SANTA ANA, Calif.–First American Financial Corporation, a global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, released the November 2018 First American Real House Price Index (RHPI). Boston is signaling an improvement in affordability, according to the [...]
Chinese consumers may have soured on some American products, like iPhones, but they have only sweetened on U.S. residential real estate. They have been the top foreign buyers in both units and dollar volume of residential housing for six years straight, according to the National Association of Realtors, and now they expanding to new, lower [...]
The Greater Boston office market ended 2018 with a bang as absorption gains of nearly one million square feet pushed vacancies down to 11.6% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report by a Boston brokerage firm. Year-to-date net absorption totaled nearly 1.6 million square feet as out-of-market demand and local growth resulted [...]
Boston has made it into the top 10 best real estate bets for 2019. In 2018, jobs grew at an unprecedented rate of 2.5 percent. Home prices went up 6 percent, and income went up 6 percent as well. The average home is listed for $426,000 and the average monthly rent is $1,614. Taking all of these factors into consideration, Boston area real [...]
Bitcoin won in 2017.
Real Estate won in 2018.
Who wins in 2019 and beyond?
2017 was the year of bitcoin (BTC-USD): the price surged from below $1,000 to a high of nearly $20,000. Meanwhile, 2018 has seen the price crater to ~$3,700 as of this writing. Given this enormous volatility, it is anyone's guess what 2019 will bring for the [...]
Developers are taking luxury homes in an unexpected direction: Underground.
Across the luxury market, we’re seeing more and more "extravagant basements" or lower levels being built into homes. While this square footage isn't considered as valuable as above grade, it still allows for a higher selling price and returns on investment. Keep in [...]
It was no secret that e-commerce giant, Amazon, was looking for its second headquarters among major U.S. cities. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective on the idea, all of the finalists could not share the new jobs and billions predicted to inundate the local economy. Amazon chose Arlington, a northern city in Virginia and NYC to split the home of their HQ2. However, many of the areas considered, but ultimately rejected, are expected to outperform the national average over the coming year. This comes even as the overall market is slowing.
At Castles Unlimited, we’re always on the hunt for the latest eco-friendly home advancements– after all, what’s more important than respecting our planet while saving our customers money? New England and cutting-edge technology go together like Tom Brady and Super Bowl championships, so as you can imagine, we were thrilled, yet, hardly [...]
Houses of worship have always been incredibly important to the feel of a neighborhood– they serve as community centers, architectural landmarks, and historic hubs. Often iconic structures, churches can contribute to blight when they’re dormant but can also generate traffic and improve perceptions of safety and vibrancy when they’re active [...]
Boston is an expensive city to buy a house. Anyone who has ever tried to buy in the Boston area knows about the bidding wars and heavy competition to become a homeowner. Fortunately for sellers, the Boston area housing market has been heated and growing steadily more heated over the past few years. However, buyers may soon be catching a break according to new reports show that home prices in the region showed the first signs of cooling off in October—the volume of sales slowed, as the number of properties for sale increased.
Commercial brokers’ earnings have reached an annual average of over $150,000, and from 2016 to 2017 the median sales volume increased from $3.5 million to $3.87 million. With numbers that good, it’s no surprise that more and more real estate professionals are entering the commercial industry.
Who is buying and selling real estate in the next three years? Globally 38% are interested in buying compared to only 23% who want to sell.
Kendall Square is now among the most expensive business districts in the U.S. Business rental prices in Cambridge are now comparable to Manhattan or San Francisco.
According to a new residential sales report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential home sales rose 3.5 percent in August– a better-than-expected turnout, signifying a healthy economy and a strong market.