April 30, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums in Massachusetts surged in March while home prices improved from the previous month for both detached homes and condos but were mixed from a year ago according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors® (MAR).
An estimated total of 4,308 existing homes and condos were sold in the Bay State in March. That was 35.3 percent higher than the 3,184 homes sold in February and 15.3 percent higher than the 3,737 homes sold in March 2011.
Trisha McCarthy, President of MAR, stated “Another month of improved home sales is another month closer to a stable housing market here in Massachusetts. Confidence continues to build for good reason, but unlike the run-up to the ‘bubble’, there is a healthy element of realism in what buyers can afford and what homes are worth.”
Sales of detached single-family homes accounted for 3,152 of the total sales in March, up 35.3 percent from 2,329 sales in February and were 19.1 percent higher than the 2,646 detached homes sold in March of 2011.
It was the ninth consecutive month that sales of detached single-family homes outperformed the previous year’s sales total.
The median sales price for a detached single-family home in March was $267,500, which was 5.3 percent higher than the sales price of $254,000 posted in February but still down 2.2 percent from the $273,500 median sales price reported in March of last year.
Condominium sales accounted for 1,156 of the total sales in March, up 35.2 percent from the 855 sales in February and 6.0 percent higher than the 1,091 condos sold in March of 2011.
The median sales price for a condo in March was $248,000, which was 10.7 percent higher than the sales price of $224,000 in February and 7.2 percent higher than the sales price of $231,300 for a condo in March of last year.
The number of detached single-family homes available for sale in March declined 6.2 percent compared to last year, falling from 29,141 listings to 27,334 listings, which left an 8.1 months supply of homes on the market, down from an 8.8 months supply a year ago. Detached single-family homes typically took an average of 131 days to sell in March, up from 127 days last year.
Listings for condos fell 18.0 percent in March, from 11,701 in March of last year to 9,593 listings this year. That left a 7.5 months supply available for sale, down from a 9.0 months supply a year ago. Condos typically took an average of 123 days to sell in March compared to an average of 134 days in March of last year.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Massachusetts
