Mass. housing slide deepens

The median price for a single-family house in Massachusetts slumped 6.5 percent in October, the biggest percentage decline this year, according to a report today on the state's housing market.

The Warren Group, a Boston real estate publishing firm, said the median house price last month was $290,000, down from $310,000 in October 2006.

The Warren Group also calculated price changes for property sales, excluding sales of foreclosed properties: The median house price for these properties fell just 0.6 percent.

A separate report on the state's housing market was issued also issued today, the second report coming from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which uses a different set of data to take its monthly snapshot of sales.

According to the realtors group, the median selling price for a detached single-family home in October was $330,000, down 3.2 percent from a year ago, and the volume of single-family homes sold was 3,048 in October, down 11.4 percent from October 2006.

The price declines continued in the wake of the severe credit crunch last summer, when mortgages became more difficult for many buyers to obtain and uncertainty about the housing market mushroomed. According to the Warren Group, house sales plunged 17.1 percent, to 3,646 in October compared with a year ago. In September, sales declined 18.7 percent sales.

Warren's chief executive, Timothy Warren Jr., said the credit crunch is still plaguing the financial industry. Prices, he said, are "relatively steady" -- the 6.5 percent price drop last month is slightly higher than drops in the 4 percent range in previous months. "But that could change if sales don't bounce back in the coming months," he said.

For the year, through October, single-family sales volume is 7 percent below sales in the first 10 months of 2006, the Warren Group said.

Condominium sales statewide fell 16 percent, to 1,874 units in October, and the median price declined 1.5 percent, to $257,100.

Excluding foreclosed properties, condo prices gained 3 percent, the Warren Group said.

As for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, it said the October median selling price for a Bay State condo was $279,950, up 7.3 percent from October 2006, and the volume of Bay State condos sold in October was 1,309 units, down 13.2 percent from October 2006.

"While sales were down last month, it is important to note that year-to-date residential sales activity is off only 2 percent from this time last year," Doug Azarian, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said in a statement. "In addition, residential inventory continues to decline from a year ago, and mortgage rates have come down in recent months. For qualified buyers, this remains a good time to buy."
(By Chris Reidy and Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)