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Mass. April Home Sales Rise For Fourth Consecutive Month

by | May 22, 2012 | Press Releases

BOSTON, May 22, 2012 – Single-family home sales in Massachusetts spiked almost 22 percent in April compared to the same month a year ago. Median home prices statewide also rose last month, reversing a seven-month long trend of decreasing prices, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

In April, there were 3,505 single-family home sales, up from 2,877 in April 2011. This marks the fourth consecutive month and ninth month in the past 10 that sales volume increased year-over-year. April sales volume reached the highest level so far this year; surpassing the 3,203 sales recorded in March. The lowest monthly single-family sales total was 2,348 in February. Year-to-date sales are up more than 18 percent – a total of 11,477 homes have sold so far this year, up from 9,679 during the same period last year.

“Low mortgage rates and an improving job market in the Bay State are encouraging buyers to enter the market,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “It looks like the months ahead will continue to be positive as the strong spring and summer market heats up. Typically, June is the biggest month of the year for real estate closings.”

The median price for single-family homes sold in April rose 1.1 percent to $275,000 from $272,000 a year ago. This is the first time in the past seven months that median sale prices increased statewide. The median selling price for the first four months of the year was $264,900, just 1 percent lower than the $267,000 median price recorded during the same period in 2011.

“Median prices posted an increase last month and are nearly flat year-over-year, which indicates they may have hit bottom and will start to increase in the second half of the year,” Warren added.

Statewide condominium sales also increased – rising more than 12 percent to 1,363 from 1,214 in April 2011. A total of 4,424 condo sale transactions were recorded in the first four months of the year, an 11 percent jump from 3,980 the prior year. April marked the third consecutive month that condo sales increased.

The median condo sale price rose again in April. Prices climbed 3.5 percent to $280,000 in April from $270,350 during the same month in 2011. The year-to-date median condo price crept up 4 percent to $257,250 from $247,000.