Happy New Year 2014! Thank you 2013...Real Estate

We’ve had a turbulent real estate year in 2013. Home buyers faced incredible challenges in our marketplace. The slower than average home volume at the close of 2012 continued into to 2013, making buying a home much more challenging.

I know from experience, the difficulty my clients experienced in buying their home, in a very competitive market. In Arlington, Belmont, Lexington and Watertown, home buyers were not only competing with strong mortgage financed competitors, but also a growing number of “cash” buyers.

Home builders were competing for older homes to be replaced by renovated or new construction. Multi-family properties in Cambridge continued to drive their marketplace. One of my clients offered a very fair price on a $1,185,000. The home closed for $1,580,000; selling 25% over list price wasn’t the norm, but selling well over list was. Desirable single family homes in Arlington were selling $40-80,000 over  list price. In Belmont, bidding wars often ended with disappointed buyers, hoping that another property would come along. Lexington properties in the $850,000-1,100,000 range didn’t last long, often met with cash buyers, eager to make a purchase.

As the Spring season moved along, the Summer continued to provide angst for many consumers. The need for properties continued and with rising interest rates, buyers grew more concerned.  In a area with few homes available deep into the Fall, home sellers remained reluctant to sell their properties. Understandable, considering some were down-sizers and concerned about finding suitable housing for themselves.

It’s now December 31st, and New Years looming in the hours to come… Last week, hopefully started a trend for my clients and for the many home buyers in search of a new home. A client closed on condo in Brookline  last week(their holiday gift), another one finally received an accepted offer on a Watertown home and I just returned from taking a client to see an attractive condo in Arlington.

Happy New Year to all of you and I wish you all Health Happiness and Success in all that you do!