Massachusetts Home Sales Up For Two Straight Months

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts jumped nearly 14 percent in October from a year ago, the second consecutive month that sales increased, according to a report released today by ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com, a real estate research firm based in Boston. Home values, however, fail to show any signs of recovery, with the statewide median home price falling by more than 10 percent during the month compared to a year ago, the company reported.
Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose 13.7 percent to 3,698 from 3,253 in October 2007, based on The Warren Group's market data. Year-to-date sales in the state, however, come in 12 percent lower than they were in 2007. A total of 34,668 single-family home sales transactions were recorded in the first 10 months of 2008, down from 39,383 a year earlier, the research firm said.
""The uptick in home sales for two straight months is a hopeful sign,"" said Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. ""But the light at the end of the tunnel is still a long way off.""
Warren explained that during the last housing downturn in Massachusetts in the early 1990s, the number of sales increased for at least eight months while prices continued to decline. Then, and now, lower prices are a key factor driving up sales volumes, he said.
""My expectation would be that the number of home sales will have to climb for several more months before price declines start to level off,"" Warren said. ""Another factor to keep in mind is the impact of the collapse in the stock market. Our October data reflects sales that were negotiated over the summer and closed in October. Our data cannot tell us if people were still shopping for homes in October,"" Warren explained.
Plymouth, Berkshire and Suffolk counties experienced the state's biggest boost in single-family home sales in October, The Warren Group report showed. In Suffolk County, sales surged 71.2 on a year-over-year basis. Berkshire County home sales climbed 35 percent, while Plymouth County saw its sales increase 24.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the median single-family home price in Massachusetts tumbled 13.9 percent in October - down to $285,000, from $331,000 a year earlier. The year-to-date median home price has fallen 11.2 percent to $310,000, The Warren Group said.
The steepest declines in median home prices so far this year have occurred in Barnstable, Bristol, and Worcester counties, where prices are off by about 13 percent from 2007, according to the research firm's October data.
Condominium sales in October fell, but not as sharply as in previous months this year, The Warren Group said. Condo sales were down 7.4 percent from October 2007, to 1,660. Year-to-date condo sales have sunk 22.7, the company said. The median condo price dipped 5.5 percent in October to $260,000. The year-to-date condo price is 1.5 percent lower than in 2007, The Warren Group reported.