Mass. for-sale homes hits 12-year low

PHOTO/NATHAN FISKE The apartments at the 145 Front Street at City Square development will add a layer of luxury -- such as a view of Union Station from its sundeck -- to the city's affordable and market-rate housing stock.

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By State House News Service

Supply and demand dynamics are on display in the Massachusetts housing market.

A day after Boston real estate analytics firm Warren Group analysts announced near-record home sales and sale prices for the month of November, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that the inventory of homes for sale last month hit its lowest level since the trade group began tracking the basic metric in January 2004.

There were 14,300 single family homes on the market in November, a 34.6-percent decline compared to the 21,862 homes for sale in November 2015, according to the association. The inventory of homes for sale has declined for 58 consecutive months and new listings in November were down for the eighth time in past 12 months.

Massachusetts home sales in November were up 20 percent and the median sale price rose to $365,000, a 6-percent increase over the median sale price in November 2015, according to stats released by the association Wednesday. Condo market activity was brisk too, with closed sales climbing 14.5 percent compared to November 2015.

"Any presidential election has the potential to cause buyers and sellers to hold off on getting into the market, but that wasn’t the case this past fall," association president Annie Blatz, branch executive at Kinlin Grover Real Estate in Brewster, said in a statement. "Buyers didn’t let debates, political ads or low inventory keep them from staying in the market and closing on homes in November."

Low interest rates continue to play a role in enticing buyers to purchase homes and condos.