By Aglaia Pikounis

A new report from The Warren Group today offered some encouraging news. Fewer properties were lost to foreclosure in February compared to January and to the same month in 2008.

But as the report points out, lenders have initiated more foreclosure proceedings for four months straight. And with unemployment numbers climbing, more homeowners will be at risk of defaulting on their mortgage loans as they struggle to keep up with monthly payments.

While the increase in foreclosure activity has moderated somewhat in hard-hit areas like Lynn and Springfield, some Bay State communities have seen an explosion in foreclosures so far this year.

In Salem, for example, there have been four times as many foreclosures recorded in the first two months of the year as last year. Pittsfield’s foreclosures are more than triple what they were in 2008. And Medford has had twice as many properties lost to foreclosure.

Almost half of the foreclosures so far this year have been of single-family home properties. Twenty percent of foreclosures were of two- and three-family homes.

By Aglaia Pikounis

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan released a statement last week touting the fact that sales of existing and newly built homes increased last month.

“This week we have seen some encouraging news on housing. Sales of both new and existing homes rose in February for the first time in more than six months while home prices are starting to stabilize,” Donovan’s statement began.

People around here aren’t breaking out the champagne yet. 

Most parts of the Bay State are hurting when it comes to the housing market, and home prices don’t seem to be stabilizing, as Donovan says.

But some parts of the state are hurting less than others.

As was recently reported, the median single-family home price statewide has fallen 20 percent in the first two months of the year.

Central Massachusetts appears to have suffered even bigger drops, with the median home price sinking 25 percent to $180,000.

But prices haven’t fallen as steeply in communities within Route 128.

The median price in that region, which includes communities like Belmont, Hingham, Milton and Lexington, is down 14 percent. Nothing to celebrate about – but definitely better than a 25 percent drop!

By Aglaia Pikounis

The Warren Group released its home sales and price report for the month of February this morning and the numbers aren’t much different that they were last month. Single-family home sales fell almost 15 percent last month compared to a year earlier, while the median single-family home price dropped 18 percent.

Despite the declines, the Bay State isn’t doing as bad as other parts of the country when it comes to so-called distressed property sales. In Massachusetts, just about 1 in 10 single-family home sales last month were of bank-owned properties – or homes that have been foreclosed.

In other parts of the country, distressed property sales are much bigger share of transactions. The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that distressed properties accounted for 40 to 45 percent of sales transactions in February.

In California and Florida, distressed sales accounted for roughly two-third of sales during the fourth quarter. And in Rhode Island, nearly half of single-family homes sales were short sales or foreclosures in January.

Still, the sale of real estate-owned property, or REOs, is definitely a drag on home sales prices. The Warren Group found that if the bank-owned property sales were taken out to the equation, the median price for homes sold in January and February would have been $272,000 instead of $251,000.

In fact the median price for the bank-owned homes during the first two months of 2009 was just under $100,000.

By Aglaia Pikounis

Much has been written in recent months about perspective buyers who’ve had trouble qualifying for mortgage loans despite solid credit scores. Strict underwriting standards have essentially reduced the buying pool.

But borrowers are managing to get loans. Which institutions are doing the most lending in Massachusetts?

If you guessed biggies like Bank of America, Citizens and Countrywide, you’re right. Bank of America, which has issued 273 purchase loans so far this year, ranks first in purchase loans and fifth for refinancing activity, according to The Warren Group.

Countrywide comes in second and third for purchase loans and refinancings, respectively.

And Mortgage Master Inc., with 1,477 loans totaling nearly $62 million, ranks top overall.

What’s interesting, however, is that in this environment smaller entities are starting to grab a bigger share of the market. Salem Five Cents Mortgage currently ranks as 7^th overall for purchase and refinance loans, lending over $197 million.

Back in 2007, before some mortgage companies were wiped out, Salem Five Cents ranked 21. That’s quite a jump in business.

By Aglaia Pikounis

Where can you find a home for less than $300,000?

Well, it looks like a home searcher can now look in a good number of communities to find a home in that price range. Earlier this week, I wrote about Boston neighborhoods where the median home price has dipped below $300,000.

But if you don’t want to live in Boston, there are at least 100 other communities you can go to where the single-family median home price was less than $300,000 in January, according to The Warren Group.

Take Salem, for example. The city’s median price fell to $285,000 in January from $360,000 during the same month in 2008. If that’s too far away from Boston, the suburb of Canton may be a good bet. The median home price was $250,000 compared to $333,000 a year earlier. In central Massachusetts, Shrewsbury might be a good choice. Not too long ago, developers were proudly marketing million-dollar mansions in the town’s new subdivisions. Now, the median price is down to $250,000 from $350,000 a year ago.

Of course, these prices are based on just a month’s worth of sales and those prices will adjust as the year goes and more transactions are recorded.

Still, there’s no doubt that buyers are getting to look in communities they never dreamed would be in their price range. This is especially true for first-time buyers, who get a tax credit, and don’t have to worry about selling a home in order to buy a new one.

