A Self-Correcting Market In Massachusetts
The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. “Maybe next spring. With the key selling season for the real estate market nearing an end, the hoped-for rebound in Massachusetts home sales hasn’t materialized. Sales of single-family homes fell by as much as 9 percent in May from a year ago, accelerating from modest declines in April, according to data released yesterday.”
“‘There were a lot of high hopes pinned on this spring season,’ said Terry Egan, editor in chief at real estate data publisher Warren Group, ‘but these numbers tell us the longed-for recovery isn’t here yet.’”
“Yesterday Warren Group reported that over the first five months of 2007, single-family home sales are down 3 percent from the same period of 2006. Separately, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported a more modest decline of 1 percent for the same five-month period.”
“The Realtors association only tracks homes that are sold through real estate a gents, while Warren Group totals a larger pool of transactions that includes properties sold directly by owners.”
“Both groups said single-family home sales fell sharply in the month of May alone, with the Realtors reporting a 7.5 percent decline from a year ago and Warren Group a 9.1 percent drop. Warren Group said the median price tumbled 4.6 percent to $315,000 from $330,000.”
“Ronn Huth, a buyer’s broker in Wenham, said sales on the North Shore remain slow. Homes that sell are going for about 92 percent of original asking prices, he said. In one recent sale, Huth added, the seller probably lost money after paying commission and expenses.”
“‘I feel bad for owners like that,’ he said. ‘But buyers are getting some awfully good deals.’”
“Gus Faucher, who follows the Massachusetts economy at Moody’s Economy.com, said prices here would still be dropping into the first half of next year.”
“Inventories, while shrinking recently, remain high, Faucher said. Meanwhile, rising mortgage rates and tighter credit standards are reducing the number of buyers, dampening demand.”
“‘The housing market is still soft,’ Faucher said, ‘and it’s going to remain soft.’”
The Boston Herald. “Massachusetts house sales fell 9.1 percent in May when compared to year-ago levels. That’s the worst percentage drop in six months, and a far cry from a spring rebound brokers had hoped for amid fears housing’s woes could hurt the broader economy.”
“‘A lot of people had high hopes for the traditional spring market, but these figures clearly indicate those hopes haven’t materialized,’ said the Warren Group’s Timothy Egan.”
“Economist Raymond said in a note to clients that lower prices point to ‘ultimately broader problems for the (U.S.) economy.’”
“But economist John Bitner of Boston’s Eastern Bank said Massachusetts housing ‘is not crashing, just sliding lower.’ Bitner, who had previously forecast prices would stabilize this spring, now expects declines until winter.”
The Enterprise. “Rosa Malave put her house on the market last week, hoping for the success she failed to achieve a year ago. ‘Last year, the market was slow,’ said Malave, who took her Realtor’s advice and dropped the price more than 10 percent, listing it for under $300,000 in hopes of attracting a buyer.”
“The market is still slow, but Realtors say the right price and patience are keys to selling a home in today’s buyers’ market.”
“‘I’ve never seen so many listings on the market,’ said Diane Bruno of Fulton Real Estate in Brockton, who has been selling real estate for 35 years. ‘You’re lucky if you’re going to sell a house in 30 days. We used to get houses sold in a weekend.’”
“Today, the average market time is 161 days. That’s up slightly from 139 days a year ago and more in line with the three to six months that it took to sell a house in a traditional sustainable market, according to Peter Ruffini, president of the Plymouth and South Shore Board of Realtors Inc.”
“The market conditions that some see as a downturn are viewed by others as tempering the hectic real estate climate of the past few years.”
“‘We’re currently in a self-correcting market,’ said Sherry Palmer of Four Points Realty, West Bridgewater. ‘The values will correct themselves.’”
“Call it a market slump or correction, but consider the good news, said Bruno, whose phone has started ringing again after periods of silence when the market was slowest.”
“‘This time of year people are looking more, but they’re not jumping in like they used to,’ she said. ‘They want to see a lot more houses.’”
“And, there are more houses to see. Statistics provided by the Plymouth and South Shore Board of Realtors show that there are 2,687 single-family houses for sale in Plymouth County, down just slightly from 2,787 a year ago.”
“‘Frankly, I think people are nervous,’ said Rosen. ‘There’s so much negative news.’”
“‘I’ve seen some incentives in the form of a monetary bonus to the selling broker, a home warrantee paid by the seller,’ said Ruffini.”
