Briefing: Mass. Housing Market
It should come as no surprise that the Massachusetts housing market in 2008 was slow, but recent statistics from the Warren Group of Boston reveal that it was one of the slowest years on record over the last two decades. Here’s what you need to know about the local housing landscape.
How bad is it?
40,124 single-family homes were sold in 2008, marking an 11.5 percent fall from the 45,339 transactions made in 2007. This figure represents the lowest number of home sales since 1991, when only 39,181 homes were sold.
How is Central Massachusetts faring?
The figures for Worcester County are in line with those of the entire state. Despite 377 transactions in December 2008 (a 13.5 percent increase from December of 2007), only 5,223 homes were sold in Central Massachusetts last year, a dip of almost 11.5 percent.
What about the rest of the country?
4,912,000 existing homes were sold in 2008, which marks a 13.1 percent fall from the 5,652,000 transactions recorded in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, jumped 6.5 percent in December, but that figure is still 3.5 percent below the pace set in December 2007.
What are the experts saying?
According to a chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, the increased sales from November to December and a decrease in inventory are steps in the right direction. And with 25 million more people living in this country over the last decade, there is a pent-up demand.
Quick action by the Obama administration and Congress could stimulate a spring sales upturn and establish a foundation for a sustainable economic recovery.
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