WALTHAM, MA – March 26, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that a lack of inventory pushed the number of closed home sales down in February after 19 months of increase. Median home prices were up for the fifth straight month. Unlike single-family sales, both condominium median prices and closed sales were up in February.
“Demand has outpaced supply with plenty of motivated buyers, but not enough homes for sale to meet the need,” said 2013 MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia, broker-owner of Century 21 Professionals in Braintree. “If inventory continues to go down, there is a good chance we will see sales decline as well which is not what the market needs.”
There were 2,168 detached single-family homes sold this February, a 5.0 percent decrease from the 2,282 homes sold the same time last year. This is the first time in 19 straight months that home sales have gone down. On a month-to-month basis, home sales were down 20.4 percent from 2,724 homes sold this past January. This is the third straight month-to-month decrease.
The median selling price for single-family home in February was $278,000 which was UP 8.9 percent from $255,250 in February 2012. This is the fifth straight monthly year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the February median selling price went down less than one percent (-0.7%) from $280,000 in January 2013.
There were 861 condominiums sold this February, a 1.7 percent increase from the 847 condos sold the same time last year. This is the 14th straight month of year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, condominium sales were down 14.8 percent from 1,010 homes sold this past January. This is also the third straight month-to-month decrease.
The median selling price for condominium in February was $257,500 which was UP 12.9 percent from the $228,000 median price in February 2012. This is the 12th straight month in which median prices were either up or flat from the year before. On a month-to-month basis, the February median selling price was UP 1.9 percent from $252,750 in January 2013.
Inventory and Days on Market:
The inventory of single-family homes as of February 28, 2013 decreased of 28.1 percent from February 2012 (26,186 listings in 2012 to 18,820 listings in 2013) its biggest year-over-year decline. This translates into 4.8 months of supply in February 2013. This is down from 8.1 months of supply last year and down from 4.9 months in January 2013. This was the 11th straight month of inventory decreases.
The inventory of condominiums on the market in February was down 32.6 percent compared to the year before (9,161 listings in 2012 to 6,170 listings in 2013), which translates into 4.1 months of supply, which is down from 7.4 months in February 2012 and which was up from 3.9 months in January 2013.
Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 126 days in February 2013 compared to an average of 130 days in February 2012. Condos stayed on the market an average of 109 days, down from an average of 124 days in February 2012. On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes were up from 114 days in January 2013 while condos were up from 104 days.
About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 19,000 members. The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.