“In some cases, sellers may ‘buy down’ a buyer’s interest rate for six months, he said. But the bottom line is, he said, ‘You can offer all the incentives in the world, if your home is overpriced, it’s not going to sell.’”
“With that in mind, Brockton homeowner Malave is optimistic that her house will sell this year and she can finally look to buying a condominium.”
“That may be a good move, since condominium prices are falling faster than those of single-family houses. That is directly related to a drop in condo sales, down 4.1 percent in the first four months of the year when 8,263 condos sold compared to 8,612 last year.”
“Lower sales prices mean dropping property values. ‘In condominiums, we’re seeing up to a 15 percent reduction in values,’ said Joyce Griffin, chairman of the Taunton Board of Assessors.”
‘Realtors reporting a 7.5 percent decline from a year ago and Warren Group a 9.1 percent drop. Warren Group said the median price tumbled 4.6 percent to $315,000 from $330,000.’
Long time readers will note that Massachusetts was already correcting over a year ago.
cape scrod started down fall of 04
kinda like 87
The Warren Group lets you see town-by-town stats for free on its site.
In May, median SFH prices in Cambridge, MA dropped YOY by….30%.
“The market is still slow, but Realtors say the right price and patience are keys to selling a home in today’s buyers’ market.”
Thank God for Realtors … they are ‘all knowing’. You can sleep better at night with their wisdom.
right price and patience? Right price should sell fast.
But then again, much patience might be required as buyer after potential buyer can’t qualify and deals die..
“But then again, much patience might be required as buyer after potential buyer can’t qualify and deals die.. ”
Right. A co-worker just “sold” her condo in Boston. I advised her to take the second best offer from a cash buyer — some rich guy buying it for his daughter. The co-worker took my advice, and it’s smooth sailing so far. HBB saves again!
Oh Ronny boy, you have not seen anything yet!
“‘I feel bad for owners like that,’ he said. ‘But buyers are getting some awfully good deals.’”
Just wait 9% off asking is good, oh you are going to be hating life soon.
“‘There were a lot of high hopes pinned on this spring season,’ said Terry Egan, editor in chief at real estate data publisher Warren Group, ‘but these numbers tell us the longed-for recovery isn’t here yet.’”
stoner logic…
“Maybe next spring.”
goes with “maybe next time I buy a lotto ticket”……
And next spring - “Maybe next spring.”
“Maybe next spring.”
They said that here on the central coast of California, and look what happened…inventories INCREASED.
“Hey, wait a minute, that’s not better!”
Where is Kimberly Blanton? (The Boston Globe reporter who ket saying what a great time to buy until 2 months ago. Or she was saying how a bailout was needed for FB’s). Maybe she got tired of being called to the table on her bogus numbers. After all, She is a “Beautiful Person”
After all, She is a “Beautiful Person”
The women are all beautiful here in Mazzholeland.
If you don’t believe it, just ask them, errr….I’m sorry, they won’t speak to you unless you have a full head of hair, live in Brookline or Newton and are drivin’ a CL5000 Benz.
What…..Don’t tell me that you do not find 330 gross free weight BBW women extremely attractive!… After all that seems to be the average weight of the average female in MA. If not they are 10-15 years old and come in at around 180-250! Ma has a severe shortage of attractive young women. That is why I married a foreigner, that is 110Lbs wet, goes to the jim 3 times a week, and looks very good. MA women just can’t compete….
Yuck.
“Ma has a severe shortage of attractive young women. ”
An overall shortage of attractive people in general, at least compared to NYC and Long Island. Sorry if I offend…
Actually MA has one of the lowest rates of obesity in the nation, which is not to say that we are as thin as we ought to be.
Of course, a lot of the 330 lb. *men* think that a woman who weighs more than 120 pounds isn’t worth their time. Maybe that’s why we have such a low marriage rate, too
What is amazing is that people are still buying. I do not understand what would compell them to place their financial bodies on the railroad while they see the train coming? Are they mentally inept, or just part of that 80% of the population that believes that they are smarter than the average?
They buy because prices are lower than they were a year ago, so they think they are getting deals. Apparently, they have no clue what houses cost seven years ago.
One of my roommates recently moved out because he and his girlfriend bought a place. He spewed one of the typical cliches: “It makes sense to buy.”
I have always been puzzled when unmarried couples buy a house together. They have yet to made a commitment to each other, but have no problem being co-borrowers on a house.
