Both Home Sales and Prices Soared to Begin 2014 in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS (MAR) reported today that the real estate market in Massachusetts is off to a positive start in 2014 with both home sales and prices up in January. Rising home equity should help inventory levels improve.
The continued combination of buyer demand and a shortage of inventory resulted in prices rising in January, said 2014 MAR President Peter Ruffini, regional vice president. Buyer demand also drove sales up, which puts emphasis on the need for more home sellers to enter the market. Rising prices mean more equity for homeowners and therefore a greater number may be in a better position to sell.
There were 2,725 detached single-family homes sold this January, which was up 0.7 percent from the 2,707 homes sold the same time last year. This is the most home sold in a January since 2007 when 2,825 homes were sold. On a month-to-month basis, home sales were down 29.2 percent from 3,782 homes sold this past December. This is the sixth straight month-to-month decrease. A double-digit drop from December to January is typical.
The median selling price for single-family home in January was $320,000 which was up 14.3 percent from $280,000 in January 2013. This is the 16th straight monthly year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the January median selling price was flat from December 2013.
There were 1,058 condominiums sold this past January, an increase of 4.1 percent from the 1,058 condos sold the same time last year. Year-over-year sales of condominiums have gone up 24 out of the last 25 months. On a month-to-month basis, condominium sales were down 34.1 percent from 1,559 condominiums sold this past December. Similar to single-family homes, a double-digit drop from December to January is typical in the condo market.
The median selling price for condominium in January was $30,500 which was up 20.2 percent from the $250,000 median price in January 2013. This is the eighth straight year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the January median selling price was down 1.8 percent from $305,000 in December 2013.
Inventory and Days on Market:
The inventory of single-family homes as of January 31, 2014 decreased 20.4 percent from January 2013 (15,246 listings in 2014 from 19,142 listings in 2013) which translates into 3.6 months of supply in January 2014. This is down from 4.9 months of supply last year and down from 3.9 months in December 2013. This was the 23rd straight month of inventory decreases.
The number of new listings added to the market of single-family homes in January decreased 11.1 percent over the same time last year (4,167 new listings in 2014 from 4,686 in 2013).
The inventory of condominiums on the market in January was down 27 percent compared to the year before (4,232 listings in 2014 from 5,795 listings in 2013), which translates into 2.4 months of supply, which is down from 3.7 months in January 2013 and down from 3.6 months in December.
The number of new listings added to the condominium market in January decreased 11.4 percent from January 2013 (1,700 new listings in 2014 from 1,919 listings in 2013).
Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 109 days in January 2014 compared to an average of 128 days in January 2013. Condos stayed on the market an average of 93 days, down from an average of 111 days in January 2013. On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family was up from 99 days from December 2013 while condos were up from 79 days.
