Real Estate Search Blog

In 2009, 54% of people that bought real estate in Massachusetts said that they believed their new home was a better financial investment than stocks. The statistic comes from a study published on February 9th, 2010 by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®. An additional 29% of buyers said that their new home was as good as an investment as stocks. For sellers of property, the feelings were positive as well. Sellers in Massachusetts typically sold their properties at 94% of their asking price.

Why buy property in Boston? Massachusetts property, particularly in-demand Boston real estate, is an excellent opportunity to invest. Right now there are hundreds of condos in Boston, single-family homes in Boston, and multi-family homes in Boston that are on the market — and offered at a great value. Rental property in Boston will always be in demand due to the large number of students and working professionals entering the market at any given time. Buying real estate in Boston is a great opportunity to earn extra income, and hold onto a valuable asset for your future or for the future of your children and loved ones.

A proposed ban on texting while driving in Boston could make buying real estate in Boston even more appealing for families looking to plant roots in a safe city. The ban on texting while driving passed through the House on February 4th, and will head to the Senate.

Described as “one of the toughest laws on texting in the nation,” the ban would punish first and second-time offenders with fines, and drivers who cause an accident while texting could be faced with prison time (under reckless driving laws) and a fine. It would also require drivers to use hands-free devices when talking on the phone, and would ban junior operators from using their cell phones in any way while driving.

The new ban makes Boston an even more appealing city for individuals and families interested in relocating to a safer city. In some Boston neighborhoods, it’s possible to do without a car because of Boston’s convenient transportation options such as “the T” (the subway), buses, designated bike paths, and of course, sidewalks. Pedestrians should feel even safer after the ban on texting while driving is put into place.

For more information on Boston real estate, please visit Prudential Prime Properties on the web. Prudential Prime Properties is your source for only the most knowledgeable and professional real estate agents in the Boston area.

Thinking about relocating to Boston? Why not? The Travel Channel thinks Boston is one of the country’s most exciting places to visit — and we think Boston is one of the most exciting places to live. Here’s a list of Travel Channel highlights:

Man vs. Food: Adam visited Eagle’s Deli and challenges a customer to a giant hamburger-eating duel.

Samantha Brown: Sam competed in a sausage-eating contest in East Boston.

Family Travels: The show took viewers on a historical walking tour led by costumed colonials.

The first step in the relocation process is visiting the city you’d like to live in. Visit Boston for a week and try out its restaurants (see the previous entry on Restaurant Week), museums, and shopping areas. Unsure of which neighborhood you’d like to buy in? Do you love one particular neighborhood, but are you interested in researching comparable areas? Visit Prudential Prime Properties on the web to learn all about Boston real estate and look at the homes for sale in Boston.

Buyers, and tentative buyers, of foreclosed properties in several Boston neighborhoods may be eligible for low-interest loans or grants up to $50,000 for purchase or renovation costs. See this Boston Herald article on the $13.6 million dollar grant recently awarded to Boston by the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

For in-depth information about real estate in Boston and its surrounding neighborhoods, visit Prudential Prime Properties on the web. Once there, you can search Back Bay Boston Homes for Sale, Beacon Hill Realty, North End Boston Condos for Sale & Boston Rentals.

The above penthouse studio condo is located at 1091 Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay. Living here would put you steps away from some of the swankiest shops in Boston on Newbury Street. A thriving neighborhood, Newbury Street and the Back Bay are stocked with the city’s most cutting edge restaurants and bars. This condo is ideal for a college student (it’s located directly across from Berklee College of Music), or as an investment property.

For more details on this listing, visit Prudential Prime Properties online. While you’re there, browse the MLS listings of other properties in Boston real estate. For expert guidance on real estate in Boston and all that relocating to Boston has to offer, Prudential Prime Properties will be able to answer all of your questions.

You know you need to remodel your bathroom, but you have no idea where to start. Home improvement magazines can sometimes overwhelm with dozens of expensive accessories. Where do you go for help?

A bathroom on www.remodelingmyspace.com

Remodelingmyspace.com is an excellent home improvement resource full of photos and videos of real-life home improvement projects created by ordinary people. Start with the photo galleries for ideas, then use the videos and how-to articles to help you begin the project.

If you’re computer-savvy, make sure to check out Google Sketch-Up, a FREE program designed to help you create 3D models. Imagine creating a 3D model of the new addition you plan to build onto your home!

If you’re planning on selling your home or are looking at homes for sale in Boston or the surrounding area, talk to the experts at Prudential Prime Properties. They are a full service Boston real estate agency specializing in Downtown real estate in Boston and relocation to Boston, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End, South Boston, South End, Leather District, Seaport, Waterfront, Charlestown, Watertown, Cambridge and Greater Boston homes for sale.

