Single-family home sales down again

The number of single-family homes sold dipped in March for the fourth time in five months as low inventory kept a lid on sales activity, The Warren Group of Boston reported Wednesday.

Sales dropped 7.8 percent in March to 2,749, compared to 2,980 a year earlier. Sales for the first quarter of 2014 also declined 2.4 percent.

While these numbers don’t bode well for the market at large, sellers are enjoying pricing advantages, with buyers “eagerly bidding for the limited supply which accounts for the increasing sales prices,”

Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement.

“People want to buy homes before prices and interest rates rise further,” Warren said.

In March, the median price for a single-family home rose 8.6 percent on a yearly basis to $315,000, compared to $290,000 in March 2013. It was the 18th consecutive month of median price increases for single-family homes, according to The Warren Group.

In Worcester County, the number of single-family home sales declined 1.32 percent in March, while the median sales price increase 6.8 percent to $232,000. And in Middlesex County, the number of single-family home sales dropped 6.7 percent, while the median price increased 7.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the condominium market continued to boom in March, with both sales and prices increasing significantly. There were 1,328 condos sold last month, up 12.6 percent from March 2013. And the median price for a condo increased nearly 10.5 percent, year over year.