Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The number of single-family homes in Massachusetts put under agreement, also know as pending home sales, increased 20.4 percent in February compared to February 2013, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported March 11, 2014. 

The Massachusetts real estate market continued its strong start to 2014. Pending sales in February for both single-family homes and condominiums surpassed the previous year's totals. Pending sales are an indicator of actual home sales for the following 30 to 90 days.   

When buying a home, there are certain Massachusetts real estate terms that may be confusing or misleading to homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers. Learning the terminology is important for a potential homebuyer to make an informed home-buying decision.

One common misconception among homebuyers is that the assessed value and market value of a house are the same, or have some sort of correlation. The fact is that assessed value has absolutely no correlation to market value. In order to understand the difference between the assessed value and market value of a home, it is important to know what the terms mean.

After increasing 17.1 percent in December 2013 and 8.7 percent for all of 2013, the median price of a single-family home in Lexington, Massachusetts declined 20.3 percent in January 2014, according data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

There were 13 homes sold in Lexington, MA in January 2014, with a median price of $767.000. In January 2013, there were 14 homes sold, with a median price of $962,500.

The median price of a single-family home in Salem, Massachusetts increased 19 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). 

The median price of a single-family house in 2013 was $309,500, an increase from $260,000 in 2012. Home prices continued to rise in January 2014. In January, the median home price was $339,500 compared to $274,000 in January 2013, an increase of 23.9 percent. 

The median price of a single-family home in Haverhill, Massachusetts increased 1.7 percent in January 2014 and increased 13.8 percent in 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). 

The median price of a single-family home in January 2014 was $246,525 compared to $242,500 in January 2013. The median home price in Haverhill, MA was $261,000 in 2013 an increase from $229,450 in 2012. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Dedham, Massachusetts decreased by 40 percent in January after a 9.5 percent increase in home sales in 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

There were nine single-family homes sold in Dedham, MA in January 2014, a 40 percent decline from the 15 homes sold in January 2013. There were 265 homes sold in 2013 compared to 242 homes sold in 2012, an increase of 9.5 percent. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Newburyport, Massachusetts declined 46.7 percent in January compared to January 2013, according to data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

There were only eight single-family homes sold in January compared to 15 home sales in January 2013.  

Chelmsford, Massachusetts is a quaint suburb in Middlesex County with well-preserved historic architecture and an active community. Scenic beauty in nestled trails, beaches at lakes and ponds and pathways give Chelmsford that small-town feel and reflect its rural past; however, the town, originally settled in 1653 as one of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies, offers much more than just aesthetic charm.

The number of completed foreclosures in the United States declined 19 percent in January compared to January 2013, CoreLogic, a residential property data provider, reported February 27, 2014.

There were 48,000 completed foreclosures across the United States, down from 59,000 in January 2013. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.

The price of homes in Boston were 9.6 percent higher in December 2013 compared to December 2012; however, home prices declined 0.1 compared to November 2013, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a survey of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas. The report was released February 25, 2014.

Massachusetts single-family home sales increased 5 percent in January 2014, reaching the highest number of sales recorded for any January since 2007, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported February 25, 2014.

The jump in single-family home sales came after two months of modest decreases in sales that had many in the real estate industry wondering whether the Bay State housing market would slow down in 2014.