No rentals on Cape Ann and prices have skyrocketed, mainly, I think, an effect from COVID. Demographics skew older in Rockport and the school population has diminished significantly.
Exeter is a great small town. The Cape is popular with retirees because its location keeps the weather milder. Doesn’t get a lot of snow.
Rhode Island has a lot to offer. First, things cost less there. From the eastern shore extending from Tiverton to Little Compton, through Aquidneck Island including Portsmouth to Newport, and the Ocean front of Point Judith to Watch Hill, there is scenic beauty everywhere and lots to do. Depending on how close to Boston you want to be, I’d even extend that south coastal area of RI west into the SE Connecticut towns of Stonington and Mystic.
1 Like
@NJSue: Other places you might consider north of Boston are Andover or North Andover. Not on the ocean, but both are good towns in which to live–lots of local amenities. You’ll get much more for your money in North Andover. Plus, the commute from either to Boston is only 20 miles. Andover also has a commuter rail line that goes to North Station in Boston.
3 Likes
After the Champlain Towers tragedy in Surfside, I am seriously reconsidering the idea of buying a condo. The politics of maintenance are very iffy, it seems to me. I’d rather rent, where the responsibility is on the landlord, or buy a freestanding dwelling where I have all the control.
2 Likes
The Champlain Towers collapse has made us all re-think a lot of things.
4 Likes
We own a condo where kid currently lives. We did as thorough a review of the paperwork as we could (including reading meeting minutes which were super boring - always a good sign). Our main criteria included no swimming pool. That is a giant maintenance and upkeep money suck. Mr. and I are no engineers, but we went around the parking garage looking for signs of water leaks or corroded pipes… we’re pleased to see a very dry space. The HOA does not allow STVRs and has a very low rental cap (meaning price was 25% less than a comparable condo that did not have such restrictions). That said, going forward, we will be even more cautious if we decide to buy another condo.
2 Likes
I am in CT, but visit daughter and son in law in Jamaica Plain often. Brookline is a very nice area but probably pricy, but very nice area.
1 Like
Not a good time to buy in this area. Bidding wars and prices are way way up. Then again, not a great time to rent either. I was asking about an apartment that had come up the day before and 94 people had already contacted the realtor. Rents are way way up too. Supply is down for both sales and rentals and the seller or leaser can ask what they want right now.
I have been working with a realtor up there and the market is super crazy. Rents very close to Boston still seem low (as they are in Boston proper). That market went down when people fled the city and hasn’t truly recovered yet. Rentals farther from Boston are crazy just like sales. I don’t see how you can buy (especially from a distance) when they have open houses on Sunday, accept offers on Tuesday (where people waive inspections), and the house is essentially “sold” by Wednesday.
1 Like
I’ve been told that things should start to get better in about a year. The underlying fundamentals are that the biggest generation ever has moved into the prime home buying years at the same time that housing starts have been sluggish for a dozen years. Covid putting housing starts on hold and at the same time the price of materials soared.
Fundamentally it’s a classic supply and demand issue, so those same forces should boost housing starts. As supply increases, prices will stabilize.
3 Likes
The housing market is also subject to mortgage interest rates. Rates are being held low at the current time. When mortgage interest rates increase, demand for housing decreases.
2 Likes
Good point!
2 Likes
Also, Covid crippled mobility. Folks are staying put. Another factor is eviction moratoriums, tightened foreclosure criteria, and in some places, recently enacted renter protection laws… there is a lot of chatter here in my neck of the woods that small landlords will be selling their rentals come next spring.
1 Like
It depends where in NJ the OP lives, here in the NYC metro area it’s a great time to sell too.
Yes, it would be a great time to sell, houses here (NJ suburbs) are selling quickly and for record prices. But I will have to pay more for the house I more into also -so not a big win for me.
2 Likes
I think it’s a wash for you.
Right, you can sell your place but where do you go.
My comment re Surfside was not to diminish the horror of it on a human level, and sometimes bad things happen to innocent people. As information comes out, it just strikes me that condo arrangements may have disadvantages that I had not considered.
2 Likes
My wife says the same thing, Sue. And she spent a career in real estate. In a condo arrangement, she says, you turn control of your home over to a group of other people. She doesn’t want us to do that.
Surfside is one type of condo arrangement - one in which everyone lived in the same high rise building. There are various other types of condo arrangements, some in which you own your own stand alone building but the grounds - which might or might not include a club house with recreation or fitness facilities, a restaurant, a pool, tennis courts, a golf course, a waterfront, etc. - are owned in common and are controlled by the condo association. That can be a very different situation.
4 Likes
Yes, @Bill_Marsh I looked at a community in Boynton Beach, FL for my mother. Separate buildings but a clubhouse, tennis courts, pool etc. Seemed pretty nice and inexpensive, but she decided she didn’t want to buy it.
1 Like
The Tax Foundation ranks Massachussetts 15th in the nation for total tax burden. NH has no income or sales tax, which puts it lower on that list, but it has the 4th highest property tax burden in the U.S. This is important when considering where to retire.
4 Likes