Serving the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts

 

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Clients only: Register to receive daily email updates of new listings and access to our MLS extranet. Click here.

 
A Realtor's View from Hubbert's Peak: The End of Cheap Oil and Cheap Money (June 5, 2006)

 
The market has finally shifted in favor of buyers! See Update: A Buyers' Market.(October 23, 2005)

 
War and Property Inflation (April 7, 2005)

 
Why Home Prices Are Going through the Roof: A Brief Guide to the "New Economy" (January 13, 2003)

 
More Articles on the Housing Market:

A Word of Advice in a Real Estate Slump: Rent by David Leonhardt (New York Times, April 11, 2007)

Crisis Looms in Mortgage Markets by Gretchen Morgenson, March 11, 2007.

Un-Real Estate by James Grant, April 2005

Housing bubble in New England  (Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Studies, Jan. 5, 2003)

"These are perilous times for asset markets ...." (Ian Campbell, UPI, Jan. 30, 2004)

 
     

"House of Cards: US, UK Home Prices to Decline Dramatically in Next Few Years."
See The Economist's survey of May 29, 2003

 
"Mortgage Markets Are Out of Control," New York Times, August 17, 2003

 
Co-buying: One solution to the high cost of housing in the Valley?

 
Considering an adjustable rate mortgage? It may be a risky proposition. See Homeowners Urged Caution on Hybrid Loans

 
For the effects of skyrocketing home prices on communities, see an article by Rebecca Solnit, Hollow City (as computer money flows into San Francisco, the quirkiness and creativity drain out). A cautionary tale for Northampton and other Valley towns.

 

 

Mortgages

How much home can I afford? (a mortgage calculator)

What's my mortgage payment? (another calculator, used when you're considering a certain property and want to know what your monthly payment will be)

A Homebuyer's Guide to Mortgages 

 

First-time Homebuyer Programs

Soft Second Mortgages (the Massachusetts Housing Partnership site; once you get there, click on Homebuyer Information)

MassHousing (formerly Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency or MHFA) (click on Home Ownership) offers low-interest mortgages to eligible first-time homebuyers and purchase and rehabilitation mortgages, too, if you're buying a fixer-upper. See also their Fresh Start program (grants for down payments).

Many banks also have in-house first-time homebuyer products. Woronoco Savings Bank (contact Misty Lyons at 413-427-1837) has a particularly attractive first-time homebuyer mortgage (house price must be under $120K, though).

 

Some Local Lenders

BankNorth

Easthampton Savings Bank

Florence Savings Bank

Greenfield Cooperative Bank

Greenfield Savings Bank

Northampton Cooperative Bank

People's Bank

United Cooperative Bank

Woronoco Savings Bank