Mass. home sales rise, but prices fall
(File photo: Mark Humphrey/AP)
The median sales price for a single-family home fell 13.9 percent to $285,000 in October, one month after falling below $300,000 for the first time in five years, the Warren Group reported today.
One bright spot: The number of homes sold in October rose nearly 14 percent from October 2007, said the Warren Group, a Boston real estate date firm.
The median selling price for a Massachusetts single family home was $285,000 in October, compared with $331,000 in October 2007 and $287,500 in September 2008. Last month, 3,698 single family homes were sold in Massachusetts versus 3,253 in October 2007, the Warren Group said.
The median selling price for a Massachusetts condo was $260,000 in October, down 5.5 percent from a year ago, said the Warren Group, which added that 1,660 condos sold in the Bay State last month, down 7.4 percent from 1,792 sold in October 2007.
Referring to the year-to-year increase in the number of single family homes sold in October, Timothy Warren chief executive of the Warren Group, said in a statement: “The uptick in home sales for two straight months is a hopeful sign. But the light at the end of the tunnel is still a long way off. What we saw in the early 1990s during the last housing downturn in Massachusetts was that the number of sales increased for at least eight months while prices continued to decline. The lower prices are a key factor driving sales volume up. My expectation would be that the number of home sales will have to climb for several more months before price declines start to level off. Another factor to keep in mind is the impact of the collapse in the stock market. Our October data reflects sales that were negotiated over the summer and closed in October. Our data cannot tell us if people were still shopping for homes in October.”
A separate housing report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors was also released this morning. The Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors use different methods to track local housing activity.
Falling prices lifted October home sales in the Bay State, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said in its monthly report on the local housing market.
Last month, the median selling price of a single family home in the state was $294,950; that was 10.6 percent below the median price of $330,000 in October 2007 and roughly flat with the median in September 2008, the association said.
The number of single-family Massachusetts homes sold in October rose 6.6 percent to 3,250 from 3,049 in October 2007, the association said.
As for Massachusetts condominiums, the October median price was $250,000, down 10.7 percent from $279,950 in October 2007 and down 2 percent from $255,000 in September 2008, the association said.
Last month, 1,296 condos were sold in the state, down 1 percent from 1,309 condos sold in October 2007, the association said.
“As was the case in September, buyers took advantage of more affordable prices in October, which continued to drive activity,” Susan M. Renfrew, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said in a statement. “An increase in sales in each of the past two months is definitely something to feel good about, but we still need to see how sales are in November to determine if this is a trend.”
To read a story in today's Globe about housing sales in the Northeast, please click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
Is there any good data source for multifamily sales/prices in Massachusetts? All the data I see from the Warren Group is for Single Family and condo sales.
"A separate housing report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors was also released this morning. The Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors use different methods to track local housing activity."
That's correct. The MAR simply makes numbers up to fit their needs.
sorry but home prices are still to high. Having been in ma and left and now back just for grad school I can't believe how much people in ma are willing to pay for houses for the condition they are in. This state has so many intelligent people why would they pay these prices. I say leave and see other states that have reasonable prices and what you can get. Lastly if both parents are willingly to work full time and have someone else raise the children thats a big price to pay. All of society will end up paying.
I think the key is to watch if the rate of decline in sales price is slowing down and the sales numbers are climbing up. Originally I thought the bottom in terms of the sales price is around $275k. The number for this quarter should be interesting due to the stock market plunge.
Why does the Globe even publish these MAR numbers? The Warren Group does this for a living, looking at all deeds.
Ya thats a great question does Warren group track Multi family data?
No Bob. MAR uses a variety of industry reporting sources for tracking purposes. As with any organization in support of the market they will try to find a bright spot but there is no sugar coating here.
We are now down 24% from the median peak price of $375,000 set in 2005.
I thought Massachusetts was immune to the downturn?
Only another 25% to go and home's in Massachusetts will be back to their historical affordability level. I suspect the next 25% decline will occur quicker than the first 25% declines as more homeowner's finally come to the realization that despite what they think, the value of their home is in fact dropping.
Well, it seems like its been moving some for months or so now. I can only go by my neighborhood. The house next door that was vacant for over a year and 1/2 because it was foreclosed on was finally sold in early spring. The house across the street from me that was vacant was sold early spring as well.
Also, number for single family house seems about right because we recently received a flyer in our mail box from an agent who was representing a single family home, 3 bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 baths, for 285,000.
