Low Inventory Continued To Plague Home Sales In April

Single-family home sales continued to decline in April while median prices continued to climb, two Bay State real estate groups reported this morning.

April marked the seventh straight month of median sale price increases for single-family homes and the third consecutive month of declines in sales volume, the Warren Group and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) said in separate reports.

Timothy Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, which publishes Banker & Tradesman, said in an announcement of the data that high demand and low inventory could cause "an affordability issue."

"Three consecutive months of double-digit price increases is slightly concerning," Warren said.

The Warren Group said 3,504 single-family homes were sold in April in Massachusetts, down 1 percent from 3,541 in April 2012. And the median sale price was $313,000, up 14 percent from $275,000 a year ago, according to Warren data. It was also the first April since 2008 in which the median sale price was above $300,000, Warren said.

MAR data showed a 1.2 percent decrease in sales volume and a 10.5 percent median price increase.

The trends were steeper in Worcester County. April sales volume of single-family homes was down 5.9 percent to 467 and the median price was up 24.3 percent to $214,450, according to Warren.

Despite the fact that home sales were down during the month, the MAR noted a jump in the number of new listings on the market in April. Listings were up 12.7 percent to 9,350, compared to last April.

MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia called that an optimistic sign.

MAR said inventory ticked up over the month but is down 27.1 percent from April last year. April marked the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year inventory decreases.

While single-family home sales have been constrained by low volume, the condominium market continues to show momentum.

Condo sales rose 12.3 percent in April, according to MAR, and 8 percent, according to Warren. MAR said median sales prices for condos were up 3.6 percent, while Warren pegged the increase at 0.8 percent (MAR tracks its member Realtors activity while Warren tracks all sales activity).

In Worcester County, condo sales were up 29.4 percent to 110 compared to last April, and the median sale price was up 7.6 percent to $280,000, according to Warren.

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