Advertisement

Concerns The Hot Mass. Housing Market Is A New Bubble

28:36
Download Audio
Resume
This chart shows single-family home and condominium sales in Massachusetts from 2010 through June 2013. (The Warren Group)
This chart shows single-family home and condominium sales in Massachusetts from 2010 through June 2013. (The Warren Group)

The housing market is heating up in Massachusetts. Many real estate watchers say homes are being snapped up days or even hours after hitting the market, often above asking price and without conditions such as a home inspection.

Some buyers say they have been boxed out of buying homes as bidding wars take over in some cities, making it hard for them to compete with cash-only offers.

New data from real-estate tracking firm The Warren Group prepared specifically for WBUR (see chart below) shows that a significant percentage of single family homes and condos are being purchased in cash. In June, 11 percent of single-family homes sales were completed without mortgages, down from nearly 25 percent in April. On the condo market, more than 28 percent of sales in June were all cash, down from a high of almost 50 percent in December 2012.

We look at what the booming housing market means for the Massachusetts economy, for home sellers and buyers and whether the Bay State is heading toward a mini housing bubble.

Guests

Tim Warren, chief executive officer of real eastate publisher The Warren Group

Barry Bluestone, the Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy and founding director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University

Ellen Friedman, a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty in Cambridge

Gabrielle Daniels, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Sudbury.

More

The Boston Globe Are We Creating The Next Housing Bubble?

2012 Housing Report Card: The latest report on the Massachusetts housing market from Northeastern University's Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.

June Bay State Home Sales: The Warren Group's latest report on home sales and prices in Massachusetts.

Thoughts On Multiple Offers: Daniels' advice for buyers when trying to stand out among multiple offers on a property.

This segment aired on July 25, 2013.

Advertisement

More from Radio Boston

Listen Live
Close