There are clear signs the Boston apartment market is overheating.  Vacancies are extremely low, there is limited development in the pipeline, and rents are rising.  The question, therefore, is will this rental market dynamic cause Boston condo sales to rise in 2012. In a newly posted blog at IGNITION Residential, our sister company and marketing firm for new development condos and apartments, we asked “Is an overheating rental market going to drive condo sales in Boston?”  From the post:

Buying has become cheaper recently – substantially so. Even without the major downturn in prices that much of the country has felt, Boston home and condo prices have moderated to a degree.  At the same time, mortgage rates have been declining and now are hovering at all time lows under 4% for 30 year fixed rates (and even lower for adjustable rate loans).  With the Fed indicating they will keep short-term rates near zero through 2014, mortgage rates are expected to remain low for some time.

While the overall sales volume in Greater Boston has been flat for the past 4 years, on an anecdotal basis we’re starting to see more and more renters turn to buying because the rent vs. buy equation has flipped in Boston in many cases.  The question to rent or to buy is now tilting towards buying more often.

We go on to answer the question about why we haven’t already seen much increase in Boston condo sales and provide an example of several new condo projects in Boston to illustrate what we expect to happen to sales in Boston in 2012.  Read the full article here.