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admin
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Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 1826
Location: Greater Boston

PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:36 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: Low inventory Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:

If I recall, his issue in h1-b were the abuses. I came here myself on h1-b and very well aware of the rampant abuse mainly by outsourcing companies. If he is against the abuses only then I commend him

Examples of abuse:
Outsource company will bid on a contract, they bring in hundreds of h1-b from India with very low skills compared to Americans. Because he pays them well under market he can hire many more to try and make up the skills and competence gap. This is clearly abuse akin to cheap slavery and locks out qualified American citizens and green card holders


Like I said, whether you consider this right or wrong, tech companies rely on this. Putting an end to it will affect their bottom line. Also, while there probably is abuse, it's not uniform. I have several friends who work at Google (who I trust to be honest) and I asked them about H-1Bs. They said they are paid the same as regular employees and they did confirm that Google makes significant use of the program.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:57 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: Low inventory Reply with quote

admin wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

If I recall, his issue in h1-b were the abuses. I came here myself on h1-b and very well aware of the rampant abuse mainly by outsourcing companies. If he is against the abuses only then I commend him

Examples of abuse:
Outsource company will bid on a contract, they bring in hundreds of h1-b from India with very low skills compared to Americans. Because he pays them well under market he can hire many more to try and make up the skills and competence gap. This is clearly abuse akin to cheap slavery and locks out qualified American citizens and green card holders


Like I said, whether you consider this right or wrong, tech companies rely on this. Putting an end to it will affect their bottom line. Also, while there probably is abuse, it's not uniform. I have several friends who work at Google (who I trust to be honest) and I asked them about H-1Bs. They said they are paid the same as regular employees and they did confirm that Google makes significant use of the program.

- admin


Note I said outsourcing companies, the real tech companies bring in skilled labor.

Outsourcing companies which contract to companies such as Disney, department stores, insurance companies etc are abusing the hell out of H1-b to maximize profit via extremely low paid h1-b from India.
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Former Arlingtonian



Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 141

PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 2:49 pm GMT    Post subject: H1 visa all about keeping wages down Reply with quote

The more workers you can import - the cheaper wages get even for high skilled earners.

I'd love to see import of Police officers, teachers, city administrators - lets put 1-2 million teacher out of work replaced by teachers from India and you would see a rebellion/ revolution.

Ski areas are importing cashiers and other low skill employees and camps have been importing counselors for years. The higher the supply of any commodity the lower the cost! Simple economics!
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:07 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: H1 visa all about keeping wages down Reply with quote

Former Arlingtonian wrote:
The more workers you can import - the cheaper wages get even for high skilled earners.

I'd love to see import of Police officers, teachers, city administrators - lets put 1-2 million teacher out of work replaced by teachers from India and you would see a rebellion/ revolution.

Ski areas are importing cashiers and other low skill employees and camps have been importing counselors for years. The higher the supply of any commodity the lower the cost! Simple economics!


Instead of importing people from India, why not keep the 11 million illegal immigrants already, tear down the border fences and let everyone come in from Mexico? Mexicans work harder than Americans anyway.
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Posts: 1826
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:21 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: H1 visa all about keeping wages down Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:

Instead of importing people from India, why not keep the 11 million illegal immigrants already, tear down the border fences and let everyone come in from Mexico? Mexicans work harder than Americans anyway.


H-1Bs are supposed to be people who already have specialized skills that can't be performed by Americans. I know, I know - that's the not reality much of the time, but nevertheless, these jobs (usually) require enough background experience that you couldn't just plop illegal immigrants into them.

That's all veering off on a tangent though. The key points for housing in the area are:

  • Take away the extra labor, and local tech companies will be less profitable and less of a beachhead for the local economy.
  • Fewer people seeking housing.

On the other hand, I suppose people working for the companies which are still viable would see higher salaries from decreased competition.

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Former Arlingtonian



Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 141

PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:41 pm GMT    Post subject: look at all the recent public profitless Boston tech co Reply with quote

Lots of companies are the Zoombie companies that would have gone broke except they went public and generated a lot of cash (while their business incinerates cash).

Look at:
Enernoc- here is the cash flow statement - the burned through $70 million in cash in one qtr https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=1244937&accession_number=0001244937-16-000101&xbrl_type=v#
Hubspot -
Endurance International - acquired ConstantContact - lost $25 Million running the business last qtr, borrowed $147 Million to keep the business going see cash flow statement here https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=1237746&accession_number=0001193125-16-771075&xbrl_type=v#
Hubspot - has been losing money - millions for years - lost $30 Million in the lastest nine months https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=1404655&accession_number=0001564590-16-027043&xbrl_type=v#
Carbonite - losing millions - just not as quickly as others https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=1340127&accession_number=0001340127-16-000248&xbrl_type=v#
There are a lot more of these zombie companies - the secret sauce is cheap money and a massive bull market where all stocks go up and then one day the hangover will set in.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:59 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: H1 visa all about keeping wages down Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:


Instead of importing people from India, why not keep the 11 million illegal immigrants already, tear down the border fences and let everyone come in from Mexico? Mexicans work harder than Americans anyway.


