September 19, 2012 (Chris Moore)
The summer selling season ended in Massachusetts during July as monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums fell by over fourteen percent from June to July according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors® (MAR).
An estimated total of 6,516 existing homes and condos were sold in the Bay State in July. That was 14.2 percent lower than the 7,590 homes sold in June but was still 22.7 percent higher than the 5,305 homes sold in July 2011.
Trisha McCarthy, President of MAR, stated, “While we’ve hit a ‘baker’s dozen’ with months of sales increases now at 13, prices continue to stabilize. The probability that home prices will begin a more steady increase is good if the combination of higher buyer activity and lower inventory levels continue. What is needed are more sellers at all levels to ensure that price increases happen at a more reasonable pace than during the bubble years.”
Sales of detached single-family homes accounted for 4,709 of the total sales in July, down 13.2 percent from 5,423 sales in June but still 22.7 percent higher than the 3,837 detached homes sold in July of 2011.
It was the 13th consecutive month that sales of detached single-family homes outperformed the previous year’s sales total.
The median sales price for a detached single-family home in July was $325,000, which was 1.1 percent lower than the sales price of $328,500 posted in June but was up 1.9 percent from the median sales price of $319,000 in July of last year.
The number of detached single-family homes for sale in July declined 19.6 percent compared to last year, falling from 34,337 listings to 27,622 listings, which left a 7.7 months supply of homes on the market, down from an 11.6 months supply a year ago. Detached single-family homes typically took an average of 98 days to sell in July, down slightly from 99 days last year.
Condominium sales accounted for 1,807 of the total sales in July, down 16.6 percent from the 2,167 sales in June but still 23.1 percent higher than the 1,468 condos sold in July of 2011.
The median sales price for a condo in July was $300,000, down 3.8 percent from June’s median price of $312,000 but 4.2 percent higher than the sales price of $288,000 for a condo in July of last year.
Listings for condos fell 29.0 percent in July, from 11,974 in July of last year to 8,497 listings this year. That left a 6.3 months supply available for sale, down from a 10.1 months supply a year ago. Condos typically took an average of 93 days to sell in July compared to an average of 104 days in July of last year.
Tags: Massachusetts real estate, existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices
