Apparently, you might want to bring a tape measure when you check out Brookline condos (scroll down the page a bit).

The Boston Condo Guy reports:

... We talk with a growing number of Europeans each week who are interested in buying Boston investment property, or a Boston vacation home in one of America’s most historic cities. Europeans recognize that downtown Boston real estate will always hold its value, and the best time to "get in" is when their currency allows them to do so at a discount.

On myDedham, Brian compares the sale prices of the first 13 houses sold in town this year with the values listed in town assessing records. Even taking out the outliers, the average is 18% less than assessed values.

Aaron Weber adds real estate to the list of things he can't expect the Globe to cover well, after reading a piece in the Sunday real-estate section about foreclosures in the two cities, which is accompanied by a large map that shows the problem is far, far worse in another city:

... In Lawrence, the foreclosure rate is nearly double that of even the most hard-hit areas in the Route 2 West corridor. You want to write about a housing crisis, and you ignore Lawrence? Is that more of a Herald town or something? ...

He also uses the Globe's own stats to ponder why the story didn't examine the possibility that the relatively high foreclosure rates in northern Worcester were due to fraud rather than a financial crisis.

Amy Derjue poses the question after reading a report on a 600% (!) increase in Massachusetts since 2005 and then following that up with a BostonNow report that the Massachusetts economy is doing just fine.

Shirley Kressel discusses competing property-relief bills now in the Legislature from Deval Patrick and Tom Menino.

Chris Lovett ponders some recent prices for three-decker condos that would have been outrageous two years ago, never mind in today's less heated market - and why it may not be a good thing for the neighborhood.

John Keith reports that the median asking price for condos currently on the market in 02116 is $1 million:

... It makes you wonder - should you continue to call $1 million condos "luxury" when they pretty much refer to the standard "typical" Back Bay home? ...

Rep. Martin Walsh, a Dorchester Democrat, is co-sponsoring a bill that would end rent-control provisions for occupants of mobile-home parks - a move that could affect residents of Boston's only trailer park.

Although voters statewide voted to eliminate rent control in 1994, the measure exempted trailer-park residents, such as the people who live at the Boston Trailer Park off VFW Parkway in West Roxbury.

Walsh's bill would eliminate the exemption - giving poor residents up to a year to adjust before becoming subject to market rates.