Having a "open" border with Mexico would cause classroom sizes and hospital wait rooms to explode in California
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:06 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: H1 visa all about keeping wages down Reply with quote

admin wrote:

On the other hand, I suppose people working for the companies which are still viable would see higher salaries from decreased competition.

- admin


One potential positive for Boston is the "new" salary-disclosure law in MA which goes into affect next year.

No company in MA can ask for a job candidates prior salary.

Its difficult to say what un-intended consequences may occur
- will the supply of workers incase because ppl will flock to MA for pay increase
- will the increase of ppl cause rents/housing to increase more

or
- will it drive companies away from MA as their expenses now increase or does it give companies a better pool of talent to stay in MA

???
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:11 pm GMT    Post subject: ANOTHER uplifting article in the Boston Globe today Reply with quote

Looking to buy a home this spring? Good luck with that

The law of supply and demand is firmly at work in Boston’s housing market.

Sale prices on homes in Massachusetts hit new highs in January, amid a sharp decline in the number of properties for sale. Meanwhile, rents in the city of Boston — especially on older apartments — are starting to fall as a wave of new buildings open across the city.

The trends reflect a market that has shifted in favor of renters — for now, anyway — but remains expensive across the board.

The median price for a single-family home in the Bay State climbed to $342,500, up 7 percent in January over the same month last year, according to data from the Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracking firm. Condo prices climbed at a similar clip.

January is typically a slow month for home sales in Massachusetts, but the gains reported Tuesday continued an upward trend in prices in recent months, fueled by job growth, increased demand from young adults, and tightening inventory. A separate report Tuesday, based on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, said home prices in Greater Boston are at all-time highs, 8.5 percent ahead of their previous peak in 2005.

But supply has not kept pace.

Permits for new single-family homes have been relatively flat in recent years and remain well below the highs of the mid-2000s. Relatively few homeowners are listing their homes for sale. And what listings there are, are going quickly; the average home that sold in January was on the market for just 82 days, 32 days faster than a year ago.

All that has combined to squeeze inventory. The number of homes for sale in the state is down by about one-third compared with the same period last year, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

“Remaining inventory is flying off the shelves,” said Paul Yorkis, president of Patriot Real Estate in Medway and head of the statewide association. “This is the lowest month’s supply of home listings that we have seen since MAR began recording the data in 2004.”

That combination of high prices and tight inventory led Bankrate.com, in a separate report out Tuesday, to rank Massachusetts the 10th-toughest state for first-time home buyers. It’s not likely to get easier this spring, said Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at real estate website Trulia, especially as buyers confront mortgage interest rates that jumped in November after spending most of last year near record lows.

“This spring housing market is shaping up to be another doozy for home buyers,” he said. “Housing affordability is the key to helping break yet another year of gridlocked inventory, but all signs are showing that homes this spring will be much less affordable than last year.”

At least the rental market is showing signs of relief — in Boston, that is. The average rent on older apartments — those built before 2011 — fell 4 percent last year to an average of $1,983 a month, according to figures being released this week by Mayor Martin J. Walsh. That still puts Boston among the priciest apartment markets in the country, but it’s a sign that the 12,000 new apartments that have opened in the last few years are putting a dent in rents, and not just at the top end.

“We are definitely starting to see an impact,” said Sheila Dillon, Walsh’s chief of housing.

Dillon said she hopes that impact will grow as more apartments come on line. There are about 7,000 more now under construction in Boston, with another 22,000 proposed.


Tim Logan can be reached at tim.logan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bytimlogan.

13 Comments

PL
PL02/28/17 12:00 PM
Typical sales baloney from realtors. Homes will be as affordable as last year, and the year before that, and next year. If a buyer cannot afford a particular house, someone else can, or the seller will lower the price. Residential real estate is a pretty straightforward marketplace.


soxgrrrl02/28/17 01:59 PM
PL - it's a pretty straightforward marketplace, but before I bought my current home 3 years ago, we looked for a year and a-half and were outbid on five properties, all but one of which we bid above asking (in some cases significantly). I honestly cannot imagine being out there in the market right now and I feel for anybody who is. But I do agree it is in realtors' best interests to fuel the frenzy.

