Homes and condos spend more time on market

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said today that the time homes and condominiums spent on the market increased sharply over the past year as the housing market has slowed.

In the state's single-family market, houses were on the market 121 days, on average, last month, up from 96 days in May 2005, while condos increased to 120 days, from 89 days a year ago.

The supply of homes and condos -- 68,574 -- was an all-time high, the realtor group said.

Single-family home sales declined by 2.9 percent last month, to 4,055 homes, compared with 4,175 sales in May 2005. The median house price dipped 1.2 percent, to $352,700.

Condo sales also declined, by 1 percent, to 2,113 units last month, from 2,134 in May 2005. The data showed a 2.5 percent surge in the median price, to $286,000.

The report comes a day after The Warren Group, a Boston real estate research and publishing firm, said house sales decreased 5.1 percent and prices were down 4 percent last month, while condo sales declined 7.8 percent and prices edged up 1.8 percent.

The results differ, because Warren Group derives its data from property closings filed in Massachusetts courts, while the Massachusetts Association of Realtors tallies sales of houses that were listed in five Multiple Listing Services across the state.

Both reports confirmed further weakening in the housing market, particularly for single families.

"It's unrealistic to think our strong seller's market of the past few years could sustain itself indefinitely, especially under the current climate of rising interest rates and increased inventory levels," David Wluka, MAR's president, said in a statement.

Wluka, who owns a Sharon real estate agency, added, "this is not the start of a major market correction" but rather a return to "a normal, healthy market" after a period of unprecedented gains. (By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)