The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS / Massachusetts REALTOR News
| Massachusetts Home Sales Up in January to Continue Positive Direction | |
| 2/28/2012 | |
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WALTHAM, Mass. – February 28, 2012 – The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that January 2012 home sales were up over the same time last year. This is the seventh straight month of year-over-year increases while condominium sales were down slightly compared to January 2011. Median prices were down for single-family homes and essentially flat for condominiums compared to the same time last year.
January 2012 Housing Numbers Podcast with
MAR President Trisha McCarthy
“We’re pleased to see that January was another positive month for home sales in Massachusetts,” said 2012 MAR President Trisha McCarthy, broker at Keller Williams Realty in Newburyport. “With each month of improved economic news, buyer confidence continues to build. It is this confidence combined with the ongoing low interest rates and home affordability that will lead to a real estate market recovery.”
There were 2,385 detached single-family homes sold this January, a 3.7 percent increase from the 2,299 homes sold the same time last year. This is the seventh straight month of year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, home sales were down 29.8 percent from 3,399 homes sold this past December. Significant month-to-month drops from December to January are typical.
The median selling price for single-family homes in January was $265,000, a decrease of 5.0 percent compared to $279,000 in January 2011. This is the fourth straight year-over-year decrease. On a month-to-month basis, the January median selling price was down 2.2 percent from $271,000 in December 2011.
The January condominium market was down less than one percent (-0.6) compared to the same time last year (from 842 units sold in 2011 to 837 units sold in 2012). This is the second straight month of annual decreases. On a month-to-month basis, condominium sales were down 34.6 percent compared to the 1,280 units sold this past December. Similar to single-family sales, the condominium market experiences a significant month-to-month drop from December to January. Condominium median selling prices in January were essentially flat (up 0.3 percent) from the January 2011 median price (from $247,000 to $247,750). On a month-to-month basis, the median selling price of a condominium was down 3.9 percent from a December 2011 median of $257,750. |
