May update: Boston's Heating Up (literally and figuratively)

Boston's been hitting the mid-90s this week, so please stay cool and hydrated out there. I just brought a new listing to market that's already generating solid interest from buyers who've been waiting for the right opportunity. Let's dig into May's numbers, see what's happening nationally with mortgage rates, and I found an interesting piece about Boston's changing neighborhood dynamics.

FEATURED LISTING

Just Listed

$1,599,999

23 Tonawanda St, Dorchester, MA

6 bed · 5.5 bath · 4,024 sqft

Classic two-family home in Dorchester's sought-after Melville Park neighborhood with timeless character, exceptional potential, and architectural plans ready for ADU approval.

View listing →

Just Listed

27 Halborn St, Mattapan, MA

2 bed · 1 bath

Detached bungalow style single family home featuring open living and dining room, with off street parking and basement laundry included.

View listing →

LOCAL PULSE · BOSTON

Whats Happening in Boston Right Now

Boston's housing market showed surprising strength in early 2026, with the median sale price hitting $860,000, up 2.4% from last year. But buyers are getting more time to think, with homes staying on market an average of 33 days compared to just 22 days in 2025.

Boston School Committee Cuts 400 Staff Positions

The Boston School Committee unanimously approved a $1.7 billion budget that eliminates up to 400 positions, including 260 teachers and 144 aides. The district is facing a $53 million deficit, with about half the cuts coming from planned school closures and grade reconfigurations.

Construction Activity Drops to Decade Low

Only one tower crane was operating in Boston during the first quarter of 2026, signaling a dramatic slowdown in development. The Wu administration expects just $40 million in new tax revenue from development this year, the smallest amount since 2016, as high interest rates and construction costs freeze major projects.

TOP OF MIND

ASML Beats Earnings but Stock Slides on AI Doubts

ASML delivered exactly what analysts wanted, then watched its stock drop anyway. The Dutch chip equipment maker posted Q1 sales of 8.8 billion euros, beat profit expectations, and raised its full-year outlook to 36-40 billion euros. The fundamentals tell a clear story: AI infrastructure demand is real, chip shortages persist, and customers are accelerating capacity plans for 2026 and beyond.

The market's reaction reveals something more complex about how investors are processing the AI boom. Despite strong results and raised guidance, ASML's stock fell because Q2 revenue projections came in slightly below expectations. 6 billion euros in negative free cash flow (mostly timing-related) and supply chain constraints limiting production, and the picture gets muddier.

The company that makes the machines that make the chips everyone needs can't keep up with demand.

Geopolitical risks compound the uncertainty. China represented 19% of Q1 sales, but tightening export controls on lithography equipment could cut off a major revenue source overnight. For chipmakers building AI capacity, ASML's raised guidance signals the infrastructure race continues.

For everyone else, the earnings reaction shows that even companies at the center of the AI revolution face execution challenges that matter more than market positioning.

The technology shift is real, but translating that into predictable business results remains the harder problem.

Source: ASML (link)

NATIONAL MARKET

Mortgage Rates Decline to 6.37% as Spring Homebuying Season Begins

46% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. 62%. For borrowers, even small declines in mortgage rates reduce monthly payments.

The decrease in rates represents a positive development for prospective homebuyers and could spark a more favorable spring homebuying season than last year, according to Freddie Mac's chief economist. While mortgage rates are down slightly from a year ago, their recent upward trend has discouraged some would-be homebuyers and homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate. S.

housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.

S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, but any relief to mortgage rates may prove short-lived. Until a more permanent resolution emerges, uncertainty is unlikely to fully lift from the housing market.

Source: Freddie Mac (link)

WORTH KNOWING

Millennial wealth is actually growing faster than you'd think—here's why

Millennials are often stereotyped as financially struggling, but recent data tells a different story. 4% for the first time, and the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances documented that millennials' median net worth at ages 35–39 is actually higher than Boomers' median at the same age when adjusted for inflation. This marks a dramatic turnaround.

Inflation-adjusted wealth for younger Americans has grown 49 percent since right before the pandemic. The gains reflect multiple sources. Housing wealth added $22,000 to the average under-40 household, liquid assets added $9,000, and young households saw their average non-housing debt drop by $5,000.

Compare this to previous generations: Baby boomers saw their wealth increase by 46% four years after the 1990 recession, while Gen Xers saw only a 4% increase four years after the 2007 Great Recession. The acceleration matters because more than one in three American workers is a millennial, giving this generation enormous collective influence over economic output, consumer spending, and workplace culture.

Source: The World Data (link)

Hunter Letendre

BHHS Verani

(222) 222-222·hunterletendre@gmail.com·realestatewithhunter.com

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