Mass. home prices still falling

Massachusetts home owners got mixed signals from two reports out today on the local housing market.

One report said February sales rose slightly while the other measured a small dip; both reports agreed on one point: The February median sales price for a single family home in Massachusetts fell just over 4 percent.

According to a report issued by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, February sales for detached single family homes in the state rose 1.2 percent, from 2,380 in February 2006 to 2,409 in February 2007.

The median selling price for a single family home fell 4.1 percent to $325,000 in February, down from $339,000 in February 2006, the realtors group said.

The Warren Group, a Boston real estate data firm that publishes Banker & Tradesman, issued a separate report that uses a different methodology.

According to the Warren Group, February sales of single family homes in Massachusetts fell 1.4 percent to 2,983, when compared with February 2006; the median price for a single-family home fell 4.6 percent to $300,000 in February 2007.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported that February condo sales rose 4.5 percent on a volume basis to 1,264 units when compared with February 2006; the median condo price in February 2007 fell 1.8 percent to $270,000.

In the Warren Group report, February condo sales fell 3.2 percent to 1,717 units in a year-to-year comparison; the February median condo sales price dropped 4.8 percent to $261,870.

In a statement, Massachusetts Association of Realtors president Doug Azarian said, "While February gains compared to the same time last year were more modest than those we reported for January, we continue to head in the right direction."

This is the first time there have been year-to-year sales gains in consecutive months since February and March of 2006, the association noted.

Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of the Warren Group, offered his perspective of the housing market in a statement.

"Although the number of sales fell in February, the relatively low decrease shows more of a leveling out in the Massachusetts home market," he said. "Sales decreased by double-digit percentages during much of 2006, so a decrease of only 1.4 percent could be an indication of some stabilization in the market. But recent difficulties in the subprime mortgage market could spell trouble down the road. Mortgage lenders may react by tightening qualifications for mortgages, making it more difficult for some to buy homes. That means the Massachusetts housing market is probably not yet out of the woods."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)