Sept. Home, Condo Sales Hit Pre-Recession Highs

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September home and condos sales in Massachusetts hit pre-recession highs, according to data released by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) and The Warren Group.

Single-family home sales increased 17.2 percent from 3,660 in September 2012 to 4,289 in September 2013, MAR said. Last month had the highest number of closed sales of any September since 2005, when there were 4,744 sales.

Condominium sales also rose 19.3 percent over the same period from 1,464 to 1,746, MAR said. That’s the highest of any September since 2005, when there were 2,275 units sold.

Year-to-date home sales are up from 35,590 to 37,757, according to The Warren Group, while year-to-date condo sales are up from 14,665 to 15,373.

In Worcester County, home sales were up 10.4 percent, with 584 homes sold in September, according to The Warren Group. Condo sales increased by 27 percent year over year to 136.

Meanwhile, sales in Middlesex County leaped 23.9 percent to 968, while condo sales climbed 20.8 percent to 563, The Warren Group found.

Also, the median home sale price leaped from $290,000 in September 2012 to $325,000 in September 2013, according to MAR, while the median condo price also rose from $283,000 to $305,000. The median price for homes sold in the first nine months of 2013 is 12 percent higher than 2012, The Warren Group said, while the median condo price is up 5.7 percent this year.

“September closed sales and prices was another example of buyer demand outpacing housing supply,” MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia said in a statement. “Interest rates are still low and qualified buyers are still there, but what we need now to get to full recovery is those sellers who are holding off, to make the commitment to sell.”

Some 26 Bay State communities have higher median prices now than they did prior to the crash, said Timothy Warren Jr., the Warren Group CEO.

Home sales, though, sunk 24 percent from August to September, while condo sales dropped by 23 percent. A month-over-month decrease in closed sales is typical at the end of summer, according to MAR.

(Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net)

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