Before the recession, the phrase “house poor” was adopted into the average home buyer’s vocabulary, as buyers hesitated to spend every last penny of their life savings on a down payment for a dream home. To go beyond the “house poor” consideration is to prevent oneself from also becoming “Maintenance poor.”

Marketwatch.com recently published an interesting article for home hunters on how to financially prepare to buy a house in these shaky economic times. To become “Maintenance poor” is to purchase a home unaware of its necessary future repairs with the fatal error of not having enough in the bank to cover these costs.

The article advises house hunters to save at least 1 to 3 percent of a property’s purchase price for major maintenance costs and unexpected expenses. As for mortgage payments, these days buyers should have 6 months of payments saved in the bank because of the wavering job market. For basic repairs like painting and caulking, anyone buying a typical starter home budget $500 to $1,000 a year.

If you’re a home buyer looking at homes in Newton, Natick, Needham, Wellesley, Brookline, and Weston, the top real estate agents of the area are Christine Norcross and Partners. Browse the Homes by Norcross website for Newton listings, and feel free to contact Christine Norcross and Partners if you have any question about Newton real estate or about a particular property.

Boston, MA may be one of the best cities to raise a family. Aside from being recently named one of America’s safest cities, the state of Massachusetts has also been named one of the top ten states for health care needs.

In October, 2009, Forbes.com reported the ten states with the best health care systems, which included Massachusetts. The report was based on a study performed by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund. Health care in Massachusetts was ranked highest among the fifty states.  The report ranked the states across five areas: access to health care, prevention and treatment, potentially avoidable hospital use and costs, health care differences among ethnic and income groups, and “healthy lives.”

If you’re looking to relocate, consider taking a look at the interesting properties that Boston real estate has to offer. It’s no surprise that Boston has ranked one of the healthiest cities in America. Patients from all parts of the country travel to Boston’s Mass General Hospital for the most advanced medical care in the country. The city is small and manageable enough to be known as “the walking city,” yet it is certainly not short of fun things to do for all ages. In any neighborhood in Boston, one can find several parks and playgrounds, such as Downtown’s Boston Common or South Boston’s own Castle Island. The city also continues to grow more and more bicycle-friendly as the years pass.

If you are interested in living in the heart of one of the nation’s healthiest states, there are plenty of homes in Boston and condos in Boston that are worth taking a look at. Whether you are after a small condo, brownstone, or home in the Boston area, browse some of the gems that real estate in Boston has to offer.

When you are looking into Boston real estate, one of the first things that you are going to want to think about goes well beyond the type of home you are interested in living in and what part of the Boston community you’re looking at a home in (whether you’re looking for a Back Bay condo or you’re looking for a house in Brighton or a loft in the North End). You’re also going to want to be sure that you’re thinking about the rest of what the city has to offer.

One of the great things about owning Boston real estate is that it gives you the chance to take advantage of the area’s rich history. Whether you head down to the harbor and check out the Boston Tea Party ship museum or visit the Old North Church or you check out the make way for ducklings sculptures in the Boston Commons, there’s a little something for everyone.

Likewise, if you’re looking for a great opportunity to grab a bite to eat, Boston real estate will give you easy access to fantastic restaurants (and, it’s a good thing to note that the 15th to the 19th of this month is Restaurant Week in Boston – which lets you check out a variety of restaurants in the area at a discount).

In other words, whether you’re interested in the arts, in history or the changing cuisine or you are looking at experiencing other parts of what Boston has to offer, when you are checking out Boston real estate, you’ll be able to take in the city as well.

When you are thinking about buying a home in Boston’s Back Bay, one of the first things that you are going to want to do will be to explore the homes that are available to you. By taking a look at listing in the Boston multiple listing service – with specific attention paid to those homes in the Back Bay that are included in the MLS – you will be able to:

• Get a sense of what Back Bay homes are available.
• Identify the prices for Back Bay condos, townhomes and other properties.
• See how many homes are listed in the Back Bay MLS.
• Start to identify the features that you are looking for in your new home.

By looking at those homes that are listed in the Back Bay MLS – or in the general Boston MLS – you are going to be able to look at homes that are listed by real estate agents all over Boston; when you’re scanning the Back Bay MLS, you aren’t just going to be looking at homes that are listed by the real estate company that your agent works with, you will be able to look at all of the homes that are listed by real estate agents and brokers in the area.

In other words, by taking the time to look at those homes that are listed in the Back Bay MLS, you are going to have the chance to learn more about the homes that are on the market – and, by looking at Back Bay MLS listings in your own time, you’ll also be able to know that when you start working with an agent, you have a sense of what you’re looking for.