Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Massachusetts homes sold in March likely would have been put under agreement in late January and throughout February. Despite the epic streak of snowstorms that started at the end of January, home buyers pushed home sales up in March compared to March 2014. 

Single-family home sales increased almost 1 percent in March, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported Tuesday April 28, 2015. March marked the second consecutive month that sales increased in 2015. There were 2,778 homes sold compared to 2,754 sales in March 2014. Homes sales in the first quarter increased 1.3 percent to 7,670 from 7,573 in Q1 2014. 

The median price for a single-family home sold in March increased 0.76 percent to $317,400 from $315,000 the previous March. It was the sixth consecutive month that monthly single-family home prices increased year-over-year. The median price increased 4 percent in the first quarter, from $305,000 in the first three months of 2014 to $317,500.

"The small increase in single-family homes [sales] in March is a significant and hopeful sign of life in the recovering real estate market. These homes were shopped and deals signed during January and some in February, just as the snowstorms were beginning to roll in," Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said. "This indicates that there are motivated buyers and sellers out there, and they are both eager to make deals happen. The continued limited supply keeps the market from showing substantial improvement."

Massachusetts condominium sales decreased 6 percent in March 2015, with 1,251 sales compared to 1,328 in March 2014. Through the first three months of 2015, 3,218 units sold, also a 6 percent decrease from the 3,420 transactions during the same period last year.

The median condo price in March was $302,000, an increase of 3.4 percent from $292,190 in March 2014. Condo prices increased 2.4 percent during the first quarter to $297,000 from $290,000 during the same three-month period last year.

After condo sales gains last year, the condominium market statewide seems to have cooled off a bit; however, price increases in the single-family home market and extremely tight inventory in the Greater Boston Area make condos an attractive option for many first-time home buyers.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported April 28, 2015 that single-family home inventory declined 24.6 percent in March compared to March 2014. Months of supply declined to 3.4 months, but supply of less than two months is not uncommon in many cities and towns close to Boston. New listings in March declined 9.7 percent. Condominium inventory decreased 29 percent in March.