Good timing for Boston / Greater Boston - Multis ?

[Patrick McKinney]

I've been very interested into purchasing my first multi in the Boston / greater boston area (Eastie or Dorchester being my greatest interest). 

I've been watching the market via MLS for months and based off last 3 months it seems a TON has gone to market and has been sitting. Would you consider this a good time for the Boston market given I'm a first time buyer?

[Lien Vuong]

Boston has been a strong and high absorption market historically meaning that properties come on and off the market very quickly because the abundance of qualified consumers in this marketplace. With that being said, there's always opportunities for good deals on and off market if you're looking at the right lenses. @David Cahill's observation is correct that city rents have decreased in 2020 but I am suspecting that it is a temporary shift as we are recalibrating towards today's pandemic lifestyle. It is times like this that you can get a stronger deal as some investors are more fearful and have a lower risk tolerance for getting a multi family property. 

Specifically with a 'househack' strategy, I think it would be a prudent time to engage in the market as you can take advantage of the sub 3% interest rate and reduce your current living expenses while having your tenants pay the bulk of your debt obligation. In 24 months if market shifts and prices decreases so you would potentially get a lower priced property but your interest rates increase yielding same mortgage payments and you've lost out of 2 years worth of deductions and debt payoff. 

Hope that give you some perspective of the local market :)