Mitchell Properties LLC has recently opted to allow prospective tenants to sign 9-12 month leases with the option to sign a “lease to purchase contract” to contribute rent towards a future purchase at the new 700 Harrison condo development in Boston's South End. These new released rental units are moving fast - since last week, four units were rented after being on the market for only three days. Read more:700 Harrison Luxury Boston Rentals 11/26/2008

The Boston Metropolitan Area showed a 5.7 percent decline in home prices in September compared to September 2007, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a monthly report that tracks U.S. home prices in 20 metropolitan areas. Only Charlotte (3.5 percent), Dallas (2.7 percent) and Denver (5.4 percent) had smaller price declines.Phoenix was the weakest market, reporting an annual decline of 31.9 percent, followed by Las Vegas, down 31.3 percent, and San Francisco, which saw a drop of 29.5 percent. Miami, Los Angeles, and San Diego did not fair much better with annual price declines of 28.4 percent, 27.6 percent and 26.3 percent, respectively. Read The S&P/Case-Shiller Press Release 11/26/2008

Many consumers,  savvy and otherwise are a little confused as to why mortgage rates are not lower than where they are.  Today you can get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.875% with no points and don't get me wrong that is a phenomenal rate historically.  But if you look at where banks are borrowing at you would expect that rate to be significantly lower.  This does have a lot to do with supply and demand and I don't mean the general public's demand for low mortgage rates.  I am referring to Wall St's appetite for mortgage backed securities.  But I will give you an easier example to consider: Let's say you are a bank.  And you can now borrow money at a true historic low rate of 1.25% which is the Fed Funds rate.  You can then turn around and lend to borrowers at 5.875% so they can buy ... 11/24/2008

When Berkeley Investments Inc., local Boston restaurateur Barbara Lynch, and Mayor Thomas Menino broke ground at the mixed-use FP3 condo development on Friday, April 20, 2007, the project was heralded as the new luxury baseline in the Fort Point Channel. More than a year and a half later, the development is now a reality, but the 92 residential loft-style condos are not moving off the market. Read more: FP3 Boston Condo Sales. 11/21/2008

What, declining prices and low interest rates are not good enough reasons to buy a home? Need another reason to break up with the landlord and buy your own place? Boston Area rents increased 4.2 percent over the past year, The Boston Globe reported October 29, 2008. It was the largest increase in rents in seven years. "Average monthly rent in the metropolitan area increased to $1,659 in the third quarter, from $1,592 a year earlier, according to a report from Reis Inc., a New York research firm that tracks rents for apartments in buildings with at least 40 units. Boston's increase exceeded the national rise of 3.5 percent, Reis said." The report blames foreclosures with putting more people in the rental market and increasing demand. Ginnie Mae has a buy v. rent calculator to help consum... 11/16/2008

On the southeast corner of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue (above Best Buy), the 360 Newbury development greets Boston's Back Bay residents with a sleek concierge-served lobby off of a Newbury Street entrance, and condos boast downtown skyline views, and high-end finishes and fixtures.  We've put together a look at 2008 Boston 360 Newbury condo sales statistics.  There's less turnover in the 54 loft-style unit building than one would think. 11/14/2008

If you or a client of yours needs to purchase and move into a condo almost immediately, our list of move-in ready luxury Boston condo developments narrows down the choices for you. The typical one to three month real estate transaction life cycle is sometimes too lengthy for Buyers who need to move in quickly, situations like this can be specifically addressed by new construction condo developments that have been completed (a certificate of occupancy has been issued), and there are available units in the building still owned by the developer. 11/11/2008

Downtown Boston offers close to 50 different condo developments with in-house concierge services, a trait found in high-end luxury buildings. We're bringing you a comprehensive list of Boston condos for sale with concierge services (alphabetical order): 210 South Street (Leather District) 285 Columbus Lofts (Back Bay) 360 Newbury (Back Bay) 44 Prince Street (North End) 45 Province (Midtown) 75 Clarendon Street (South End) Albert A. Pope Building (Back Bay) Atelier 505 (South End) Battery Wharf (Waterfront) Boston W Hotel & Condos (Midtown) Broadluxe (Financial District) Burroughs Wharf (Waterfront) Channel Center (Seaport District) Charles River Park (West End) Constellation Wharf (Charlestown ) Court Square Press (South Boston) D4 Police Station (South End) Dockside Place Condominiums ... 11/10/2008

The Rose Kennedy Greenway | Boston, Massachusetts Stretching from the Zakim Bridge to Chinatown in the heart of downtown Boston, The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, a 14 acre park complete with fountains, greenery, trees and sculptures rejoins the city with the historic Boston Harbor waterfront and Boston's newest neighborhood, The Seaport District. Anyone lucky enough to become a resident along the Greenway, whether it be in the North End, Chinatown, Financial District or waterfront or the nearby Seaport district, is sure to enjoy themselves and the beauty of Boston even more, due to these incredible aesthetic and engineering improvements. Other condo buildings, either new construction or recent conversions, have recently opened their doors in time to take full advantage of the area... 11/10/2008

After opening to the public in late 2007, the Philippe Starck designed redevelopment of Boston's D4 Police Station in the heart of the South End can now boast of having a resale condo in the 25-unit boutique luxury development. Fitted with all of the upgrades and amenities, unit 11 was listed for sale several days ago.  The 798 square foot one-bedroom one-bathroom condo with a small outdoor terrace and a tandem garage parking space is listed at $729,000 ($914 per square foot).  Condo fees are approximately $651 per month. For more information about unit 11, see First Resale at D4 Condos For more information about the development itself, see Boston D4 Condos 11/05/2008

