Home sales in Marblehead increase while prices drop

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Home sales in Marblehead continue to buoy upward this year, in line with statewide trends that indicate the Massachusetts housing market is returning to its former strength, housing statistics for June show.

A total of 22 more homes went under agreement in the first six months of the year than in the same period last year, for a total of 104, according to the Warren Group, which tracks housing data throughout the state.

Prices for those homes were the only exception. The media price for a single-family has fallen by $37,000, to $481,250, so far in 2012, a drop of about 7 percent.

Surprisingly, condominium sales outpaced growth of single-family home sales, doubling the number of units sold so far in 2012. In all, 24 condos were sold in the six-month span.

But condo prices took a hit, too, suggesting some lasting effects of the economic downturn. The median condominium unit sold for $229,475, a drop of $44,525.

For town-by-town single-family stats, click here; for condos, click here.

The local sales remain in line with statewide numbers that show June was another banner month, the fifth straight this year for double-digit home sales increases.

Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group, said the indicators are pointing to a return of the housing market in the state.

“It’s common to see strong sales volume once the spring selling market begins, but these numbers nearly parallel sales from two years ago when a government tax credit was being given to buyers,” said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. “The local consumer confidence combined with low mortgage rates are evidently helping the market a great deal.”

Overall sales in Massachusetts in 2012 are up 24 percent, with 21,567 single-family units sold, up from 17,397 last year.