March has arrived, and we'll move the clocks forward an hour next week. It sounds like warmer temperatures and longer days are around the corner, but Massachusetts home buyers are wondering whether the spring real estate market will ever arrive.
There were 18,329 listings on the market on January 31, 2013, down from 25,214 single-family home listings in January 2012. The number of Massachusetts homes for sale in January equaled 4.7 months of suppy, down from 7.9 months of supply last year and down from 4.9 months of supply in December 2012. January marked the 10th straight month of inventory decreases.
The inventory of condominiums on the market in January declined 32.8 percent compared to January 2012. There were 5,791 condo listings compared to 8,619 listings in 2012. The 5,791 listings translates into 3.8 months of supply, down from from 7.0 months of supply in January 2012. Condo inventory was flat compared to December 2012.
Detached single-family homes in MA stayed on the market an average of 114 days in January 2013 compared to an average of 128 days in January 2012. Condos remained on the market an average of 103 days, down from an average of 132 days in January 2012. On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes were flat from December 2012 while condos were up one day, from 102 days in December.