The Massachusetts Association of Realtors‘ February Retail Market Index increased at the highest rate in the organization’s three years of collecting data.
The Retail Market Index is a survey of real estate agents in Massachusetts assessing the current housing market, based on a 100-point scale.
The index jumped 32 percent between January and February to 28.06, the largest month-to-month percentage gain recorded by MAR.
Meanwhile, the Retail Price Index, which asks agents about their expectations for housing prices in the coming year, remained mostly stable from January to February, increasing 1 percent to 46.96.
Both indexes dropped sharply from last year’s February measure, however. The market index was off 32 percent from last year and the price index was off 11 percent.
In another survey, more than seven in 10 Realtors said it is more difficult or somewhat more difficult to find financing in the current lending environment compared to last year.
