Massachusetts real estate transfers

HAVERHILL

6 Bay Point Lane Unit 6: Baypoint Lane LLC to Dennis C. and Mary T. Golden, $296,000

18 Boscowen St. Unit 18: Ward Hill Realty Trust and Thomas B. Hodgson to Karen T. Lydon, $250,000

218 Broadway: Linda J. and Luke G. Malbon to Andrew B. Bedell, $195,000

18-20 Burke St. Unit 1: Diego J. Gomez and Bank of New York to Bank of New York, $216,293

83 Cedar St.: JP Morgan Chase Bank to Daniel P. McLaughlin, $145,000

3 Chick Ave.: Sergio and Yudy Gamez to Luis A. Muniz, $182,500

Watchdog: Sell Curley House

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has rejected several recommendations by a city watchdog group to boost the city’s coffers.

In a 12-page report, “Reducing the Projected Deficit,” the Boston Finance Commission suggests a number of ways to save the cash-strapped city money. The report comes as the Hub faces a $140 million budget gap likely to prompt layoffs and jeopardize municipal services.

Among the ideas include selling former Mayor James Michael Curley’s Jamaica Plain home, freezing wages at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and repairing and expanding the use of a city-owned parking garage..

Foreclosures on Cape buck state trend

The number of foreclosures completed on Cape Cod last month was down 8.9 percent, compared with the same month last year, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate data and publishing firm.

Last month, 41 foreclosure deeds were filed in Barnstable County, down from the January 2008 total of 45.

What's more, the Cape is one of just three Massachusetts counties in which the number of foreclosures fell last month. Statewide, foreclosure deeds jumped by 21.8 percent last month, compared with January 2009.

For the Cape to have better foreclosure news than the rest of the state is a reversal of recent trend; throughout 2008, foreclosures in Barnstable County generally went up at rates significantly higher than the statewide numbers.

Mass. home sales, prices fall in January

BOSTON – January sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts fell 10.3 percent compared with a year ago, while sales in Bristol County fell 12.82 percent, according to data released this morning by real estate tracker The Warren Group.

Statewide house sales fell to 1,908 last month from the 2,126 sold in January 2008. The median price of Bay State homes sold in January fell 20.23 percent to $259,250 from $325,000 a year ago.

In Bristol County, single-family home sales dropped to 136 last month from 156 in January 2008. The median price of homes sold during the month fell 21.18 percent to $218,680 from the year-ago $277,450.

Real-estate rally? Market shows surprising second-half rise

At the time of the mid-year review (“Lies, damned lies and statistics,” Marblehead Reporter, July 31, 2008), Marblehead’s realtors and lenders possessed a sense of optimism amongst that, whilst prices had declined from peak levels, signs of stability were emerging.

The second shoe of the financial crisis — Fannie Mae, Lehman, AIG, credit-default swaps — not only added a host of new names and financial jargon to everyday conversation but also created widespread concern, in some cases approaching panic. That the crisis in confidence was fueled by media headlines is undoubted, but at the same time there were real concerns, such as a sharp drop in stock markets worldwide and widespread job losses. Headlines continued to shout about the decline in home prices nationally and the continued increase in foreclosures.

City of Boston puts money where its blight is

The HUD money will provide grants to developers, nonprofits and people who want to rehabilitate foreclosed properties, and down payment aid to homeowners buying bank-owned homes. The funds will be used to defray the cost of fixing up foreclosed properties intended as rental housing for the homeless and low- to moderate-income households.

“Some not-so-scrupulous developers could acquire these properties quite quickly, so we want to make sure we’re competitive. We want to make sure the nonprofits and the good guys are competitive,” Friedman said.

Within 30 days, the city will complete its first major acquisition from a lender when the Boston Redevelopment Authority buys seven foreclosed properties in Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester and East Boston from Countrywide Financial.

Foreclosure completions rise 21.75% in Mass.

BOSTON – January filings of foreclosure deeds, the final step in the foreclosure process, rose 21.75 percent year over year in Massachusetts, but rose only 11.54 percent in Bristol County, according to statistics released today by The Warren Group.

Statewide, 974 foreclosure deeds were filed last month, a 174-deed increase over the 800 recorded in January 2008. Eighty-seven foreclosure deeds were recorded in Bristol County, nine more than the 78 filed in January 2008.

Yet, although more foreclosures were completed in January than in the same month a year ago, fewer foreclosure petitions were filed in almost every Bay State county – and in Nantucket County, the sole exception, the number of petitions was unchanged from a year ago.

Why I Bought My First Condo

Today, I would like to introduce Sam Schneiderman.Sam is a colleague and native Bostonian who will share his experiences and lessons learned during his journey from first-time buyer to home owner, renovator, landlord/investor and successful broker. He is president & principal broker of Greater Boston Home Team, an established boutique brokerage and consulting firm serving buyers, sellers and homeowners in all price ranges throughout urban and suburban Boston. Sam brings us over 28 years of perspective on the Boston real estate scene. He will be blogging here on Mondays.


Since this is my first post, it seems that you should know a bit about what contributes to my outlook on real estate. By sharing some of my experiences, I hope to provide a longer term perspective of the market to our younger readers and bring transparency to my comments to everyone else.

Grand jury indicts Boston real estate firm on asbestos violations

A Worcester grand jury returned an indictment this week against Boston-based The Mayo Group Development LLC, a real estate investment, development and management firm, The allegations involve improper asbestos disposal at Bancroft Commons on Franklin Street. Other alleged violations of the Clean Air Act include failure to file notices of asbestos removal with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and failure to use proper asbestos emissions control procedures.

An investigation by the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force uncovered evidence that the Mayo Group had employees demolish portions of a 10-story building without first completing an asbestos survey and removing asbestos from the building. Residents were still living in the building, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, while Mayo Group employees were tearing out asbestos-containing materials. State employees witnessed asbestos-containing material being flung out of a window.

The violations were likely to result in asbestos exposure to both workers and residents at Bancroft Commons. Exposure to asbestos can cause asbestos, lung cancer and mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that affects the lining around the lungs, abdomen or heart. These diseases may not appear until decades after the asbestos exposure that causes them.

Boston steamed over stripper escort

A Boston cop’s alleged lights-flashing cruiser escort of two gay porn star strippers from Logan airport to a local same-sex nightclub sparked outrage yesterday, with one city councilor calling it a flagrant misuse of police resources.

Officer Lawrence Craven, 45, who is openly gay, was placed on desk duty this week while police investigate allegations he escorted the two men, known as the “Brangelina” of the same-sex porn world, to Machine, a gay Fenway nightclub, last October.

“It’s a blatant misuse of city and police resources, and it’s obviously not a public safety priority to be escorting strippers to a nightclub,” said City Councilor Stephen Murphy, chairman of the public safety committee.

Boston firm buys office complex Space located at Interstates 85 and 385

Kevin Darling, acquisitions director for Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., said his company likes the Greenville market and the location of the seven-building office park at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 385.

"And we like the presence of good credit tenants at the property," he said. "In challenging economic times, this deal's about as rock solid as you can get."

Intercontinental, which invests in real estate on behalf of pension funds, bought the office park from Liberty Property Trust, a real estate investment trust from Philadelphia, in a deal that closed Jan. 22.