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.