Massachusetts Home Sales up for the 12th Straight Month in June as Prices also Increased

Second quarter results also up over the same quarter last year

WALTHAM, MA – July 27, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that single-family home sales were up in June, marking the 12th straight month of year-over-year increases. Both single-family and condominium median prices were also up in June and in Q2 compared to the same time last year.

“As we anticipated, there was a big jump in closed sales in June as buyers pushed to close before the June 30 deadline to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit,” said 2010 MAR President Kevin Sears, broker/co-owner of Sears Real Estate in Springfield.  “The tax credit did its job and got the market moving again.  The activity over the next couple of months will answer whether the momentum was sustained.”

There were 5,179 detached single-family homes sold this June, a 24.9 percent increase from the 4,147 homes sold the same time last year.  This is the most homes sold in any single month since June 2006.  On a month-to-month basis, home sales were up 32.4 percent from 3,911 homes sold this past May.

The median selling price for single-family homes in June was $331,150 an increase of 8.2 percent compared to $306,000 in June 2009.  This is the eighth straight month of year-over-year gains and it is also the highest median price of any month since June 2008.  On a month-to-month basis, the June median selling price was up 10.8 percent from $299,000 in May 2010.

The June condominium market was up 31.3 percent compared to the same time last year (from 1,623 units sold in 2009 to 2,131 units sold in 2010).  This is the most condos sold in any month since August 2007.  On a month-to-month basis, condominium sales were up 30.3 percent compared to the 1,635 units sold this past May.

Condominium median selling prices in June were up 3.6 percent from $275,000 in 2009 to $285,000 in June 2010. On a month-to-month basis, the median selling price of a condominium was up 8.8 percent from a May 2010 median of $26299,000.

Inventory and Days on Market:
The inventory of single-family homes as of June 30, 2010 increased 5.0 percent from June 2009 (29,949 listings in 2009 to 31,538 listings in 2010) which translates into 6.1 months of supply in June 2010.  This is down from 7.2 months of supply last year and down from 7.7 months in May 2010.  This was the fourth straight month of inventory gains.

The inventory of condominiums on the market in June was essentially the same as the year before (12,406 listings in 2009 to 12,344 listings in 2010), which translates into 5.8 months of supply, which is down from 7.6 months in June 2009 and down from 7.4 months this past May.

Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 107 days in June 2010 compared to an average of 135 days in June 2009.  This is the lowest days on market average since December 2005. Condos stayed on the market an average of 114 days, down from an average of 135 days in June 2009.  This was the lowest days on market average since August 2006.  On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes were down from 114 days and condos were down from 125 days in May.

Quarterly Information:
The number of single-family homes sold in the second quarter of 2010 was up 31.9 percent compared to the same time last year (9,545 homes sold in 2009 to 12,591 homes sold in 2010).  Median selling prices were up 6.0 percent from $292,500 in 2009 to $310,000 in 2010.

The condominium market experienced an increase of 38.5 percent in the number of units sold in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year with 3,850 units sold in 2009 to 5,333 units sold in 2010.  Median selling prices were up 3.4 percent from $261,121 in 2009 to $269,900 in 2010.

Additional Q2 Sales Data:
– Q2 Regional Single-Family and CondominiumSales Data.
– Q2 Regional Multi-Family Sales Data 

About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 20,000 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.