9 Factors Protecting Brookline from Market Collapse.

Today we had a discussion in the office in which someone commented that "there is no way Brookline can be the only town in America that doesn't 'crash'." Well, first, Brookline is nowhere close to the only town in America that is surviving the real estate "downturn." Second, I asked "what has changed about Brookline that would lead to a crash?"

1) Our schools are still as strong as they ever have been.
2) Longwood Medical Area is still next door and there is another new batch of residents preparing to move up here in the next three months.
3) We are still the absolute closest community to downtown Boston.
4) We still have (for lack of a less-used term) "historically" low interest rates for buyers.

Add to these factors:

5) Children are starting or finishing school every year, leading to lifestyle and housing changes for their parents.
6) Couples are still marrying or divorcing.
7) The biotech, medical and academic communities are not disappearing any time soon.
8) There are very few, if any at all, communities that have performed so strongly in recent years. Also, very few real estate investments have proven so stable as those in Brookline.
9) Almost most importantly, the number of homes "sitting" on the market is the lowest we have seen in a very long time.

All of these factors point to secure strength in the Brookline housing market in 2008. As much as we might expect a downturn or we might be afraid of one, we need to look at which factors could lead to or prevent a turn in the market. Commentary without analysis does not help anyone right now. The analysis shows us we are in a good spot. With the incredible mass-media negativity for the second half of 2007 we should have seen a real estate implosion. If some of the nine factors listed above change then we should look for changes in the market. As far as I can tell, with rates and inventory staying down, the other factors are not changeable in the short term.