Real Estate

‘The hits keep coming for prospective home buyers in Massachusetts.’

Home prices broke records in August, but sales continued their double-digit declines.

By Eileen Woods

September 19, 2023

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Sales prices for condos and single-family homes in Massachusetts broke records in August.

For home buyers, that news is as welcome as hearing the “Macarena” on repeat.

The median sales price for a single-family home in Massachusetts rose 6.2 % year over year in August to $600,000, while the median sales price in the condo market soared 9.4% to $525,000, according to a report The Warren Group, a real estate analytics firm, released today. The prices broke records for the month.

The news wasn’t any better for home sales, thanks to a lack of listings. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported Monday that there were only 6,860 homes for sale (4,633 single-family homes and 2,227 condos) in August. Meanwhile sales continued their double-digit declines: They were down 23.6% year over year in the single-family home market and 17.4% in the condo market, according to the Warren Group’s findings.

“The hits keep coming for prospective home buyers in Massachusetts,” said Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director for The Warren Group. “The shrinking single-family inventory continues to push prices to new highs. Couple this with the fact that interest rates are nearly double where they were a year ago, and the home buying process is becoming more
complicated — and expensive — for buyers.”

In Greater Boston, the median sales price for a single-family home increased 6.3% year over year in August to $759,950, but sales plummeted 25.6%. In the condo market, prices climbed 5.3% to $610,000, and sales fell 14.1%.

Single-family home sales soared in Dukes County in August by a whopping 111.1%. We’re talking 19 sales in August 2023 when there were only nine in August 2022. The biggest declines were in Essex and Middlesex counties, about 30%.

Home prices declined the most (-10.4%) on Nantucket but increased the most in Dukes (26.2%).

In the condo market, sales doubled from three to six in Dukes County, but they fell the most (66.7%) in Franklin County.

View the breakdown by county.

In Downtown Boston, the median sales price for a condo climbed 7.6% year over year to $950,000 in August. In Cambridge, however, the median sales price slipped 3.7% to $857,000.

In the single-family home market, the median home price in hotspot Needham rose 2.7% year over year in August to $1,420,000 based on 37 sales. In Arlington, the increase was 1.8%, to $1,275,000, based on 28 sales.

View the breakdown by community.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports that housing affordability is continuing to decline.

With interest rates mockingly above 7%, high home prices, inflation, and fewer listings to chose from, it’s no surprise that homes are spending more time on the market. In August 2022, single-family homes spent 27 days on average on the market. Last August, it was 31. In August 2022, condos spent 30 days on the market between the time they were listed and the time the final offers were accepted. Last August, it was 35 days.

It’s truly a horror story as we head into Halloween.