Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Fueled by an increase in luxury condominium sales in and around Boston, the median price of Massachusetts condos increased in March and exceeded the median price of single-family homes, The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported April 26, 2016. 

The median condo price in March 2015 was $320,000 while the median single-family home price was $315,000.

The last time the median price of a condo was more than a single-family home was in April 2012, and April 2012 was the first time since The Warren Group began its current method of tracking real estate data in 1987.

Homebuyers paid 10.4 percent more in March ($320,000) compared to March 2015 ($289,900) for condominiums. Through March, median condo prices increased slightly to $295,000 compared with $292,197 during the same time frame last year, an increase of 1 percent.

Bay State condominium sales spiked 26.3 percent to 1,497 units sold compared with 1,185 condos sold in March 2015. March was the 10th consecutive month of increases in condos sold. Through the first three months of 2016, condo sales increased 26.2 percent to 3,977 compared to 3,152 units sold during the first quarter of 2015.

“It’s definitely a sign of the times,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said. “The many luxury units coming online in Greater Boston have clearly had an outsize effect on the market, while the median price of a single-family home has dipped slightly in recent months. It’s certainly good news for the condo developers currently in permitting or under construction.”

Single-family home sales rose by 31.5 percent in March to 3,681 compared with 2,798 in March 2015. Through the first quarter, sales were up nearly 30 percent. There were 9,979 single-family homes sold compared to 7,723 sold during the first three months of last year. 

The median sale price of a single-family home in March decreased by 0.9 percent to $315,000 from $318,000 in March 2015. Median prices decreased 2 percent to $319,000 from January through March compared to $312,500 during the same period in 2015.

Real estate inventory continued to decline statewide in March. Condominium inventory declined 12.1 percent in March, and for the 63rd straight month, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported April 26, 2016. Single-family inventory decreased 12.9 percent and for the 50th straight month. 

The lack of real estate inventory has made the home-buying process difficult and frustrating for many homebuyers in the Greater Boston area, with most new listings for properly priced homes receiving multiple offers in less than a week.