Condominium sales in Cambridge, Massachusetts declined, prices increased, and inventory plunged in 2017, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
It was common last year for homebuyers to pay more than the list price for condominiums. On average, a Cambridge homebuyer paid 105.3 percent of the original list price in 2017 and 103.3 percent of the original list price in December 2017.
Condominium sales declined 9.2 percent in 2017 to 609 units sold from 671 sales in 2016. Condo sales did increase by seven in December to 55 units sold.
Real estate inventory has been meager and has impacted sales. The number of condos available at the end of 2017 was 60.5 percent less than the end of 2016. There were only 17 units on the market compared to 43 condos for sale at the end of 2016. There were 84 condominiums for sale at the end of 2011.
About six months of inventory is considered a balanced market between home buyers and sellers. At the end of December, there was less than one-third of one month (0.3 percent) supply of condominium inventory in Cambridge.
The median price of a single-family home in Cambridge approached $1.5 million in 2017. The median home price increased 2.4 percent to $1,465,000 compared to $1,430,000 in 2016. In December, the median home price decreased from $1,370,000 in December 2016 to $1,300,000 on just five sales. Homebuyers paid on average 113 percent of the original list price in December 2017 and 104.6 percent throughout 2017.
In 2017, the number of single-family homes sold declined 9.3 percent to 88 from 97 houses sold in 2016.