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August Bay State Home Sales Jump 15 Percent

by | Sep 27, 2011 | Press Releases

BOSTON, September 27, 2011 – Sales of both Massachusetts single-family homes and condominiums rose in August – the first time this year both property types posted an increase during the same month, according to the latest report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

A total of 4,203 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in August, a 15 percent increase from 3,652 sales in August 2010. It represented the second consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. This is the second time sales have surpassed 4,000 this year. Year-to-date sales remain down 12 percent at 25,101, compared to 28,564 during the same period a year ago.

“On the surface, the August numbers appear to be very strong. But we’re comparing sales volume to a month last year when buyers were retreating after the tax credits expired,” said Cory S. Hopkins, managing editor of Banker & Tradesman.

Last August, The Warren Group recorded the slowest August in two decades. A total of 3,652 single-family homes were sold – marking the first time sales fell below 4,000 in the month of August since The Warren Group began tracking data in 1987.

Hopkins added: “Summer sales have held steady, but we remain unsure if this will continue. It is unlikely sales volume will surpass the large numbers posted in 2010.”

The median price of single-family homes slid 3.4 percent to $305,700 in August, down from $316,500 a year earlier. This marks the fourth straight month this year that the median price exceeded $300,000. The median price for homes sold January through August was $296,000, down 1.3 percent from $300,000 in the prior year.

In August, condominium sales statewide increased 5.8 percent – the first time this year that condo sales rose from a year ago. A total of 1,716 condos sold in August, up from 1,622 a year ago. Year-to-date condo sales are down almost 22 percent, dropping to 10,012 from 12,830 during the same period last year.

The median condo price dropped 2 percent in August to $292,500, down from $298,500 a year earlier. The year-to-date median price of condos in the Bay State is $276,625, up almost 4 percent from $266,000 a year ago.