Our recent look at the movement in the South End condo market of downtown Boston demonstrates that the sheer number of condos being sold has absolutely decreased over the past year, however, other pertinent data points paint a unique picture. Perhaps most notably, it's a picture of the survival of the fittest, in that the condos that are being listed for sale are commanding excellent sales to original list price ratios, staying on the market for a shorter amount of time, and overall, there is a smaller amount of inventory.  Get an in depth look at our most recent featured article on Boston South End condo statistics, including a 5 year historically analysis along with corresponding charts. 11/04/2008

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts once a stagnant pool of water behind the public garden, is now one of the most exclusive areas of Boston. A stroll down Newbury St. will take you from high fashion to hip ice cream parlors, and a walk back up Commonwealth Ave. will let you take in some of the most elegant townhouses in the city. With its rows of historic homes and a vibrant commercial district to boot, Back Bay is an elegant and exciting place to live. Visit Virtual Homes virtual community website at http://www.backbaymahomes.com/ for real estate information. To view communities in Massachusetts visit MA Real Estate and to search the Massachusetts MLS visit MA MLS and view properties through a map based search.  In other states, visit http://www.virtualhomes.com. Visit NH real estate comm... 10/30/2008

The City of Boston has an Assessing Department that is responsible for accurately determining the value of all real and personal property located within the City for the purpose of taxation. The City takes the assessed value of a condo and applies a residential tax rate to it to determine gross tax bills. The City of Boston publishes a residential tax rate table to help guide you in estimating your taxes based on your assessed home value. For 2008, for every $1,000 of assessed value in your condo, you are taxed $10.99. For more information, visit the Boston Condo Blog to learn how to estimate Boston property taxes for a $515,000 condo. 10/28/2008

Since launching SharpBuyers.com in August 2007 I have been trying to juggle being a fulltime traditional broker wile trying to build a successful discount brokerage. While a broker can manage both methods simultaneously, I have decided it makes no sense to continue to do so. I am going %100 discount on the listing side and buyers side. Originally I had planned on working with my base clients as a traditional broker while focusing my marketing efforts on advertising discount techniques to attract new customers.  To truly grow my business I decided to inform everyone of the new services that I would be offering through SharpBuyers.com and Mungo List. Most Realtors may feel that I am selling out, but the reality is the discount approach allows me to successfully service more clients in a m... 10/18/2008

In an effort to be knowledgebale of our current market, I weekly pull the market statistics in Watertown, Belmont, Arlington, Newton, Waltham, Brighton and Allston. Below are the market statistics in Brighton, Massachusetts for Single Families, Condominiums and Multi-Families. I will be posting Brighton, MA market statistics weekly on Wednesdays. As you can see there has been depreciation year-to-date in all the housing categories, but it is not as bad as the media would have you believe. The sharpest decline has been in multi-familes, which has dropped 6% since 2007. However, the multi-families are still selling at about the same pace as last year which can not be said for single families and condominiums. Inventory is down in all three housing categories with the largest decline being... 10/15/2008

  I wanted to take a second and thank all the people that have helped and made this launch possible. BOSTON/PRNewswire/ Think of urban living, and lofts are likely the first homes that come to mind. There's a reason for this: Lofts are one of the fastest-growing real estate trends, thanks to their versatility, their central location and the live-work movement. Now, thanks to the new Lofts.com (http://www.lofts.com), Boston loft renters, buyers and sellers are more connected to the loft lifestyle than ever. Launching first in Boston with plans to move into New York next, Lofts.com aims to be the hub of the city's booming loft market. "Our philosophy is simple: We'll use our passion for and knowledge of lofts to help our clients find their dream lofts," explained Lofts.com president Shuk... 10/10/2008

For the month of September, year on year Boston Condo sales have declined 7.5% while condo values have only dipped 2.6%. The numbers are as follows:                        2008                2007 Volume            258                  279                  -7.5% Median Value   $341,000           $350,000         -2.6% SharpBuyers.com Can provide detailed real estate reports and real estate rebates to all buyers. Our rebates are 50% of our the buyers agent's total comission at closing. 09/30/2008

Dorchester Condo sales volume in August 2008 has declined 27% versus August 2007. Additionally, the median sales price has declined 16% fro the same period. Dorchester has been hit hard by the mortgage crises and many recent home buyers were forced to sell short or allow there properties to be foreclosed on. The actual numbers are as follows: Total sold volume 2007 was 44 units while only 32 units sold in 2008. The median sales value was $254,250 in 2007 and dropped to $212,500 in 2008. For additional information about the Dorchester real estate market visit sharpbuyers.com 09/04/2008

For the month of August, the year on year condo sales volume in Boston declined at a rate of 20%, while the median sales value rose by 4%. In August 2007, there were a total of 587 condos that sold in Boston, while only 469 sold in August of 2008.  The Median sales value in August of 2007 was $358,000.00 but rose to $372,500.00 in August of 2008. As in July, the Boston Condo value rose amidst a decline in year on year volume. SharpBuyers aims to educate buyers and can provide you with detailed reports as well as a real estate rebate to pay for closing costs. 09/04/2008

Franchise Articles & Interviews As a part of our ongoing quest to share the best in Franchise Information, we find that we are asked to either write franchising articles or participate in franchise interviews.  Of course, we want to make sure that our readers also have access to our latest thoughts on franchising so we have created a page on our website where we can share our latest efforts.  Sign up for a FREE subscription to our newsletter at http://www.educatedfranchisee.com If there are subjects that you would like more franchise information on, please feel free to contact us at info@educatedfranchisee.com.  Your question may become the subject of our next franchise article.        Download what everyone considering buying a franchise should know at http://www.educatedfranchisee.com... 09/01/2008