News and local information about Framingham, MA (USA)
FRAMINGHAM, MA – According to a Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA HPI®) report U.S. house prices rose 4.3 percent in the year between the first quarter of 2022 and 2023 Q1.
While U.S. home prices are still rising, the increase from 2022 Q1 to 2023 Q1 were nowhere near the jump seen in the previous year (2021 Q1 to 2022 Q1) which at 18.8% was the highest gain in the previous ten years.
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FRAMINGHAM, MA — The cost of everything from home heating fuel, to gasoline, food and other commodity items have been on the rise. Several economic indicators have hit records in the past year or two — and for those who have been on the fence in regards to buying a home in the past year, the bad news in that the 30-Year Fixed Rate mortgage increased more than 46% in the past year.
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FRAMINGHAM, MA — Livability Media, which provides information about and ranks cities, towns, regions and states on how “livable” they are, has ranked Framingham at #22 in their 8th annual 2021 Top 100 Best Place to Live in America.
Framingham has moved up two notches this year, (it was ranked #24 in Livability’s 2020 list), but still lags behind Quincy, MA which ranked in the Top 10 at #6 from over 2,300 U.S. cities surveyed.
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FRAMINGHAM, MA – Livability Media, which provides information about and ranks cities, towns, regions and states on how “livable” they are, has ranked Framingham, MA at #24 in their 2020 List of Best Place to Live in America.
According to their website, for this year they “analyzed more than 1,000 small to mid-sized cities on factors like safety, affordability, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility and community engagement”.
For 2020, the company’s seventh year producing the annual list, they also factored in an “opportunity score” which took into account job numbers, broadband access, economic resilience and growth.
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FRAMINGHAM, MA – The City begins mailing third-quarter (Q3/2021) real estate tax bills today (March 17, 2021), and will send out fourth-quarter (Q4/2021) tax bills Wednesday, March 31.
Payment for both (Q3 and Q4) real estate taxes will be due on Monday, May 3, 2021.
(more…)FRAMINGHAM, MA – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today approved plans by the Town of Framingham to rezone its Central Business District, Downtown Framingham. The rezoning plans were approved on October 21, 2015 by Special Town Meeting members. Town officials see the rezoning as critical to encouraging transit-oriented development (TOD) in Downtown Framingham, and will move their efforts forward to encourage this kind of residential development.
“Downtown Framingham is poised to reclaim its title as an important walkable, urban center for economic development in MetroWest and Greater Boston,” said Charlie Sisitsky, Chair of Framingham’s Board of Selectmen. “The Town of Framingham is excited to offer in Metrowest an urban living experience to people who may be attracted to the Town’s small-town atmosphere and convenient proximity to Boston. We anticipate (more…)
FRAMINGHAM, MA – Due to economic conditions, more owners of residential real estate than usual are facing foreclosure.
While some properties sold at Public Auction can be purchased below market value, buyers should be aware that many times such properties have been neglected, and in some cases have been damaged or had items such as plumbing fixtures, copper heating pipes and other items removed.
In general, property purchased at foreclosure auctions should be examined even more closely than property sold on the normal residential real estate market.
In addition to structural or cosmetic problems, (more…)
FRAMINGHAM, MA– Nobody can blame Paul Ashton, he’s made more of an effort than most to keep the small business he operates in the Nobscot Shopping Center alive — waiting, hoping for an economic rebound, or at least some signs of life.
On Thursday July 28th, Ashton, owner of Annie’s Book Stop & Espresso Paulo sent out a press release, regretfully announcing he is closing up shop.
Although he hasn’t set an exact closing date, starting Friday, July 29th, he will be holding an “Everything Must Go” sale.
In his press release, Ashton commented, “Obviously I feel quite sad about this. The book store has been in this plaza for over 20 years, and I have owned it since 2000. As other booksellers, both new and used, have found, book-buyer habits have changed significantly in recent years.”
Citing recent trends in online shopping, Ashton went on to explain (more…)
FRAMINGHAM, MA – A total of 43 residential properties were sold in the town of Framingham, MA during the month of March, (2011).
Twenty eight single family homes, ten condos, four multi-family homes and half acre lot on Kendall Street rounded out the residential real estate sales in town for the month.
The single family homes were on the market for an average of 86 days, and sold for an average of just over $300k, slightly below the average list price for the same properties which was $311k.
Condo sales were brisk. Units which did sell had only been on the market for an average of 25 to 26 days. Still, buyers were able to purchase the condos for slightly less than asking price, (in most cases). Average condo prices were in the mid-$90k range, with units selling from $40k to just under $250k. The Town’s long standing moratoriums on large-scale apartment complex construction appears to keep demand high for the limited number of existing condominiums in Framingham.
Four 2-family homes located in Downtown Framingham, (40-44 Alexander St., 61 Lawrence St., 231 Irving St. and 8 Wellington Ave) sold during the month of March. The multi-family homes which were on the market for an average of five months, (157 days), sold at an average of $176k, slightly less than the average asking price of $187k.
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