Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The inventory of single-family homes in Massachusetts as of the eond of November 2012 decreased 25.9 percent compared to November 2011, the MA Association of Realtors (MAR) reported December 27, 2012.

The number of listings declined from 29,330 listings in November 2011 to 21,729 listings in November 2012. That number of listings translated into 5.7 months of supply in November 2012.  Inventory is down from 9.2 months of supply last year and also down from 6.9 months in October 2012. 

The number of Massachusetts single-family homes for sale has gone down 11 of the last 13 months. Similar to last month, November was the largest single-month, year-over-year decrease since MAR has been tracking such data.

For those home buyers that have been looking for a home over the last several months, the decrease in real estate inventory has made finding a home, especially well-maintained homes in the more desirable neighborhoods, harder than it has been in several years. 

The inventory of condominiums on the market in November declned 34.4 percent compared to the same time the year before. The number of condo listings decreased from 9,975 listings in November 2011 to 6,545 listings in November 2012. There were 4.4 months worth of condos on the market in November 2012, a steep decline from 8.1 months in November 2011 and down from 5.3 months in October.

Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 106 days in November 2012, down from 117 days in November 2011. Condos stayed on the market an average of 99 days, down from 118 days in November 2011.  On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes were up from 102 days in October while condos were down from 102 days.