Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Pending home sales in Massachusetts soared in October, increasing nearly 36 percent compared to October 2011, The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS (MAR) reported November 12, 2012.

The number of single-family homes put under agreement was the second biggest year-over-year increase since MAR began tracking pending sales data. Pending sales figures, also referred to as "homes under agreement," are a leading indicator of actual housing sales in Massachusetts for the following two-to-three months.

The number of single-family homes put under agreement in October was up 35.9 percent compared to the same time last year (3,204 homes in 2011 to 4,355 homes in 2012). October marked the 18th straight month of year-over-year single-family pending sales increases and the second largest year-over-year increase since the MAR started tracking pending home sales data in June 2007. October was the tenth straight month of double-digit year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement went up 6.45 percent compared to 4,091 homes put under agreement in September. 

The number of condos put under agreement in October was up 43.5 percent compared to October 2011 (1,166 units in 2011 to 1,673 units in 2012). The condo sales numbers marked the 11th straight month of double-digit year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement went up 6.56 percent from 1,570 units in September.

The tracking of signed purchase and sales agreements (also referred to as   "pending sales” or "under agreement") provide reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months.   

A pending sale or a sale under agreement is when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such.  MAR compiles this statewide information from Multiple Listing Services each month.

Of course, there are a multitude of reasons that pending sales may not reach closing, so the actual number of closed transactions should be expected to be somewhat lower over the coming months.

There is typically about three weeks, give or take a week or so, from the time parties sign a purchase and sale agreement until the loan commitment deadline, which is when the buyer must obtain an assurance from a lender that he or she will receive financing. If financing were to fall through, the pending sale likely would not reach a closing date.