This has definitely been one of the best Spring seasons a
Massachusetts Real Estate market has ever endured. We have seen
some very positive changes throughout the first half of 2012 thus
far and in many circumstances it has come as quite of a shock at
just how drastic these improvements have been.
Looking to home sales, Mays records indicate a 35% increase
compared with the same monthly period in 2011. This percentage bump
was the highest seen since June of 2010 and for the first time in
recent memory there was an even larger jump for condominium sales.
May of 2012 up against May of 2011 showed an even more impressive
50% boost for this sector of the market as well.
Despite these positive inclinations about where the market is
headed, the median prices achieved from these home sales have not
realized as drastic of a change. Moreover, not much of a change at
all has even happened across the State. Single-family homes saw
this number fall 3% to $289,950 in May of 2012 looking at
year-over-year statistics. Condominiums, meanwhile, rose to about
$290,000 which was a 1% improvement. The reason for this disparity
in sales for homes and condominiums, at least according to The
Warren Group, is perhaps due to the fact that more lower-priced
homes are selling coupled with the issue of there being accelerated
foreclosure activity for single-family homes.
Looking closer to the city, The Greater Boston Association of
Realtors shares that these numbers from the State as a whole are
quite polarizing compared to the status quo in the metro areas in
and around Boston. Single-family homes here climbed 1.3% to
$465,000 in May of this year over May of 2011. Condominiums also
are on the up with a 4.4% increase to $381,000. In a recent blog post, we
highlighted how there has been a serious lack of inventory in the
city that has been met with a relentless high demand for property.
The Greater Boston Association of Realtors even point out that this
decrease in properties on the market is being felt all across
Massachusetts where it is down 13.7% in May year-over-year. For
Boston in particular, this in turn has resulted in a net increase
in sales prices as well as a massive decrease in the average days
on the market for a listing.
Now on an even broader scale, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price
Indices state that home sales across the nation are also up 1.3% in
April of 2012 compared to March of this same year. Evidently, there
is a positive outlook leading us through this year nationwide and
even more so on a magnified level focusing on Boston. Time will be
the key factor in determining whether this momentum can continue to
build and for just how long. We are either in the midst of the
beginning of yet another housing boom or something that will only
gradually climb by increments of a degree.
More Information: Boston.com