Bay State Home Sales Continue Slide

Sales of single-family homes and condos in Massachusetts fell by double-digit percentages in April, according to a report released this week by Boston-based real estate research firm ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com. Median property values in the state also continued to decline in April, but not as sharply as in recent months.
Commenting on Massachusett's numbers, Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said, ""April turned out to be a disappointing month for sales volume of both single-family homes and condos. We were expecting that the combination of low mortgage interest rates, a first-time homebuyer tax credit, and low home prices would stimulate sales. Consumers are dealing with job losses, pay cuts and heavy debt, and it appears that it is affecting their home-buying decisions.""
Based on The Warren Group's market data, single-family home sales in the Bay State fell to their lowest level for the month of April since 1990. Statewide, 2,731 homes were sold last month, a 14.5 percent drop from the 3,196 sold in April 2008.Year-to-date, home sales in Massachusetts are down 12 percent.
The median price for homes sold in the state in April tumbled 13.1 percent to $265,000, down from $305,000 last year. Median home prices in Massachusetts have been falling by double-digit percentages for eight consecutive months, but April delivered the smallest price decline in that eight-month period, The Warren Group said.
Warren offered up some optimism for the Massachusetts housing market. He explained, ""Our data reflect sales that were recorded in April. These sales were negotiated in February and March, which is the very beginning of the spring selling season. We are hopeful that in the remainder of the spring selling season sales volume will rebound. This would be the first sign that the market is starting to recover.""
April was also a sluggish month for condo sales in Massachusetts. The Warren Group reported that condo sales in the state plunged 31.1 percent from last year. It was the slowest condo sales pace for the month of April since 1995. Year-to-date condo sale transactions totaled 3,980, a 28.2 percent drop from 5,543 a year earlier.
According to The Warren Group, the state's median price for condos sold in April dropped 11.1 percent to $239,900, down from $270,000 a year ago. But, April’s year-over-year price decline was the smallest in six months.