Reports Cite Continued MA Real Estate Growth

Two reports released today indicated clearer signs of gains in the Massachusetts housing market.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) said the median sale price of single-family homes in October enjoyed their largest monthly increase since June 2010, the final month of the federal home buyer tax credit. The MAR pegged the median at $287,000, up 4.4 percent from $275,000 in October 2011. "This could be a strong sign of the start of an upward trend," said MAR President Trisha McCarthy.

The MAR also said the number of closed home sales rose for the 16th straight month, looking at year-over-year data. Meanwhile, sales and prices of condominiums were also up from October 2011.

The October report from The Warren Group of Boston also cited a 21-percent increase in home sales, but, in contrast to the MAR report, said the median price of single-family homes remained unchanged at $270,000, the lowest monthly median since March, when prices were $263,000. The median price for homes sold January through October was $287,500, down almost 1 percent from $290,000 in the prior year, according to The Warren Group.

The Warren Group, which analyzes regional and local data, revealed the following:

October home sales in Worcester County rose 24 percent, but the median fell 7.5 percent, to $184,900. In Middlesex County, sales rose 33 percent while the median price also rose, by 4.7 percent, to $373,000.
Condominium sales in both counties were more robust, rising 55 percent in Worcester County and 59 percent in Middlesex, while median prices fell 10.1 percent in Worcester County (to $149,900) and 3.3 percent in Middlesex (to $290,000).
In the city of Worcester, home sales rose 29 percent while the median also rose, by 7.8 percent to $160,000.

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