bostonbubble.com

[Boston ITer]

http://seekingalpha.com/article/197308-the-national-housing-survey-and-the-real-estate-bear-market

The above article implies a lot since it indicates that even New Yorkers are still bullish on housing, and NYC has taken a bigger hit than metro Boston in terms of sharp price drops.

[john p]

Massachusetts was a leader in technology during a period where the more advanced Nations employed them and the market for technology was smaller.

With emerging nations having cell phones, Internet, new software etc. I think that Massachusetts can still lead because although there is a ton of new competition, the markets they serve will now be enormous.

Take Harmonix, who makes the "Rock Band" video game. Imagine millions and millions of kids in China and India who want to rock out to Bon Jovi.

In 1996 we had Video Tapes, then we went to DVD's and now we're buying movies for our IPods and we're just downloading them on our DVR's etc. People are using the Internet in place of the radio etc. There is a huge demand for quality content and stuff is so portable that staying out in front of this huge technology wave is going to be incredibly profitable. The mountain of debt that we've accumulated globally and the abuses of the finance industry have veiled the enormous progress we've made in technology. Think about how during the protests in Iran, they were using Twitter to get video and data out.

The real weakness Massachusetts has is that the cost of living is so high that people need high paying jobs and they don't have the free time to do the side projects that yield much of the research. Many companies acquire smaller companies instead of growing R&D in house because in all fairness, who knows where a good idea is going to pop out. Well if everyone is up to their ears in debt, people won't be focusing on doing a deep dive. In all Renaissance Periods, we've had people with wealth and free time. Who has the ability to leave their job and join a team to do a start up today? I think other lower cost of living areas close to academic centers have an advantage in that regard. Depsite all of that, I do think a lot of great ideas and leading technology will still come out of Boston.

[GenXer]

Rental for a 'chain' 2b-2b apartment in Newton has just fallen from about $1750+ down to $1550. This is about 11%, and it happened early this year. Must say something about real estate prices - vacancies are up and if anything, this means rents have more to fall.

[Boston ITer]

[Kaidran]

Since the recession I think a lot of professionals have been too scared to move out of Boston to be away from the density of jobs. Even though Boston might not be what it once was it is still better than a lot of places. I think white collar unemployment is still relatively low.

I am in an interesting (lucky) position that I love my job and it is what keeps me here. If I lost it for whatever reason I doubt I'd stay in Boston. I'm moving more to the idea of being a permarenter, even though I actually like taking care or things in a house (I've owned twice before). Boston real estate just looks like a really bad deal for a new buyer at the moment. Too bad a deal for me, even though I think I'd enjoy it.

[Boston ITer]