Monday, July 22, 2013

Boston's Waterfront and North End......Hot or Not? A Buyers Perception

The Boston real estate market is hot again and for the North End / Waterfront, the data shows a very healthy upswing in average sales values. However, the neighborhood also has the highest percentage of properties selling below the original asking price. We may even have the highest percentage of “Price Reductions” before a sale occurs while it appears to be the opposite in other parts of the city.
My opinion is that if we had agents using a realistic pricing strategy, the home values would/could be much higher while experiencing “at” or “above asking” sales.  Pricing is essential when it comes to procuring the highest and best price for our sellers and waterfront home owners.
64% of all the condominium sales in the North End/Waterfront are actually “Sold” by agents outside of the neighborhood.  Why is that important to know?  The fact is that every Buyer is represented by a Buyers Agent and when 64% of them are looking at the sales data from MLS (Multiple Listing Service) it appears that asking prices for homes here are unrealistic resulting in low offers and a real potential for lower sales price for the Sellers.
The perception is not the reality, but the “List to Sell” data is compelling. We are not experiencing the “buzz” like the rest of the city.
Share your thoughts in the comments section under the charts below: