Climate of real estate market? (Boston, Plymouth: short sales, 2009, foreclosures)

[pineforest]

How has the down economy affected property prices in the Boston area? Are there deals / short sales, etc. to be taken advantage of? Also, specifically with regard to appreciation, is it better to buy in Concord or the Belmont/Arlington/Winchester area? My impression from looking online is that Concord is much pricier ... so if we can only spend $500,000, is it better to buy in Concord (i.e. least expensive property in more expensive location) or Belmont/Arlington/Wincester areas (where at least online it looks as if $500,000 is the median home price)? Again, I'm asking specifically with regard to appreciation as it relates to location--not for the pros and cons of living in each community (that's another thread)! Thanks!

[Beachcomber4]

I think there was a time when that could be easily answered but with the current financial woes of the state, it's not so easy. I would think your best bet would be to check into the financial state of each community, planned projects etc to see which one might be poised for an influx of money.

ie: Plymouth, MA is getting a movie studio and some towns are already seeing people from the production end buying homes.

We took that tack when we recently purchased and did not regret it.
Our house was in preforeclosure and rather than wait for it to go to shortsale, we made an offer. I am happy we did as from what we've seen with friends buying in short sale and foreclosure, the process is long, arduous and frustrating. Fortunately, they are looking for investment property so there is not a sense of urgency for them.

[scarletfire]

There was an article that came out about a month or so ago in Boston Magazine talking about which towns had retained their value the best during the economic downturn. I'll try to dig it up.

Beachcomber is right that foreclosures and particularly short sales can be a long and angst ridden process. They can work out, but there are some common pitfalls so it's best to know what you're getting into up front. There aren't a ton of forecloses in Concord but I know of a few in Belmont. That's not to say you wouldn't get a good deal on a regular home sale in either town. These are really nice towns and I don't think you'd go wrong investing in either. The same goes for Winchester.

[scarletfire]

Aha! Found it:

Best Places to Live 2009

[CaseyB]

Look at the City-Data home page for Massachusetts, then click on the city or town.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Concor...achusetts.html

http://www.city-data.com/city/Belmon...achusetts.html

http://www.city-data.com/city/Winche...achusetts.html

http://www.city-data.com/city/Arling...achusetts.html

There's graphs of real estate prices, school information and demographics.

[smarty]

pineforest
If you find any deals or short sale in those towns, let me know. Thanks in advance.

[pineforest]

Thanks one and all for the very helpful answers and esp the link to the article!