By Aglaia Pikounis

My husband and I bought a modest single-family home in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood back in 2002, so I’m always interested in what’s happening with home values in Boston.

It looks like there are six city neighborhoods where the median home price slipped below $300,000 in 2008, and JP isn’t one of them.

Median home prices in nearly all of the Boston neighborhoods peaked in 2005, and at that point the median wasn’t below $300,000 in any of them.

Which Boston neighborhood had the biggest decline in home prices since 2005? If you guessed Dorchester or Mattapan, areas that have been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, you’re wrong.

It’s Allston. Allston’s median home price peaked at $471,500 in 2005, according to data from The Warren Group. Last year, the median plunged to $270,000. That’s a 43 percent decrease! Mattapan, East Boston and Dorchester have also had double-digit percentage declines from 2005 through 2008.

As for Jamaica Plain, an area dominated by condo sales, single-family home prices have held pretty steady.

JP’s median home price peaked at $520,000 in 2006. In 2008, the median home price was $506,000, or 2.7 percent lower than 2006. But unlike most of the other Hub neighborhoods, JP’s price appears to be climbing again. Last year, the median climbed 4 percent from 2007.

By Aglaia Pikounis

The news this morning that Manny Ramirez put his penthouse at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton on the market for a whopping $8.5 million got my attention.

Back in 2005, at the height of the residential real estate market, Ramirez was trying to unload the flashy condo for $6.9 million. His broker hosted an open house tour for the media, and photos were splashed all over news sites and papers. Ramirez couldn’t hook a buyer then.

Now, almost four years later, with the housing market sputtering and loans pretty hard to secure, Ramirez and his broker think the condo will be able to fetch more than $8 million? Maybe I’m missing something here.

Only about 34 condos in downtown Boston traded for $5 million or higher in the last 18 months. And more than half of those units are at the Mandarin, according to data from the registry of deeds collected by The Warren Group.  The Mandarin, Boston’s latest ultra-chic condo project, opened last fall. At least three units at the Mandarin have fetched upwards of $10 million.

Meanwhile, only one unit priced $5 million or higher has been sold at the Ritz during that timeframe.

Who knows. Maybe some people want the prestige of living at the Ritz-Carlton bad enough that they’ll pay top dollar even in a down market.

Or maybe some people just have to have a wraparound balcony with views of Boston Common.

Or maybe, now that Manny isn’t playing for the hometeam and Sox fans don’t have to tolerate his antics, he’ll have better luck attracting a buyer.  

By Aglaia Pikounis

These frigid winter days have me longing for summer days on a sandy beach somewhere far from Boston.  Those feelings intensified when I read a story in the most recent issue of Boston Magazine about the Cape Codder hotel and resort in Hyannis.

The hotel is undergoing an expansion that will add a luxurious spa, an indoor water park, and 15 condos that will be sold in pieces to buyers.

Buyers will pay $159,900 and up for one-tenth share of the condos, according to the article. The owners would be able to stay in these new condos for up to five weeks a year.

Surely, for some buyers the idea of owning a unit with brand-new appliances and furniture at a resort with all sorts of amenities — including access to a spa that offers everything from pedicures to massages — is tempting.

But real estate broker Jamie Regan, president of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors, raises an interesting point: buyers can find an existing condo on the Cape for less than $200,000. And they don’t have to share it with other people.

In fact, for those who’ve always wanted a vacation home on the Cape this may be an ideal to snap up a bargain. The median price for a condo on the Cape fell to $257,450 in January, the latest month for which statistics are available. That’s a 15 percent discount from two years earlier when the median condo price was $303,000.

And prices for single-family homes have fallen even more. The median price for a single-family home in Barnstable County was down to $276,250 in January, a 27 percent from $380,000 in January 2007.

By Aglaia Pikounis

It’s a question a lot of folks have been asking ever since President Obama unveiled details of his mortgage rescue plan 12 days ago: How many Bay State residents will be eligible for help?

Part of Obama’s plan aims to help owners refinance if their first mortgages fall between 80 to 105 percent of the value of their home. The first loans must be owned or securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Warren Group has begun to analyze its data to determine how many people in Massachusetts would qualify for refinancing help. In this week’s Banker & Tradesman, Ian Murphy uses Warren Group data in a story about underwater mortgages. He reports that 18 percent of all mortgages in Massachusetts are underwater – meaning that the homeowner owes more on the home than it’s currently worth. (By the way, that’s for single-family homes and condos only. The percentage would likely creep up if two- and three-family properties were thrown into the mix.) 

What’s left out of the story is another interesting tidbit: about 14 percent of all single-family home and condo properties in the state — or more than 228,000 households — fall in that 80 to 105 percent loan-to-value group that the president’s plan is targeting.

And 11 percent of the state’s single-family home and condo owners – or 183,902 – actually have mortgages that are higher than 105 percent of the value of their homes.