Yeah, truly backassward. Seems in my son’s crowd (20-somethings) the M-word is akin to emotional suicide - it’s far easier to commit to a home mortgage, buy furniture, and creat a ‘living arraingement’ than commit to a person emotionally. And then do this two or three times, all the while wondering why relationships don’t last!
I have wondered that as well. It seems to be rather popular with my age group (late 20’s/early 30’s). I had some neighbors and their good friends were in this situation and then broke up, it was extremely messy. Especially since they had both sold their old places to buy a place together. I even know some that have the house AND the kids, but no marriage. To me that is seriously playing with fire.
Marriage doesn’t guarantee anything. When my parents divorced, we ended up losing the house.
I don’t even talk real estate at work. I would say everyone believes prices will only go up. At one point I asked what effect all the foreclosures and tightening credit standards might have and they just respond that there are plenty of potential buyers in CA who do not rely on credit for everything. I wonder just how many potential buyers have 600K tucked away? I have heard in the very high price markets this is true and is reflected in the widening gap between rich and poor, but what about the young family looking for that starter on $70K a year?
The only things that are going to put a $70K per year family in a position to pay cash for $600K house are winning the lottery and or the early and well-insured deaths of one or both sets of grandparents.
You have to realize that the majority of the population is clueless about what is going on. Not until it becomes personal will they then understand, unfortunately that will be just too late for them.
“CNNMoney.com
Out of touch with realty reality
Despite turmoil in the housing markets that includes record foreclosure numbers, mortgage rate increases and home price depreciation, homeowners don’t believe there’s a real estate slump, according to a new poll. Most - 55 percent - are confident that their homes continued to increase in value compared with a year ago…
Exactly.
A friend of my wife recently called and in passing conversation mentioned that her and her husband were seriously considering buying a home in Orange county. My wife immediately put her on the phone with me at which point I proceeded to regurgitate everything that I had learned from this blog over the last few years. I told her that I could guarantee that this was going to be the worst financial decision of their lives. Needless to say, I scared the hell out of her and she said that she would wait. She just didn’t know what was going on in the market. Prior to speaking with myself, the only other people they spoke with were “Realtors”, and typical Orange county residents who either: “own” and think their house couldn’t possibly drop in value, or people who rent and think that they are being left behind.
As a side: I showed my office mate the list (that I got from this blog) showing the median values for our city dropping by over 17% this year. He had this painful look on his face (he bought in 2005) Next, he proceed to try and make himself feel better by telling me that he wasn’t going to move for at least a year from now (if at all). I was thinking: yeah, like you have a choice now. After that he asked me when I was going to “jump into the market”; I just laughed at him.
I would like to offer one alternate possibility, perhaps more like a fantasy.
Imagine the US public actually knows what is going to happen - collapsing prices in a climate of extremely tight borrowing - proof of income, 20% or more downpayments, paying down other debts before getting approved. Then imagine people with an extreme bias towards owning for emotional rather than “real estate is the best way to get rich” reasons. If a person with huge debts and no chance of paying them down or off never mind saving for a downpayment or rainy day fund, sees prices down and the lending climate just about to tell him that he can’t borrow money at all, then it might make sense to get in now before being “FICO’ed” out forever.
Of course, JQ public isn’t really that well informed, but this is at least a plausible reason to buy now.
Could be true for someone who only has a good FICO thru one of the rating rental schemes (paying to be listed on someone else’s cc to raise your score). Fair Issac is nixing this loophole in Sept.
No they are stupider than average. These people buy without researching the housing market, the area sales or anything else. All they want to know is how much their payment will be “today”.
Maybe next spring ?
Try the spring of 2009
and “Hope springs eternal.”
It is amazing how many real estate “experts” do understand the fundamental relationships between price, income, rent and affordability. 9% off, 20%, yadda yadda… the only thing that matters is whether it make more financial sense to buy vs. rent.
Funny thing is….the majority here believe that the MSM has been candy coating the depth and scope of the true issue. However in RA land it is the media’s fault we are in this mess, it has nothing to do with exotic loans, fraud, greed, bubble economics, appraisers, RA, NAR propaganda, or the Fed.
‘There’s so much negative news.’”
Yeah, so much negative news, just wait you aint seen anything yet on the negative tip.
They had no problem with the media when things were going up.
The term ” correction ” as applied to economic markets always amused me.
If things ” correct ” now & then, what is the usual state:
” Incorrect ” ?!?
