The Boston Metro Real Estate Video Blog with Jeffrey Chubb

Should You Rent or Buy Your Home?

I wanted to give you a little breakdown of the home buying process and why now is such a great time to buy in Boston.

I read the other day that the average net worth of a homeowner is 36 times greater than the average net worth of a renter. It's also expected that this gap will expand to 45 times greater in 2016.

There are many reasons why, but simply put, homeownership is a form of forced savings. Every time you make a mortgage payment, remember, you're just contributing to your net worth. If you're currently renting, it might be painful to think that you're contributing to your landlord's net worth.

Homeowners have a net worth 36x higher than renters.

Rental rates have skyrocketed this year, up 3.8% year over year, marking the largest increase since 2007. Buying a home offers you stability. With a fixed rate, you can take comfort in knowing that your mortgage payment isn't going to increase. With interest rates near historical lows, now is the time to buy a house if you haven't already done so.

Thinking you don't have enough for a down payment, or an insufficient credit score? In 2015, the average credit score for an FHA loan was 686. The average home buyer put 10% down, with the average first-time buyer putting just 6% down. Thinking you need 20% down just isn't true anymore.

If you're thinking about buying or selling a home in the Boston Metro Market, I'd love to speak with you about how we can accomplish your goals. Give me a call or send me an email and let's talk soon!

2016 Real Estate Market Update

Looking to buy or sell a home in Boston, Massachusetts? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (617) 480-2600 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation.

It’s been an interesting year so far, with some conflicting data out there about the Massachusetts market.

While we’ve seen a huge increase in the amount of houses sold in both the single-family market and the condo market, we’ve seen a huge decrease in the amount of inventory that’s currently available to the buyer. In contrast to those two trends, there has been a pretty small change in the average sale prices in the first six months.

Take the single-family market, for example. In this market, the average sale price for the first six months has not changed. In the condo market, it has only gone up 4.64%. That’s not that much when you have a decrease in inventory of 16.41%.

There are a ton of buyers out there looking for homes

There has been a sharp increase in what sellers are currently asking for. In the single-family market, sellers of single-family homes have been asking for 11.81% more than what they were this time last year. For condos, it’s even worse. Sellers in that market are asking for 22.75% more than what they were last year.

What has all this done to our current inventory levels?

In the below $500,000 price range, whether you’re in a single-family home or a condo, that market is red hot. There are a ton of buyers out there looking for homes. While single-family properties have growing inventory from $1 million-and-up, we’re actually seeing inventory start to build for condos in the above $500,000 price range too.

If you know of anyone else who’s thinking about buying or selling, I would truly appreciate you sharing my contact information with them. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out yourself by calling me or sending an email. I look forward to talking to you soon!

What Are Your Options When Redoing Your Countertops?

Today, we're on location at Stone Inc. to discuss the many options you have to choose from when renovating your kitchen. There are three different types of stone to choose from, each with its own characteristics.

Marble: The softest of the stones, marble has a classic, veining look.
Granite: More durable than marble, granite has many different styles to choose from.
Quartz: This is the most durable stone and is manmade and uniform throughout.

The great people at Stone Inc. can work with you to determine which stone is best suited for your specific needs. To do so, they'll ask what look you're going for, what the surface will be used for, and how often it will be used. For example, if you have an outdoor kitchen, you don't want to use quartz because the glue they use will change color in the sun. If you have a low-volume kitchen, marble is a great option - especially because the sealers they use today are much better at preventing stains that they were years ago.

There are a few differences between standard and luxury stones, depending on the material. For marble, the whiter the background, the more expensive it will be. The price of granite depends on where it comes from, how hard it was to quarry the material, and the number of imperfections the stone has. For quartz, the difference between standard and luxury stone is how difficult it was to make it.

We hope this information helps you in your home renovation venture. Remember, if you email us before going to Stone Inc. for help, we'll give you a 10% discount on your project! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us or call Stone Inc. at 1-888-909-STONE! Thanks, and have a great week!