It seems that every time I pick up the local newspaper, I read about the doom and gloom of Boston foreclosures, and how the world is about to end.
I am a real estate broker, and receive requests for "foreclosures around the Boston Common" and "Back Bay foreclosures" on almost a weekly basis.
Here's the story about foreclosures in Boston: they hardly even exist in Downtown Boston.
The foreclosure crisis came about in part because of mortgage brokers giving loans to just about anyone, even people with horrible credit and hardly any income.
Downtown Boston is one of the wealthiest areas on the planet, and foreclosures are usually rampant in low income neighborhoods.
Yes, its true there is a crisis in the state, and the rest of the country -- foreclosures in Massachusetts went up 128% in January 2008 alone.
However, foreclosures in Beacon Hill, North End, Financial District, and Fenway are going to be rare.
I very rarely come across foreclosures in luxury condo buildings such as the Ritz Carlton, and One Charles -- however they do occur, and I have seen condos foreclosed in high end luxury buildings - but they are extremely rare.
Even if there were foreclosures in each building, I doubt anyone would be getting a deal on any of these Boston MA foreclosures because there are 100's maybe 1000's of people who would be looking to buy the same condo -- and the condo would probably be sold at market value.
Over 700 properties fell into foreclosure last year in Boston, and most were in low income neighborhoods outside of Downtown.
Many of these foreclosures were due to the subprime mortgage market filled with dishonest predatory lenders who preyed on these unsuspecting buyers.