( America has become such a wussified, afraid of its own shadow country. We cant or wont even use the term ” drop ” or ” lowered’ or ” fell ” in price , so afraid of spooking the consumer herd. )
Like as in, sliding into home plate… out by a mile~
“But economist John Bitner of Boston’s Eastern Bank said Massachusetts housing ‘is not crashing, just sliding lower.’ Bitner, who had previously forecast prices would stabilize this spring, now expects declines until winter.”
Maybe John is our long lost pal beaconst?
I saw Shiller on PBS last night. He mentioned that Boston was a leader in the housing bubble and that prices there are showing an uptick. When pressed for long term recovery dates … he mumbled and had no conviction in his voice.
I saw that too. I was really with him up until that point.
But I think that Shiller was holding something back, didn’t you?
Maybe he owns a couple condos in Beacon Hill.
Dead cat bounce? MA unemployment went UP again… It still has not recovered from the unemployment after the dot con crash, yet it had one of the most bubblicious RE markets in the country. This place is set to crash hard, and return to below mean even harder. Once those ossifed great gen start kicking the bucket, then you will see that very few people really want to live in their houses, with 100 year old cabling, no insulation, horse hair plaster, lead paint, pipes, and tin ceilings that are pealing, or have been replaced by hanging ceilings. (yuck) and closed in architecture…. (20 rooms in 1200 square feet of space)
I think Boston is returning to the mean. In the Case-Shiller 20-city composite, only four cities–Detroit, Tampa, Washington, and San Diego–have worse YOY declines. And while Boston is quite bubblicious, it wasn’t quite as bad as D.C., San Diego, and Tampa. So it was inevitable that there would be slight uptick.
There was no “uptick” or “tickup” in Boston. Prices and sales dropped YOY. There was a slight, slight rise from April, but that’s seasonality; it happens every year.
There’s no uptick in my area, just one new for sale sign after another.
He was on Bloomberg yesterday and I believe the video is still up there. He said he noticed a “tick up” in Boston and it could be a glimmer of hope. OTOH, he also mentioned that he still thought it would take 5 years for the market to recover. I think he was just bringing it up in case he’s wrong. But I don’t think he’s wrong about being bearish on the overall market.
everyone is keeping those 05 numbers undercover and going w the 06 for comps
“but these numbers tell us the longed-for recovery isn’t here yet.”
Uhhh… aren’t we still precipitiously close to the peak of home prices?
With 16 more months of sub-prime ARM resets still to come.
OT but have you guys seen this??
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14252223/site/newsweek/
The only problem is that many of us predicted that this would happen at the bottom, and I don’t think we are there yet, GREAT JOB Ben!!!!
Nice!
A little recognition never hurt.
Great interview Ben.
The recognition is justly deserved.
You can take your kudos as being the contemporary Paul Revere
of the US housing bust.
This is how I found this Blog. I felt like I was the only one that could see what was going on, It was nice to find I wasn’t alone. Thanks Ben.
Way to go Ben! You earned it!
I read these articles and just shake my head. Why is any of this surprising? Are peoples’ memories really so short that they cannot remember life (and economics) pre-bubble?
Welcome to the Eloi States of America…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eloi
Watch out for Morlocks~
eastcoaster, people over the centuries forget bubbles like the South Sea Bubble, Mississippi Company, Bank of France, Credit Mobiliere, Drew-Fisk-Vanderbilt battles over the Erie Railroad, The “Gold Corner”, The Bankers Panic of 1907, The S&L Bailout……bubbles continue and they just get bigger.
I imagine in the future someone will look back and write about what is happening now.
They prefer not to. After all, in pre bubble times they couldn’t live high off the hog with HELOC money.
A great example: there are more than a few Disney themepark fan websites. Many bloggers there wax about how they won’t stay any other than Disney’s most expensive hotels ($300 per night and up), and that they don’t understand why anyone would stay at a lesser hotel (heaven forbid you stay at a Best Western). I remind those people that not everyone has a 6 figure income. It turns out that most of the “resort snobs” have very median, middle class incomes. At first I wondered “what the hey, I make low 6 figures and we can’t afford to stay at the Grand Californian”. Then it sunk in: these people are using HELOC money.
HELOC money is my birthright! I am an American, dammit!! Does anyone know a good appraiser?
Does anyone know a good appraiser?
Tony Soprano’s, “Victor”. He’ll punch the number you want.