PL02/28/17 02:47 PM
Those five other homes were affordable to someone else.
icpshootyz

icpshootyz02/28/17 02:54 PM
PL - that's a moving target, though. Affordable for whom? The average MA homebuyer? I think the point is that many people are finding themselves priced out of large areas of the state. So yes, sellers are finding buyers who can afford these homes. Others are priced out and either have to rent or move farther and farther out.

icpshootyz02/28/17 02:50 PM
I'm very glad I bought three years ago, and wish I could have been in the market even earlier than that. The place I bought would cost me 25% more today than it cost three years ago.

DEPratt02/28/17 05:33 PM
NOW is *always* the time to buy, according to Realtors.

Traceybc9302/28/17 07:11 PM
I was thinking of moving but thinking about everything I need to do persuaded me otherwise for now. I'm going to build equity and fix up my house and purge for the next two-theee years and when my daughter gets to high school move then.

mflan8803/01/17 07:47 AM
Bubble bath

Playakand03/01/17 12:50 PM
It's funny how California and Massachusetts are so Liberal and Democrat but both state represents RICH and POOR.

I don't see any middleclass in these states anymore.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/02/28/looking-buy-home-this-spring-good-luck-with-that/BKWsbLZ5KpaBlrbOeJB94N/story.html#comments
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Former Arlingtonian



Joined: 23 Oct 2013
Posts: 141

PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:36 pm GMT    Post subject: See what is happening to Lexington-MA high end Reply with quote

Lets take a look at the curious case of 31 Whipple Rd, Lexington, MA (a sought after town for education/finance/tech elites because of schools and proximity to Boston).

In December 2015 a couple sells the home at 31 Whipple for $775K to 31 Whipple Rd LLC (as you know – contractors create LLC for big projects to protect themselves). Dedham Institute for Savings gives 31 Whipple a mortgage/loan for $1,406,250 (lets remember the house was sold for $775K).

June of 2016 31 Whipple (the house that formerly sold for $775K) is placed on the market for $2,228,800 ( see https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491065_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.518422,-71.107293,42.383401,-71.341782_rect/11_zm/ ). Needless to say on Dec 2, 2016 the selling price of 31 Whipple is reduced to $2,257,00 and on Jan 30th 2017 31 Whipple sales price was reduced to $2,146,888.

The second example is also from Lexington MA – 33 Sherburne Road – https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491696_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.48463,-71.166001,42.41712,-71.283246_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/
12/18/2015 33 Sherburne sells for $857K to 33 SherburneLLC and Northern Bank and Trust grants a mortgage of $1,850,375 to 33Sherburne LLC
6/24/2016 33 Sherburne is listed to sell for $2,595,000
9/28/2016 33 Sherburne listing is removed from market
2/23/2017 33 Sherburne is relisted (appearing as a new listing) for $2,595,000

All the housing mortgage data for both transactions can be found here http://www.masslandrecords.com/MiddlesexSouth/

The high end is weakening.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:00 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: See what is happening to Lexington-MA high end Reply with quote

Former Arlingtonian wrote:
Lets take a look at the curious case of 31 Whipple Rd, Lexington, MA (a sought after town for education/finance/tech elites because of schools and proximity to Boston).

In December 2015 a couple sells the home at 31 Whipple for $775K to 31 Whipple Rd LLC (as you know – contractors create LLC for big projects to protect themselves). Dedham Institute for Savings gives 31 Whipple a mortgage/loan for $1,406,250 (lets remember the house was sold for $775K).

June of 2016 31 Whipple (the house that formerly sold for $775K) is placed on the market for $2,228,800 ( see https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491065_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.518422,-71.107293,42.383401,-71.341782_rect/11_zm/ ). Needless to say on Dec 2, 2016 the selling price of 31 Whipple is reduced to $2,257,00 and on Jan 30th 2017 31 Whipple sales price was reduced to $2,146,888.

The second example is also from Lexington MA – 33 Sherburne Road – https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491696_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.48463,-71.166001,42.41712,-71.283246_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/
12/18/2015 33 Sherburne sells for $857K to 33 SherburneLLC and Northern Bank and Trust grants a mortgage of $1,850,375 to 33Sherburne LLC
6/24/2016 33 Sherburne is listed to sell for $2,595,000
9/28/2016 33 Sherburne listing is removed from market
2/23/2017 33 Sherburne is relisted (appearing as a new listing) for $2,595,000

All the housing mortgage data for both transactions can be found here http://www.masslandrecords.com/MiddlesexSouth/

The high end is weakening.


Unfortunately, these 2 properties tell us nothing as they could have been priced "too high" above market value. Only someone familiar with the local markets could tell you those were priced right.

