Local housing trails regional trends

Sales refers to homes that went under agreement in the months shown, which is the most current indicator of activity. Sales in October more than doubled from a year earlier in Hingham, but declined in Scituate and Norwell. The overall good news is that sales in Plymouth County and Greater Boston rose 32% and 27%, respectively, on a year-to-year basis, and we feel this trend will continue.

Average sale price for homes that sold in the month have been fluctuating over the past few months in Hingham, Scituate, and Norwell. Hingham's avreage price dropped sharply from a year earlier, but the October 2008 figure was skewed by one sale of nearly $4 million. Prices in Scituate and Norwell rose from a year earlier, but declined from April of this year.

Supply of unsold listings is determined by dividing the number of unsold listings at the end of the month by the number of sales that occurred during the month. Real estate professionals consider a 5- to 6-month supply to be a balanced market. For Hingham, Norwell, and Scituate, supply remains high, while Plymouth County is at the benchmark and the Greater Boston overall has become a seller's market.

Conclusion. Though inventory in Hingham, Norwell, and Scituate continue to fluctuate, we feel that overall consumer confidence is returning to these South Shore communities based on the strong signs in the Greater Boston statistics.