Back in March, as the nation’s economy was shut down because of the coronavirus, many were predicting the real estate market would face a major collapse. Some forecasts called for a 15-20% decline in transactions. However, six months later, it seems as though the housing market has fully recovered.

Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, announced last week:

“Since hitting a low point during the initial stages of the pandemic, the only major industry to display immunity to the economic impacts of the coronavirus is the housing market. Housing has experienced a strong V-shaped recovery and is now exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”

The Economic & Strategic Research Group at Fannie Mae upgraded its forecast for home sales last

Earlier this year, many economists and market analysts were predicting an apocalyptic financial downturn that would potentially rattle the U.S. economy for years to come. They immediately started to compare it to the Great Depression of a century ago. Six months later, the economy is still trying to stabilize, but it is evident that the country will not face the total devastation projected by some. As we continue to battle the pandemic, forecasts are now being revised upward. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) just reported

“The U.S. economy and labor market are recovering from the coronavirus-related downturn more quickly than previously expected, economists said in a monthly survey.

Business and academic economists polled by The Wall Street

As we head into autumn and a traditionally popular time to sell homes in the Boston area, Nick discusses trends in the market and how this year may be a bit different. He also gives tips for sellers looking to sell during this time and offers a golden piece of advice for buyers looking to make a purchase by the end of the year.

What are you seeing as far as market activity as we head into the fall of 2020?

So far, the fall market is off to an extremely fast start.  Our agents are busier than ever with both listings and buyers.  In Boston, our buyers have about 50% more inventory to choose from than at this time last year which is allowing some of them to finally have a chance to purchase in the city.  The pandemic has caused a lot of people to

Josh Stephens and the Moving Greater Boston Team recently achieved a huge milestone as they closed over $100 Million in career sales! This achievement comes after only 7 years in the business and working with numerous buyers, sellers, and investors throughout the Greater Boston area. This team has been recognized at both the local and national levels, achieving top awards for sales over the past few years. Last year, Josh and his team were awarded the prestigious Chairman’s Circle Platinum award for all of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. This recognizes agents that were in the top 1% for the year across a network of over 50,000 agents and teams.

In addition to hard work and a substantial referral network, Josh and his team credit their success to

Scarlett brings a passion and commitment to the Boston real estate market having been involved in the industry in some capacity her entire life. She has worked with buyers, sellers, renters, and investors throughout Greater Boston and provides award-winning service with a friendly personality and warm smile. Last year, she was included in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Leading Edge Society which honors the top 8% globally for the entire company. She credits her success to her experience and commitment to honest and consistent communication throughout the entire process.

A Few Questions with Scarlett:

How long have you been involved in Boston real estate?

I have been licensed over 7 years but been around real estate in some way my entire

One of the biggest surprises of 2020 is the resilience of the residential real estate market. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is now forecasting that more homes will sell this year than last year. He’s also predicting home sales to increase by 8-12% next year. There’s strong evidence that he will be right.

ShowingTime, a leading showing software and market stat service provider for the residential real estate industry, just reported on their latest the ShowingTime Showing Index:

“Home buyer traffic jumped again in July, recording a 60.7 percent year-over-year increase in nationwide showing activity.”

That means there are 60% more buyers setting appointments to see homes than there were at

The year 2020 will be remembered as one of the most challenging times of our lives. A worldwide pandemic, a recession causing historic unemployment, and a level of social unrest perhaps never seen before have all changed the way we live. Only the real estate market seems to be unaffected, as a new forecast projects there may be more homes purchased this year than last year.

As we come to the end of this tumultuous year, we’re preparing for perhaps the most contentious presidential election of the century. Today, it’s important to look at the impact past presidential election years have had on the real estate market.

Is there a drop-off in home sales during a presidential election year?

BTIG, a research and analysis company, looked at new

Today, Americans are moving for a variety of different reasons. The current health crisis has truly re-shaped our lifestyles and our needs. Spending extra time where we currently live is enabling many families to re-evaluate what homeownership means and what they find most important in a home.

According to Zillow:

“In 2020, homes went from the place people returned to after work, school, hitting the gym or vacationing, to the place where families do all of the above. For those who now spend the majority of their hours at home, there’s a growing wish list of what they’d change about their homes, if possible.” 

With a new perspective on homeownership, here are some of the top reasons people are reconsidering where they live and making

August is here and we hope you have been enjoying the wonderful weather and some outdoor time at home, on the Cape, or wherever you may be! This month, Nick takes a look at the Boston rental market and the changes being seen over the past few months. He also gives tips on how you can enjoy these wonderful summer days!

Over the past few months, we have seen some shifts in the rental market in and around Boston, can you talk a bit about this? 

The rental market here in Boston has taken a significant hit over the past few months.  As of today (August 17th) we have 4740 units currently on the market vs 1807 at the same time last year (per MLS).  This is an increase of 162.31%!  We now have 6.41 months of supply just sitting there vs 2.33 last

The news these days seems to have a mix of highs and lows. We may hear that an economic recovery is starting, but we’ve also seen some of the worst economic data in the history of our country. The challenge today is to understand exactly what’s going on and what it means relative to the road ahead. We’ve talked before about what experts expect in the second half of this year, and today that progress largely hinges upon the continued course of the virus.

A recent Wall Street Journal survey of economists noted, “A strong economic recovery depends on effective and sustained containment of Covid-19.” Given the uncertainty around the virus, we can also see what economists are forecasting for GDP in the third quarter of this year (see graph below):