Reports: Mass. Housing Market Strengthening

Two reports issued today indicate rising sales and home prices in the Massachusetts real estate market.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) said median home prices were up in April for the first time since last September. Meanwhile, sales of single-family homes and condominiums were also on the upswing.

The Warren Group of Boston released similar results. It said single-family home sales in April rose 22 percent compared with April 2011. Meanwhile, median home prices also rose, reversing a seven-month long trend of decreasing prices. The report also said the median price for a single-family home rose 1.1 percent in April to $275,000.

While sales rose in Worcester and Middlesex counties, median prices traveled in the opposite direction, according to The Warren Group's data. In Worcester County, the median sale price in April of a single-family home was $185,000, down nearly 8.5 percent from April 2011. The year-to-date median is down 2.63 percent, also at $185,000. In Middlesex County, the single-family home median was $363,000, which is down 3.2 percent year over year. Year to date, the median is $354,500, down about 2.3 percent.

The largest areas of growth in the Bay State were the Boston area, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, the report said.

The Warren Group credited low mortgage rates and an improving job market with bringing buyers out.

But prices are nearly flat year over year, "which indicates they may have hit bottom and will start to increase in the second half of the year," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.

The median sale price of condominiums rose 3.5 percent year over year in April to $280,000, according to The Warren Group.

The MAR said the Bay State housing market is improving, but has yet to stabilize. It called for an extension of federal tax relief to help reduce the number of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth. The group said more than one-fifth of all homeowners in the state fall in that category.