Home loans: Nobody's buying in Massachusetts

Home loans are getting refinanced – when they're not underwater – but few people are applying for new ones, as Massachusetts home sales continue to drop.

|
SoldAtTheTop / The Paper Economy
Home sales (blue line) continue to drop in Massachusetts. They're always lower in the winter – few people apply for new home loans to buy snow-covered houses – but now sales are more than 30% lower than they were this time last year (pink bars).

Recently the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for November showing that single family homes sales slumped 5.5% on a month-to-month basis from October leaving sales a hideous 31.5% below the level seen in November 2009.

Similarly, condos went flat from October but declined a whopping 38.7% below the level seen in November 2009.

The S&P/Case-Shiller (CSI) Boston index indicated that area single family home prices declined a notable 1.23% between September and October 2010 with values registering a year-over-year decline of 0.23%, the first annual decline in eleven months.

As for condos, the Boston condo CSI indicated area unit values declined 1.00% between September and October 2010 with values showing a slight year-over-year gain of 0.33%.

Obviously the government's sham housing tax gimmick worked to drive sales last year and further, in the absence of this scam, scores of hapless Bostonians have crept back to the sidelines all downhearted, empty pockets... no deposit... no government freebie... no phony baloney house purchase.

Where the trends will go from here should be pretty obvious... back to the weak "organic" trend that preceded the government's malfeasance... subdued home sales and lower prices.

As in months past, be on the lookout for the inflation adjusted charts produced by BostonBubble.com for an even more accurate "real" view of the current home price movement.

Add/view comments on this post.

------------------------------

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Home loans: Nobody's buying in Massachusetts
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Paper-Economy/2011/0104/Home-loans-Nobody-s-buying-in-Massachusetts
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us