Like he** I'm going to pay these prices! (Boston, Lynn: loft, loans)

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Just from looking at Google Maps you can tell traffic is still nowhere near as bad as it was. The fairly recent numbers I saw was that the subway is like 30% from before and the commuter rail is basically running empty.

I've been working continuously both nights and days. There are times where it gets bad but I'd say the roads are still a ways off from 2019 levels. Maybe 50-60ish% on average is my feeling but I'm sure there are traffic counts that can be looked up

I was doing mid cape to my job near the 2/495 area from April to Sept 2020 and now live near 2/128 doing the same.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Judging by the rush hour traffic, I think the majority of people are back on the job. Maybe it's just City-Data forum members who get to work from home.

While I've noticed traffic getting worse, it's still not near pre-pandemic levels for me on I-95. My ride home is 30-35 mins still, where it used to be 50-60mins.

If many people are back, and this is the new normal, I'll take it

[massnative71]

When does traffic start picking up on 128 SB these days?

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by gf2020

I never stopped going to work. My wife is a teacher, she's been in her school every day. Judging by the rush hour traffic, I think the majority of people are back on the job. Maybe it's just City-Data forum members who get to work from home.

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Just from looking at Google Maps you can tell traffic is still nowhere near as bad as it was. The fairly recent numbers I saw was that the subway is like 30% from before and the commuter rail is basically running empty.

I suspect not a lot of people are back in the office just yet. I think the partial rise in traffic is due to very few people using public transit and their switchover to driving.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

I suspect not a lot of people are back in the office just yet. I think the partial rise in traffic is due to very few people using public transit and their switchover to driving.

Definitely. I think Commuter Rail ridership is abysmal. The Blue Line, which I ride daily, is definitely busier than it was a month ago, but not anywhere near pre-pandemic levels. Same goes for the other rapid lines + Green. Anecdotally, I am seeing a LOT more office workers in/around downtown than I was seeing in the fall/winter, but still at ~20% of pre-pandemic levels. So there's clearly a trickle of growth, but it's a long ways from where it was in Feb 2020.

[BostonMike7]

Reading commuter rail station is definitely nowhere near as packed as it used to be. You can ride by at 9AM and still get a parking spot.

[masssachoicetts]

Here in NJ traffic is 80% back. Public Transportation has been abandoned by commuters so it seems (maybe not to Manhattan). I can only imagine the traffic everywhere is about to be real bad

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

That would be a start. When do you think a correction will happen? A few months? A year?

I don't see the Fed rate going up much any time soon. Mortgage rates are of course not dependent on the Fed rate so there might be some variance there. Mortgage rates have gone back down BTW. You should be able to get decently below 3% for a 30 year fixed. 15 year you might even be able to get 2%.

As for a housing correction, hedge funds are so desperate for anything that's not the US dollar that they will buy just about anything right now.

[gf2020]

Bumping this thread up. Last week my 25-year old son closed on a 2 bedroom, ~1200 sq ft condo in Salem. It's the first floor of an older 2-family house, near the water and about equidistant from the state university and downtown. He paid $430,000; his mortgage and taxes are right around $2200, which is the same as what this unit would rent for.

[yesmaybe]

^^

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Salem/33-L.../home/11350933

Haven't people said that The Point is pretty ghetto? Don't really know much about Salem.