Residential Real Estate Market Continues to Improve in Massachusetts

March marked another month of stabilization for the residential real estate market in Massachusetts.

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According to a report released Thursday by ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com/portal/, a provider of real estate data in New England, both sales and prices of single-family homes and condos in the Bay State surged in March compared to a year earlier.

Single-family home sales in March 2010 soared 27.6 percent from the same month last year. In addition, home sales in the first quarter of this year escalated 17.5 percent from the first quarter of 2009. This, The Warren Group said, was the first increase in first-quarter home sales since 2004.

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""We're seeing a significant turnaround in the local housing market,"" said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. ""Monthly home sales have been increasing year-over-year since last July and that has propped up the median selling price statewide.""

According to The Warren Group, the median price for single-family homes in the Bay State climbed to $275,000 in March, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier. This marked the fourth consecutive month that home prices have risen on a year-over-year basis. Additionally, the first-quarter median selling price of single-family homes increased 8.5 percent from a year ago.

Data regarding sales and prices of condos in Massachusetts was even more encouraging.

Rising for the sixth straight month, condo sales jumped 33.4 percent in March compared to the same month a year ago. For the entire first quarter, condo sales were up 22.9 percent from the same period last year.

The median price for condos sold in March was $249,000, up 8.6 percent from March 2009. And the first-quarter median condo price jumped 10.7 percent from year-ago levels.