Is the spring market suddenly in danger of going bust?
Forget about all those incredible home sales numbers we saw in March and April here in the Bay State.
In the weeks leading up to the end of the tax credit on April 30th, residential sales skyrocketed. In fact, home sales shot up more than 43 percent in April compared to April 2009.
But with the tax credit gone, the first sales numbers are rolling in. And life after the tax credit, especially for prospective sellers, sure looks a lot tougher now.
Just take a look at the big drop in pending home and condo sales that happened in May - the Massachusetts Association of Realtors just released the numbers this morning.
Pending home sales fell 3 percent in May compared to May 2009, one of the lowest points in decades for the real estate market, locally and nationally. Pending condo sales fell 6 percent, year over year.
It was the first time since July 2009 that pending sales of both homes and condos posted year-over-year declines, according to MAR.
The declines are even more dramatic on a month-over-month basis - more than 16 percent for homes and 17 percent for condos.
And falling sales, in turn, are likely to put more downward pressure on prices.