That and credit cards. People seem to think that borrowing money at 20%+ is just a dandy idea for stuff like vacations, toys, etc…
We had neighbors that took themselves, their 4 kids, and a babysitter to Disney and always stayed at the Grand Floridian. Either had to have 2 rooms or a large suite. They’re bankrupt and divorced now. We always stayed at the lower priced on site hotels and we now have a paid off house and our finances and marriage are still in tact. Keeping up with the Jones’ can wreck more than your bank account.
My parents never took me to Disneyland. It was too far away to justify driving or flying there. (We lived in Western PA at the time.)
Then, when Disney World opened, I was a teenager, and had no interest in such things. Too baby-ish.
A major market segment at WDW are adults without kids.
When I was 10 in 1987, after my father got a big promotion and raise, we went to Disney World. Despite the extra money, my parents were still very money-conscious. We drove down there from New Jersey and stayed at a Holiday Inn on Route 1, next to a Waffle House, maybe 15 minutes from the park. My brother and I had a great time.
I was a Knotts Berry Farm angeleno, growing up…
About every other weekend my family would go there for chicken dinner and we’d go on the one ride and hang out at the round-up amphitheater, where I saw Marty Robbins maybe a dozen times…
Good memories.
I never understood why anyone would stay at a deluxe Disney resort (unless they are truly wealthy). You go there for the parks. At DisneyWorld it makes sense to stay on property just because of the size of the place, but at least they do have cheaper lodging. In Anaheim I think that you have to be crazy (or have lots of money to burn) to stay at one of the Disney hotels. Some of the motels on Harbor Blvd are closer to the parks than the Disneyland Hotel.
“History is a race between education and catastrophe.”
H.G. Wells
“‘There were a lot of high hopes pinned on this spring season,’ said Terry Egan, editor in chief at real estate data publisher Warren Group, ‘but these numbers tell us the longed-for recovery isn’t here yet.’”
High expectations based on what?
Your local Re-al-ta-whore (trademark) opinion of the market, that the sucker pool hasn’t been fished out yet?
Mazzholeland and most of New England is a dead end for the next generation of workers.
The whole place is pure ossification.
If you’re middle class with kids nobody wants you.
The only way towns survive is to property tax the bejesus out of Greatest Gen and older boomers who acquiese simply because they bought on the cheap and can afford the assessments.
The place is a bastion of rudeness, arrogance, and denial.
Anybody wanting to put down roots here needs to have their head examined.
“Ronn Huth, a buyer’s broker in Wenham, said “…buyers are getting some awfully good deals.’”
I can’t stand it when people in the real estate business characterize the lower prices people are paying these days as ‘good deals’. Only compared to the super-inflated, ridiculous prices people were paying up until 2005.
What….doesn’t it make sense? You take a house and subtract 10% and BLAMO you got killer savings on this house that was overvalued 120%.
RA are so trustworthy and smart! I think if you want good TV the next reality TV should take some unemployed RAs and put them on an island together, the scheming and the lies would be such great entertainment. I will call it Realtor Island, only thing is they are alerady conditioned to eat Top Ramen for weeks on end and keep a smile.
Killer savings? How about when your realtor says you got a “killer deal” ? A few months/years later, you find out exactly who was getting killed.
‘Sweet deals’ is the actual new terminology - good deals are old school.
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
Lewis Caroll
I’m beginning to muse that a possible result of the collaspe of the housing bubble will be real estate agents being viewed with the same warmth and respect as used-car salesmen. Imagine the anger and bile needing a place to light - and it finding the entire R.e. profession a suitable target. N.A.R. - Never Another Realtor
Did that happen after the last RE crash? Memories are short. In any event, I wasn’t aware that RE agents were ever held in particularly high regard.
I can recall my parents having a dim view of real estate agents when I was a child. And that was 40 years ago.
They’re already viewed that way by me.
I think their portrayal on TV is what makes them viewed as professionals and needed. However, there have been other professions that have gone extinct once people realized they are useless and shills and actually part of the problem. Until then look for them on TLC and in Ads and Bravo spewing their art.
“will be real estate agents being viewed with the same warmth and respect as used-car salesmen”
What do you mean “will be”?
Come on, you guys. Don’t you know that agents are people too? You’re gonna hurt their feelings. Remember that home buying is an experience, kinda like Monopoly money.
Seeing a few “short sale” listings in my ziprealty area. Pics invariably include big-ass flat screen in living room. You really have to laugh. 3/2 crackerbox down to $550k now. Another 50% off, i might be interested…
Mind sharing the area. I am in Middlesex county MA and where I am things appear to be moving but then I am in a good school district. I am hoping to see a correction here too…
http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20070627_juneroundup.htm
Isn’t it great that we have scientists with a clear vision of the future?:
“Frightening Prediction
Here’s a scary thought: By the year 2057, the average home in the Washington, D.C., region is likely to cost more than $14 million. No, that’s not a typo — $14 million!
