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The median sale price for both single-family homes and condominiums increased in October as inventory levels dwindle across Massachusetts, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Last month, there were 5,175 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 0.9 percent decrease from October 2017. The median single-family home price increased 3.9 percent to $374,000, up from $360,000 a year earlier. This is the highest median single-family home price ever achieved for the month of October. Year-to-date, the median price rose 5.5 percent to $385,000, while sales edged 1.4 percent lower with 50,149 transactions.
“Despite the shrinking single-family home inventory across Massachusetts, sales are more or less on par with where they were in October 2017,” Warren Group CEO Tim Warren said in a statement. “Demand continues to be strong, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if there were additional homes available on the market, we would have seen a spike in sales last month.”
Concurrently, there were 4,587 purchase mortgages for single-family homes in October, marking a 1.3 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. October purchase mortgages totaled $1.76 billion – a 4.2 percent decrease from a year earlier. Year-to-date, single-family homes have accounted for 44,533 purchase mortgages across Massachusetts totaling $17.42 billion.
Condominium sales in October totaled 1,920 transactions, marking a 7.6 percent decrease from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the median condo price increased 0.5 percent to $333,000 – the highest amount ever achieved for the month of October. Year-to-date, condo sales increased 0.2 percent with 20,774 transactions compared to the same period in 2017, while the median price rose 7.4 percent to $365,000.
Condos accounted for 1,324 purchase mortgages last month, a 14.2 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. October condo purchase mortgages totaled $424 million, a 14.3 percent decrease from October 2017’s $495 million. Year-to-date, condos have accounted for 15,057 purchase mortgages totaling $5.28 billion.
According to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, inventory of single-family homes dropped 7.4 percent year over year, from 16,682 in October 2017 to 15,441 in October 2018. Average days on market for single-family homes dropped from 62 to 58 over the same period, a 6.5 percent drop. The MAR also reported that inventory of condominiums dropped 1.6 percent, from 4,675 in October 2017 to 4,602 in October 2018. Average days on market for condominiums dropped from 50 to 49 over the same period.
