Worcester home sales declined 23% in 2023 as statewide sales fell to 12-year low
Photo | Timothy Doyle
Homes off Highland St., Worcester
The amount of single-family homes sold in Worcester declined 22.5% in 2023, as the total number of statewide home sales fell to a 12-year low.
In the city, 924 homes were sold in 2023, 269 fewer than 2022’s total of 1,193 sales, according to data released on Tuesday by the Warren Group, a Peabody-based real estate research firm.
This decline mirrored data seen at the county-wide level in Worcester County, where the total amount of sales declined 22.2% in 2023 when compared to 2022. Other large cities in Worcester County also saw declines; sales in Fitchburg declined 27.3%, while sales in Leominster declined 30.3%.
In addition to the decline in total sales, 2023 also saw a significant rise in the cost of purchasing a home. The median sales price in Worcester County rose from $406,00 to 430,000, a 5.9% increase. The city of Worcester saw a 7.1% increase in median price to $393,000, while Leominster and Fitchburg saw increases of 8% and 10.8%, respectively.
On a statewide level, the median cost of a single-family home rose from $550,000 to $570,000. The 3,682 sales conducted across Massachusetts in December was the smallest amount seen in that month since 2008.
“Amid this decline in sales, the year-end median single-family home price has climbed 2.6% to a record high of $570,000,” Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director of The Warren Group, said in a Tuesday press release. ”Limited inventory and high interest rates are the driving force behind this trend, with prospective buyers facing a challenging landscape. As demand outpaces supply, home prices continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for many to enter the housing market.”
These latest figures come in the wake of a study saying the Greater Worcester metro area has the eighth oldest housing stock in the country among midsize metro areas.
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