• Boston Futures: For Greater Boston real estate prices from 1987 through the present and looking several years into the future, see the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Boston snapshot with futures (both before and after inflation). The futures markets are probably the most unbiased predictor of where housing prices are headed.
• Price/Income: For a gauge of how overpriced the market is, see the latest report on the Greater Boston price to income ratio.
• Inflation Adjusted: See the latest report on Massachusetts single family home prices for prices as typically reported by the local media but adjusted for inflation.
• Price/Rent: Comparing prices to rents can help illuminate an overpriced market since many hypothetical justifications for higher home prices should raise rents as well. See the latest report on the Boston MSA price to rent ratio.
• The population of the Greater Boston Area was declining as the housing market posted its most exceptional gains during the bubble. One of the fallacious arguments which was used to contest the existence of a housing bubble was that a growing population was pushing up the natural price of property. While that argument is flawed in general, it is especially wrong when the population is declining. [Boston Globe] [Boston Bubble]
• The Wall Street Journal has identified Boston as one of the metropolitan areas in the US where it is cheaper to rent than to buy. Their data goes from 2001, when it was already cheaper to rent, to 2004 when the difference was even more pronounced. The Economist also published an article showing that renting is cheaper, and although it does not focus on Boston, it is very thorough about including various expenses and tax benefits that the Wall Street Journal left out. [Wall Street Journal] [The Economist]
• Consumer Reports has rated real estate in the Boston market as "Overpriced" and pegged it at 24% over the affordable price as of Q4 2004. [Consumer Reports]
• The number of homes sold in Massachusetts has been plummeting. For the third quarter of 2006 (the most recently reported quarter as of this writing), home sales have fallen 23% compared with the same quarter one year earlier. This despite the fact that home sales were already on the decline in 2005. [Worcester Telegram] [WCVB] [Milford Daily News]
• Foreclosures are rising sharply in Greater Boston and Massachusetts. There were more foreclosures in the first nine months of 2006 than in all of 2005, and as of this writing (in November 2006), Massachusetts is on track to break the all time record in 2006. [Boston Globe] [Lowell Sun]
• Boston and Massachusetts are the typical exceptions that people use to qualify their statements when they say that real estate prices don't fall. Boston and Massachusetts prices have fallen in the past, even in nominal terms (when adjusted for inflation, the fall is even more pronounced). Bear in mind that even if prices decline merely by the same percent that they have in the past, the leverage (a.k.a., margin or mortgage) used to purchase the homes must be taken into consideration - the substantially higher number of zero down and negative amortization loans will leave a lot of people with heavy losses and negative equity. [BusinessWeek] [Wall Street Journal (sub)]
• To compensate for property that fails to sell, real estate agents in Boston are falling back on the deceptive practice of canceling the listing in MLS and then creating a new listing so that the property appears as new to the market. There were 10,606 MLS cancellations in the first six months of 2005, up from 9,722 cancellations in the first six months of 2004 and 3,736 in 2001. "The number of canceled listings in Massachusetts has nearly tripled since 2001... In a recent spot check of houses for sale on MLS in Middlesex County, Barry Nystedt, president of the Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents, said one in four listings canceled between May 25 and June 25 was recreated by the same firm with a new MLS number." [Boston Globe]

• Visit Patrick Killelea's housing crash blog. It is a fantastic resource providing ample quantitative background into the housing bubble.
• Visit the Wikipedia article on the United States housing bubble for another excellent overview of the bubble on a national scale.
• It is actually now cheaper to rent than to buy in many areas even after you factor in accumulated equity and tax savings. [The Economist]
• Yale professor Robert J. Shiller released the first edition of his prophetic book warning of a stock market bubble weeks before the stock market began its epic crash in 2000. He recently released an updated second edition in late February, 2005 with similar warnings of froth in the real estate market. This book is very highly recommended and is quite readable despite the complexity of the subject. [Irrational Exuberance] [Amazon.com]
• The current nationwide housing boom has been fueled in large part by historically low interest rates and an increase in the use of risky mortgages. Buyers may find that their monthly payments will skyrocket once the introductory period of their mortgage ends and the adjustable rate kicks in. In 2005, only $83 billion, or 1 percent, of mortgage debt will switch to an adjustable rate. In 2007, this number will leap to $1 trillion, or about 12 percent. [Herald Tribune]

