Just fyi, depending on your definition of trendy, the South End has been trendy for about 20+ years and as far as your sound advice about insuring yourself against steep declines, in the early 90s recession and real estate downturn, the most coveted area of the South End at the time (closest to the Back Bay) actually held its value pretty well.

Excellent point about the “dearth of credit-qualified buyers” but something that you or your colleagues might consider writing about soon that hasn’t really made it into the local media/blogosphere is that the guidelines for condos in the underwriting process have tightened dramatically even for buyers putting as much as 20+% down. It’s a good time for various condo associations to be examining their budgets, addressing any arrears in condo fees, etc, something that lenders have been lax about the last 10+ years. A highly qualified buyer can still find trouble financing a home if it’s in an association with a flimsy budget.