Oct. home sales fall 28% in Massachusetts

November 23, 2010 06:09 AM E-mail| |Comments ()| Text size – +

Globe Staff

Sales of single-family home in Massachusetts fell by 28 percent in October, while median prices edged up slightly on a year-to-year comparison basis, said the Warren Group, a Boston-based firm that tracks local real estate activity.

Sales of condos in the Bay State followed a similar pattern. The Warren Group cited the recent expiration of a federal home buyers tax credit as a reason for the continued slow-down in the local housing market.

"As expected, sales have been declining consistently in the months following the expiration of the tax credit for home buyers," Warren Group chief executive Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement. "While sales for the first 10 months of the year exceed those in the same period last year, we expect that a slow November and December will make 2010 a downer."

In October, 3,013 Massachusetts homes sold in October, a drop from 4,201 sales in October 2009, the Warren Group said. The median price of single-family homes rose 3.2 percent to $289,000 in October.

In the Bay State, 1,185 condos sold in October, a more than 35 percent drop from 1,839 sold a year earlier, the Warren Group said. The median selling price was $252,000, a 5-percent increase from a year ago.

Separately, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors issued its own monthly report on the local housing market. The association uses a different methodology to gauge real estate activity, but its October results were roughly comparable to those of the Warren Report's.

In a statement, Massachusetts Association of Realtors president Kevin Sears said: “From a housing market perspective, interest rates continue to be down, prices are stabilizing, inventory is solid and once again the employment rate continues to improve here in Massachusetts. These are all good signs if you are ready to buy a home. However, we’re only going to see improvement in the market once the individual buyer feels secure enough with his or her personal economy to make the decision to become a home owner.”