Getting Real About Real Estate

The economic crisis is starting to feel like a never-ending series of games of chicken. The stock market plunges until skittish investors simultaneously blink and decide to do some bargain shopping, which sent the Dow Jones soaring yesterday afternoon.

But this game isn’t only being played out on the national stage. Renters in Boston are beginning to feel the squeeze because potential home-buyers are convinced the bottom hasn’t yet fallen out of the real estate market.

We’re delighted we renewed our lease a few months ago, because rents in the Boston area have risen 4.2 percent from the third quarter of last year. Experts say the spike is due to a high number of foreclosures sending homeowners back to apartments.

Credit Crisis Affects Boston Commercial Real Estate Market

BOSTON--The credit crisis is affecting the Boston commercial real estate market, which is expected to be in a holding pattern for the rest of the year, according to a report from CRESA Partners. The overall vacancy rate is the lowest in more than five years, and the upheaval in the debt markets has virtually shut down the investment sales market.



Here are some other highlights from the report:



Demand for Class A and quality B office space has slowed due to the continued economic disorder and high asking rents.

Real estate group disavows condo law

he clear withholding of support for the proposed ordinance is a shift from an August press release from the city in which Gregory P. Vasil “commends” Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and said, “Many of the concerns that private property owners had with previous versions have now been addressed, and we believe that it should be a marked improvement over earlier drafts.”

Earlier this week, when asked by a reporter if the real estate board was supporting the measure, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said she believed they were. Gewirtz chaired the working group that worked for almost two years to revise the proposal.

“The Greater Boston Real Estate Board was a key player in the negotiations,” she said. “Their sign-off was very important to everyone involved. The task force would not have come forward if we were not all in agreement that this was good for Somerville.”

Vasil maintains that he never offered the endorsement of the board and said it is still possible the group may oppose it, depending on what happens when the plan is presented to the public.