Massachusetts single-family home sales declined 12.7 percent in May compared to May 2007; however, prices did not fall as dramatically as
they have during the last three months, The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported June 25, 2008.
“The first sign of a recovery in the housing market will be a rebound in home sales,” said Timothy Warren Jr. CEO of The Warren Group. “We’re not there yet, but this is the second month in a row that sales have shown smaller declines than we’ve been seeing since the last quarter of last year."
Sales of single-family homes fell from 4,284 in May 2007 to 3,739 in May 2008. Year-to-date sales are down 20.4 percent from 17,372 sales in the first five months of 2007 to 13,822 this year.
The median price for single-family homes dropped 7.8 percent in May, falling from $350,000 last year to $322,500. The year-to-date median price fell 8.6 percent from $342,000 to $312,500.
Condominium sales continued to fall dramatically in May, with a 29.6 percent decline, from 2,855 to 2,010. Year-to-date sales declined 29.7 percent, from 10,751 to 7,556. Condo prices rose 1 percent in May from $285,000 to $288,000. Year-to-date prices fell 1.8 percent from $276,000 to $271,000.
The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR), which obtains it housing data strictly from the state's various multiple listing services, reported a 10.1 percent decline in sales in May 2008 compared to May 2007.
Also from the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
- On a month-to-month basis, single-family home sales increased 24.5 percent compared to April 2008, the largest April-to-May increase in the past 10 years.
- The median selling price for single-family homes in May was $322,500 (same as The Warren Group), a decrease of 9.2 percent compared to $355,000 in May 2007.
- The inventory of residential properties (detached single-family homes and condos) on the market as of May 31, 2008 decreased 6.2 percent compared to the same time last year.
- On a month-to-month basis, median prices for both single-family homes and condominiums increased by 2.4 percent and 2.7 percent respectively from April 2007.
“While the number of sales for both single-family homes and condos were down in May, these decreases continue to narrow since the start of the year, which is definitely a move in the right direction,” said MAR President, Susan M. Renfrew.
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