Boston Bubble News & Interesting Links

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2012-01-27			Boston Bubble Wrap: The Real Story for MA - Dec 2011
2012-01-26			Romney talks housing, ends up defending banks
2012-01-26			Obama Proposes Mortgage Bailouts, Handouts, Copouts Exactly One Paragraph After Stating "Top to Bottom: No Bailouts, No Handouts, and No Copouts"; How the Taxpayer Ripoff Works
2012-01-26			In tight local market, no relief for renters, apartment hunters
2012-01-26			Borrower better accept the consequences
2012-01-25			Massachusetts home sales in 2011 at lowest level since 1990
2012-01-24			MAR and Warren Group both report ~4% YOY nominal decline in SFH median in December, drop in volume
2012-01-23			Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says unfunded retiree health care liability is growing for towns and cities
2012-01-19			O'Brien calls for criminal action against the Big Banks; says they acted like "criminal enterprise" (PDF)
2012-01-19			Mass. jobless rate dips to 6.8% in Dec., but 6,200 jobs cut
2012-01-19			Mortgage settlement between banks, states "close"
2012-01-18			Mortgage woes top list of complaints to AG Coakley
2012-01-18			Massachusetts housing market is slowly stabilizing
2012-01-16			Mass. lawmakers hear pushback on foreclosure protection bill
2012-01-13			Prof. Glaeser: Fed's housing ideas won't fix market
2012-01-13			GOP cribs: Where the candidates live
2012-01-11			Survey: Mass. employers a bit more confident, but less so than a year ago
2012-01-10			MA SFH Pending Home Sales up 11.7% YOY in December
2012-01-09			Boston Fed chief urges Obama administration to make housing even less affordable
2012-01-02			2012 forecast: Economists see continued slow growth for MA
2012-01-02			Report says wage gap in Mass. is widening
2011-12-30			One Reason Why Boston Housing Is So Expensive
2011-12-29			Mass. foreclosures surge 70% in Nov.
2011-12-28			Warren and MAR predict Mass. on homestretch of massive tumble
2011-12-27			8 Outrageously Flawed Economic Predictions (majority are housing related)
2011-12-23			Boston Bubble Wrap: The Real Story for MA - Nov 2011
2011-12-23			Boston housing market projected to lose $9.5 billion in 2011
2011-12-23			Amazon move has Boston-Cambridge in a tizzy
2011-12-22			Mass. commuters spend more time on the road than most in U.S., potentially due to housing costs
2011-12-21			MA SFH Nov 2011 vs Nov 2010 - MAR: nominal median down 4%, volume up 13%; Warren Group: nominal median down 8%, volume up 13%
2011-12-20			Boston ranked 15 of 200+ for most expensive metro areas for home ownership
2011-12-20			U.S. Population Migrates for Income Boost
2011-12-19			Income Inequality In Metro Boston Among Worst In U.S.
2011-12-16			Mass. adds 5,000 jobs as unemployment dips to 7%
2011-12-16			SEC accuses former Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bosses of fraud
2011-12-14			MLS PIN: MA SFH nominal median fell 5% YOY in November
2011-12-14			Mass. Residents More Pessimistic about the Future - 33% expect housing prices to rise next year
2011-12-14			NAR home sales figures from 2007-10 to be lowered
2011-12-13			State revenues expected to slow
2011-12-12			Massachusetts Official Reports 26K Instances of Mortgage Fraud
2011-12-09			S&P/Case-Shiller Boston Futures: Real bottom in April 2011, but declines by 2012 Q1 will come very close
2011-12-08			Massachusetts employers have more confidence, but not adding jobs
2011-12-06			Employers turn - barely - more optimistic on economy
2011-12-05			Mass. residents even more pessimistic about economic future now than when recession was in full swing
2011-12-02			Mass. home buyers party like it's 1999 - Yes, that's where real prices are now