your town or neighborhood still a sellers' market? If so, I am taking nominations now.
