Lowell: Home Values Increasing

March 18th, 2015 — The values of homes in Lowell are slowly increasing. There are several causes for this. First, there is a lack of homes that are for sale so those that do go on the market sell quickly, often for the asking price or more. Another reason for increasing values is that interest rates are still low which allows home buyers to borrow (and offer) more money.

Most of the houses now begin offered for sale have been owned for more than twenty years by the same people. This means that older people are selling their family homes in exchange for smaller condominiums, assisted living facilities, or even new homes in Florida or other warmer places.

One reason more middle aged people are not selling their houses now is that many bought their homes when values were highest which was between 2004 and 2007. Because many who bought during that time borrowed all or nearly all of the purchase price, they still owe more money on their mortgages than their homes are now worth. This is called “being underwater.” People in this situation often cannot sell their homes because they will not get enough money from the sale to pay off their mortgage.

The table below shows the median price on deeds recorded for property in Lowell for each year from 2000 to 2014. The table also shows the percentage that each year’s price changed from the year before. For example, the median price in 2003 was $217,000 which was a 16% increase from 2002 when the median price was just $187,375. The good news is that if you purchased your house in 2000, its value has increased 49% since then.