The housing market heated up in Boston before just about anyplace else. Home prices more than doubled over six years before peaking in mid-2005. The median price has dropped about 20% since then.
Because Beantown is hemmed in by the harbor and by other smaller cities near its margins, land to build on is in short supply, making new homes expensive and buoying the market for existing properties.
The area's economy, anchored by its sterling educational institutions and the businesses spawned by those colleges and universities, has outperformed most others during the recession. Unemployment stood at 7.4% in November and is falling.
With both the economy and home prices steadier than the norm, foreclosures have been a minor problem. Just one home in every 80 received a filing during 2010, putting Boston 134th among the 206 metro areas in the RealtyTrac report.
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