According to study by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, an association of 21 jurisdictions, the average price of a house 50 years from now would be almost 12 times the projected average household income. Currently, homes in the area cost roughly 3.5 times the average regional household income.”
I wonder what advanced scientific method they used? A ruler lined up with data from 1995, 2000 and 2005?
Woo-hoo !!! I’m going to be a millionaire, 14 times over, when I’m 95 !!!
$14 million ..Sheesh…We better buy one Now!..No wait..2 or 3 !
Kids….STOP picking those funky strawberries and get the rest of the family…We’re moving on up to Washington, DC
‘I wonder what advanced scientific method they used? A ruler lined up with data from 1995, 2000 and 2005?’
Works out to about 5 % price growth YOY. Yes, so what will everything cost 50 years from now? Maybe we will having those flying cars by then, so living out in podunk Pennsylvania and commuting to DC will be reality, ha ha ha.
Homes that sell are going for about 92 percent of original asking prices
That was the rule of thumb in the previous dump. 92% was the exact figure. That assumed that the asking price was in line with the market, however.
Stocks flat as higher oil offsets weak econ data”
I’m getting confused - how is higher oil and lousy durable goods a good thing ?
“I never understood why anyone would stay at a deluxe Disney resort (unless they are truly wealthy). ”
I never understood why the lemmings follow one another off the cliff to visit Disney World or Disneyland.
“Ronn Huth, a buyer’s broker in Wenham, said sales on the North Shore remain slow. Homes that sell are going for about 92 percent of original asking prices, he said. In one recent sale, Huth added, the seller probably lost money after paying commission and expenses.”
“‘I feel bad for owners like that,’ he said. ‘But buyers are getting some awfully good deals.’”
Buyers Broker? Good deal??????
Boy you need to eductae yourself on prices.
“But economist John Bitner of Boston’s Eastern Bank said Massachusetts housing ‘is not crashing, just sliding lower.’ Bitner, who had previously forecast prices would stabilize this spring, now expects declines until winter.”
Another dopey expert calling another bottom next spring. These clowns get a paycheck?
“‘I’ve seen some incentives in the form of a monetary bonus to the selling broker, a home warrantee paid by the seller,’ said Ruffini.”
and another 20% off asking for me!
Can any of you Bostonians give me some opinions on the Cambridge area & market?
I’ll be moving there from CA next year…is the market over-inflated there and would it be wise to rent or buy?
I live in the suburbs of Boston/Cambridge and Boston/Cambridge is hyper inflated. If it matters to you, Cambridge is also a liberal bastion - kind of like the SF of the East.
Rent. It has been cheaper to rent in Boston since 2002. The only issue is if you have a small child, most of the housing stock has not been deleaded. If so, get a broker to negotiate for you (either to find a lead-free apt, or to get you into a safe but not deleaded one).
I agree with Tulkinghorn. Deleaded apartments/houses are unsafe as the lead is now spread all around the house, in the carpets, in the radiators, etc.
Our house was built in the 50’s and has lead paint under many layers of safer paint. Our pediatrician feels this is OK, as long as nothing is peeling/chipping. A pediatric nurse from another practice agreed. Also some kids put more stuff in their mouths than others.
Thanks for those tips about the paint..I didn’t think about that! I do have a 6 month old so I’ll have to keep that in mind. I’m coming from the SF area (silicon valley actually) so I’m already used to the high cost of living and liberals
I wouldn’t mind buying something but if the price runup has been anything like CA I’ll pass.
Also with lead paint - not only your house, but other houses you may visit will likely have lead - lead paint tastes sweet, so if a child finds it - and puts it in their mouth - they will continue to put paint chips in their mouth.
Housing market related - I think there was an increase in children with lead toxicity in MA and RI b/c of all the renovations that were being done. Powder from paint being blasted or removed can be inhaled - not so much a problem for adults, but for children can be very toxic for their developing neurons.
Housing is very expensive in Cambridge, and is going down in price. A wall street journal article profiled a couple in Cambridge - they sold for 30% less then they paid a couple of years previous. Can’t remember exactly when the article was published.
You can check housing prices online - type in google registry of deeds and the county you are looking for, and you can see what people have paid for their “investment”.