Here's one sample point:
This house in Waban, MA was last sold in 2010 for 705k. Relisted in may 2016 for 1.2M (some renovations?), went through 2 price cuts to 1.1M.. no bites

now in 2017 relisted for 1.1M and its went pending within the week
.. very surprising, no one wanted it 6 months ago, but now they do..

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/25-Allen-Ave-Waban-MA-02468/56313582_zpid/
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:20 am GMT    Post subject: Re: See what is happening to Lexington-MA high end Reply with quote

Former Arlingtonian wrote:
Lets take a look at the curious case of 31 Whipple Rd, Lexington, MA (a sought after town for education/finance/tech elites because of schools and proximity to Boston).

In December 2015 a couple sells the home at 31 Whipple for $775K to 31 Whipple Rd LLC (as you know – contractors create LLC for big projects to protect themselves). Dedham Institute for Savings gives 31 Whipple a mortgage/loan for $1,406,250 (lets remember the house was sold for $775K).

June of 2016 31 Whipple (the house that formerly sold for $775K) is placed on the market for $2,228,800 ( see https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491065_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.518422,-71.107293,42.383401,-71.341782_rect/11_zm/ ). Needless to say on Dec 2, 2016 the selling price of 31 Whipple is reduced to $2,257,00 and on Jan 30th 2017 31 Whipple sales price was reduced to $2,146,888.

The second example is also from Lexington MA – 33 Sherburne Road – https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lexington-MA/56491696_zpid/19005_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/42.48463,-71.166001,42.41712,-71.283246_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/
12/18/2015 33 Sherburne sells for $857K to 33 SherburneLLC and Northern Bank and Trust grants a mortgage of $1,850,375 to 33Sherburne LLC
6/24/2016 33 Sherburne is listed to sell for $2,595,000
9/28/2016 33 Sherburne listing is removed from market
2/23/2017 33 Sherburne is relisted (appearing as a new listing) for $2,595,000

All the housing mortgage data for both transactions can be found here http://www.masslandrecords.com/MiddlesexSouth/

The high end is weakening.


Buying at 775k and not able to flip at 2.2 million means the house is overpriced. There's no way it sells for over 2 million because the 6k sqft includes the basement and finished attic. Maybe 1.8 million at most.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 1:46 am GMT    Post subject: What causes a tight market Reply with quote

The money that has flowed into the real estate market that allows contractors to do the buy/tear down/ try to flip formerly $750K home for $1.2 - $2.5 million has created a short term supply problem.

Yes, as Barnum would say "there is always another sucker" - willing to take on a big mortgage to buy that dream home in the sought after school district.

We could argue our perceptions of the market until the end of time. Some time in the future we will know if this is going to be a run of the mill pull back in housing or an epic real estate bust!

Wish I knew.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:09 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: What causes a tight market Reply with quote

Former Arlingtonian wrote:
The money that has flowed into the real estate market that allows contractors to do the buy/tear down/ try to flip formerly $750K home for $1.2 - $2.5 million has created a short term supply problem.

Yes, as Barnum would say "there is always another sucker" - willing to take on a big mortgage to buy that dream home in the sought after school district.

We could argue our perceptions of the market until the end of time. Some time in the future we will know if this is going to be a run of the mill pull back in housing or an epic real estate bust!

Wish I knew.


What would you consider a pullback vs. a bust? Real decline occurring over years vs. nominal decline? Admin pointed out the real vs. nominal consideration previously, but I wonder about the difference of perception and hardship between the two. Certainly real losses still hurt given transaction costs...
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:37 pm GMT    Post subject: Re: What causes a tight market Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
Former Arlingtonian wrote:
The money that has flowed into the real estate market that allows contractors to do the buy/tear down/ try to flip formerly $750K home for $1.2 - $2.5 million has created a short term supply problem.

Yes, as Barnum would say "there is always another sucker" - willing to take on a big mortgage to buy that dream home in the sought after school district.

We could argue our perceptions of the market until the end of time. Some time in the future we will know if this is going to be a run of the mill pull back in housing or an epic real estate bust!

Wish I knew.


What would you consider a pullback vs. a bust? Real decline occurring over years vs. nominal decline? Admin pointed out the real vs. nominal consideration previously, but I wonder about the difference of perception and hardship between the two. Certainly real losses still hurt given transaction costs...


You will only see pullbacks in most areas. There will be no epic bust except in the poor minority neighborhoods. You might be able to get 25% off million dollar condos because they are building so many. Some condo prices are approaching an insane $900/sqft. For most houses, you will only see about a 15% nominal discount at the next bottom. The Boston Bubble is not very big when you compare the price to rent ratio.
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