Real estate listings on rise; some feel a thaw

Boston-area price and sales figures fell in February, though

Spring may be thawing the Massachusetts real estate market.

After weeks of having few homes to market, real estate agents in parts of Boston and the suburbs said an increasing number of owners are putting their homes up for sale, as lower mortgage rates induce buyers to make offers.

"The spring market is definitely opening up," said Patti McTague, a sales agent at Hammond Residential in Belmont. "There are many new listings going under agreement quickly. Listings are coming on. We are very optimistic."

The number of properties going under agreement - the prelude to a final sale - is on the upswing, with 418 deals struck last week, compared to 314 on Feb. 7, according to data provided by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.

Brokers said mortgage rates below 5 percent, a new tax credit for first-time buyers, and prices that are down by double digits in many communities are helping to counteract economic concerns that have weighed on the housing market.

Sellers have noticed: There were 691 new listings in March, compared to 516 in February, the real estate board said.

Don Minchello, associate director of sales for Gibson Sotheby's International Realty, said listings and sales in areas of Charlestown, the South End, and the Back Bay have increased this month; some sellers, he added, are receiving multiple offers.

"We have open houses getting 20 and 30 people," he said. "I think people are putting them on because they are a little bit more comfortable now. They feel they may get some more value for their property right now."

It certainly wasn't like that over the winter. Data released yesterday by Warren Group showed the number of single-family homes sold in February fell by nearly 15 percent, compared to the same month in 2008.

Home sales in February would also reflect purchase-and-sale agreements struck in January and December.

The median selling price for a single-family home dropped 18.3 percent in February, to $245,000, compared to the same month in 2008; for condominiums, the median sales price dropped 14 percent, to $220,000, according to Warren Group.

Sales of bank-owned properties - those in foreclosure - made up more than 10 percent of single-family sales last month.

There aren't yet signs of a pickup in the distant suburbs, however, said Rhonda Sprague, broker and owner of Harvard Realty, where sales are still slow and prices remain low.

She told of a homeowner who has agreed to sell a property for several hundred thousand dollars less than the 2005 price tag. There is more inventory, she said, but mostly from people who are relisting properties after having taken them off the market over the winter.

"We usually follow the market back," Sprague said. "I expect as things pick up east of us they will pick up here."

Jenifer McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.