The inventory of unsold downtown Boston homes on the sales market has dropped to its lowest level in nearly a decade, with just 693 places up for grabs. Why? We suspect a combination of things: crazy-low mortgage rates; desirability; the Hub's absurdly, ever-higher rents; a development climate that gives too much power to too many people and discourages a lot of smart building (i.e., family-sized apartments and maximum utilization of scarce development sites); the resultant heavy development costs and headaches.
But there's also that in luxury Boston, the prices have been a-tumblin' down. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, price-chops and listing tweaks appear to be the order of the day, which means units on the sales market move off it quicker. Look at the top 5 downtown Boston condo deals of April: four of them moved after substantial price-chop. Just as bidding wars are a real thing here, so are buyers who are not interested in being part of any stinkin' long-term inventory statistic.
· Downtown’s Incredible Shrinking Condo Inventory [Herald]
· Yes, We Have No Homes for Sale: Hub's Shrinking Inventory [Curbed Boston]
· Downtown's Top Apt. Deals: 80 Percent Trade for Under Asking [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's Luxury Market: Hold the Champagne, Grab the Cava? [Curbed Boston]
· No One's Safe! Bidding Wars Spill Over Into Hub Multifamilies [Curbed Boston]