Worcester-area homes taking twice as long to sell this summer
Photo | Grant Welker
A home for sale in Worcester
This is normally the time of year when homes sell the fastest. They're still selling quickly, but listings are taking twice as long as last year in the Worcester metropolitan area.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually every industry, real estate included. Prices have stayed roughly flat thanks to low inventory. But they're taking longer to sell, according to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage.
In a four-week period ending in early July, homes were taking a median of 22 days to sell in the Worcester metro area, according to Redfin. That's up from 10 days at the same point last year.
The Boston metro area has a nearly identical jump of slightly over double. The Providence area, which doesn't normally see houses move so fast, has risen by a slow rate, from 34 days last year to 37. In Hartford, homes are lasting on the market a median of 59 days, just one day longer than at the same point last summer.
The slower rate of sales comes as the Worcester-area housing market, which includes Worcester County and Connecticut's Windham County, is showing some signs of returning to relative normalcy.
From late March through most of April, for example, the rate of new listings dropped in late March through most of April by 48% compared to last year. It's now down 5%. Nationally, that number fell by 43% while at its lowest. That rate is still down, but now only 6% off last year's pace.
The number of sales, once down 32% year-to-year, have recovered a bit to what today is an 18% drop. Nationally, sales are down 11% from a year ago, an improvement from a 43% drop in the early spring.
The median sale price in Worcester in June was up 3.6% to $280,700, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Statewide, prices in June rose 4.1% to $458,000.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments