Best site to identify commuting costs & hassles, in good weather & bad?

Earlier today, Bryan Person launched a wiki called Awful Commutes.  Right now, it seems to be focused on collecting stories from yesterday’s snow emergency in Boston which unexpectedly turned commuting into winter sport.  No need to limit the wiki to accounts of those 5 and 6 hour marathons.  Three years ago, I thought about moving to Lowell, MA but decided to stay in Cambridge because I could walk to so many important places in my life. My understanding is that Walkscore.com helps potential homebuyers identify the most "walkable communities."

Not everyone has the option to live in a walkable community, hence the
need for a decision-making tool that helps home buyers evaluate
communities — and specific listings — based on their household’s
commuting needs.  Does such a tool or site already exist? If so, what’s
the best one to use to assess the cost of commuting in Greater Boston, and hassles factors on alternative routes?  Do "best of breed" commuting sites already include wikis?  If not, hope Awfulcommute.pbwiki.com becomes the commuting equivalent of RottenNeighbor.com,
at least here in Boston.  I’d certainly recommend that kind of
interactive tool to The Real Estate Cafe’s ‘do-it-yourself" home
buyers.

If Bryan’s wiki continues to focus on winter commutes, wouldn’t it
be fun to ask readers who are old enough to contribute memories of the Blizzard of ’78?
Maybe some can offer first person (no pun intended Bryan) accounts of
their commutes yesterday and 30 years ago.  Is anyone already planning
something to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78 in
Boston next year?  (I lived in Montreal at the time of the storm, but
was amazed by the size of the snow drifts when I visited two weeks
later. Nothing like today’s relatively quick meltdown.)

Related Articles

Saying good-bye to winter

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.
If we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperty would not be so welcome."

Post photo of snow fort in Cambridge?

Quote Boston Globe story from several years ago stating how much of the population considered moving out of Boston after a long, trying winter, like this year.

Post several photos.

Mapping comments from the HousingBubbleBlog

Has anyone given any thought to "mapping" the kinds of trends and location specific information readers of this blog contribute from around the country?  Comments posted here could protect home buyers from making a mistake that will cost them for years.  Skeptics, like those in the recent newspaper article in Boston and other markets who blame the market slowdown on the media, should check the locations, price declines, and duration of past price corrections on this experimental site:

http://www.realestatebubblemap.com

Your comments are welcome.  Better yet, create your own local bubble map and let others link to it; and if readers are in the housing market, attach comps to their offers.  Be sure to click on the Boston map to see homes selling for below their assessed value, some $100,000 or more below their original asking price.

Real time “comps”

Link to recent press post Inman re "real time real estate."

Instead of developing a "CMA" type of report that describes sold data, I’ve
been using the "pending date" instead of the sold date.

 
Reason?  The market is changing so much on a daily or monthly basis,
that considering "comps" may not be as accurate if the sold date is used, as
much as using the "pending date."  If you develop a list of 6 houses that
sold in August to compare those sales with an offer you’re making today, then
what if the market has been in a decline since March?  How much of a value
difference may there be from properties that went pending in the spring,
compared to a property on the market now?
 
Some, if not all of those 6 "comps" could have sold last spring.  As
we know, listing agents and appraisers will often use the "comps" that best fit
the subject being appraised rather than an objective assessment of the sales
data.
 
So, next time you structure some type of analysis, why not use "pending
dates" instead of "sold dates" to make any comparison to a subject property
you’re trying to negotiate for on behalf of your buyer clients?
 
I suggested this to one of the "honest" appraises we typically use
here…he said he’s only using month old "comps" because there is an ongoing
decline in values here.

Tracking properties “Priced below assessment”

Welcome Boston Globe readers and others who want to see where properties have sold recently for below assessed value.  Here are three quick links, but first a few key points:  we assume our readers know more about their local housing markets than we do, so we invite you to add your comments, post additional properties, or contribute to our wiki.  You can sign-up for updates via RSS or email (FeedBlitz).  If there is interest, we’ll host our next Bubble Hour this weekend at PodCamp Boston to share insights and record some.  We’d like to begin adding audio and video clips to the bubble maps below:

Boston Bubble Map
Cape Cod Bubble Map
RealEstateBubbleMap.com

In coming days, we’ll also explain how we started mapping sales below
assessed value, add approximately 100 more sales from August 2006, and
explain how clients can earn commission credits by adding properties, too.

Want to submit some "bubble comps" with your offer?  "Grab" what you need, and place them on your own map (we can explain how).  For more information or to record your thoughts for our Real Estate Bubble Audio Time Capsule, contact The Real Estate Cafe at RECafe@mac.com or 617-876-2117.

Real Estate Games

Olympics fever has everyone writing about, Granted, Boston.com, the tag for Boston.com’s real estate blog has been "Everything you need to know about Boston’s other spectator sport" since it launched.  Yesterday’s blog entry was entitled "Real estate games."

Perfect timing for FSBO open house this weekend at TogetherInMotion.com in Arlington, MA.

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