Only with
Condominiums are still overpriced vs houses.
THEY ARE LIKELY SKEWED, AS WELL AS CASE SCHILLER SOME ARE REPEAT CITY SALES, SOME ARE AVERAGES OMITTING BANK WORK OUT/SHORTSALES AND BANK SALES WHICH WERE EXPOSED IN MLS. MLS IS THE BEST IF YOU DO YOUR OWN SEARCH. IF THE MAJORITY OF THE GOOD CONDITION OR YOUNGER HOMES ARE SELLING THIS DECLINE MOSTLY APPLIES TO THEM. THERE ARE MANY URBAN AREAS THAT ARE DOWN AT LEAST 50-65% AS WELL AS MANY AVERAGE CONDITION HOMES IN DESIREABLE TOWNS THAT ARE DOWN FAR MORE THAN REPORTED. DOES ANY ONE REALLY THINK THIS MESS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED AT THE %S BEING REPORTED
Isn't it possible that the "median" went down because sales activity has been more frequent in the entry level market (the market hardest hit with the subprime adjustable rates?)
The Case Shiller Report compares "matched pairs" or apples to apples quality comparisons, and their latest October 07 to October 08 had metropolitan Boston dropping only 3.6%.
Lies lies and more lies. Housing sales have gone down EVERYWHERE, including Moonbat Town. They manipulated the info once agin to try to sway the weak minded.... This is just a ploy to try to get people buying again. God, I hate this state
Bob,
Why would MAR invent there own data? Face it, considering that all the data is public, it would only serve to discredit the association. But one must consider where the data comes from in the first place as being reported. There numerous Multi Listing Services, heck there is even one just for Boston called LINK that may or not have all the listings for Boston. All depends on membership. Further let you not forget all those home sales that were sold by Private Sale, Auction, or part of a larger project, most never being officially listed. It is possible that The Warren Group is digging into all the records by including and cross referencing those sales not reported in the MLS’s.
As for data, if you want it all, just ask your Realtor to give you a print out from the Public Record as this will also include non-listed sales. The data for MLSPin.com is provided from the Warren Group so how can you go wrong. It just will not give you much insight into the type of sale (Short, Bank Owned, New Construction or Resale)
Hope this helps.
FYI... Enlarge the photo and the street sign says "Cindy Jo Court." Google Maps lists only one Cindy Jo Court -- in Tennessee. Mapquest has no listing. The Globe couldn't find any local photos?
Why is it that an article TODAY on BUSINESSWEEK.COM mentions Boston specifically as one of 5 major cities that are experiencing LOWER home sales based on the same time last year and the year before. Why are you saying that housing sales are up, when business week along with 5 other websites all say that Boston is still in a decline.....LIES LIES AND MORE LIES
Sale price way down and sales up simply means there are tons of foreclosed homes on the market. AND they, along with significantly price reduced homes, are the only homes people are buying.
I wouldn't believe anything a real estate broker or so called "REALTOR" has to say.
Tim, go bake some cookies. We're having an open house.
"The lower prices are a key factor driving sales volume up." Brilliant insight! How about this insight: prices must fall much further to clear the inventory, both listed inventory and inventory pulled from the market by sellers hoping prices rebound in 2009. As much as the MAR would like to spin the story into something positive, don't be fooled. The longer buyers wait, the greater the discount!
"That's correct. The MAR simply makes numbers up to fit their needs."
That's right Bob, it is a vast conspiracy -- MAR in cahoots with Barney Frank and poor people -- to force you and other buyers to buy homes you can not afford. Way to hold your ground against the made-up numbers.
The difference between the two sets of stats is that MAR uses MLS data and Warren Group analyzes all "arm's-length" transactions recorded at Registries of Deeds. And generally the delta between the stats is not as great as one would expect. Using Lexington as an example, for 2007 (up though August), Warren reported 389 single-family sales, with a median price of $691,500. MLS had 345 with a median of 696,000, so pretty consistent. But MLS to date for 2008 shows 263 sales with a median of $752,000. I assume Warren will be lower, but clearly median price is up in Lexington. But number of transactions is down -- opposite of the trends described in the article here. Fewer sellers listed their homes and inventory was tight, hence supply/demand, bidding wars, etc. Yes, bidding wars. In 2008.
Comments are moderated and must be approved before publishing.
INside Boston.com
the Tall Ships in Boston
MOST E-MAILED