Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Sharon, Massachusetts, named in 2013 by Money Magazine as the best place to live in America, is a suburban community located southwest of Boston, with a population of approximately 17,000 people. 

Situated along Interstate 95, Providence, Rhode Island is about 26 miles to the south and Boston is about 17 miles to the north of Sharon. The MBTA commuter rail's Providence/Stoughton line stops in Sharon, providing easy access to Boston's South Station by train. There are not any subway or bus lines in the community. In addition, Massachusetts Route 27 runs through the town. 

The median price of a single-family home in Franklin, Massachusetts rose in June and has risen through the first half of the year, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 

The median price of a house increased to $430,260 in June, an increase of 22.9 percent compared to $350,000 in June 2013. Through the first six months of the year, the median price increased 13.7 percent to $424,500. The median price during the same period in 2013 was $373,500. On average, home buyers paid 98.2 percent of the original list price through the first half of the year.

After a cold winter the weather turned warm in June, but the Haverhill, Massachusetts real estate market was very hot. 

The median price of a single-family house in Haverhill, MA jumped 15.9 percent in June 2014 to $296,750 compared to $256,000 in June 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Through the first half of 2014, the median price for a single-family home increased 3 percent to $265,000 compared to $257,250 during the first six months of 2013. 

Home buyers were out in full force in June. Single-family home sales in June spiked 16.7 percent compared to June 2013. There were 42 single-family sales in June compared to 36 sales in June 2013. From January through June there were 166 closed sales, down just two sales from 168 single-family home sales during the same period in 2013. 

The median price of a single-family home in Stoneham, Massachusetts increased 7.3 percent during the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

The median price of a Stoneham, MA single-family house stood at $406,500 through June, an increase from $379,000 through the first six months of 2013. The median price in June was $423,500, up 12.6 percent from $376,000 in June 2013. 

Single-family home sales in Winchester, Massachusetts dipped during the first half of 2014 while the median price of a single-family home increased, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 

The median price of a single-family home in Winchester, MA increased 6.7 percent through June compared to the first six months of 2013. The median price stood at $910,500, up from $853,000. Prices also increased 6.7 percent in June to $905,000 compared to $848,000 in June 2013. In June, single-family properties sold for 99.8 percent of the original list price. 

Located in Norfolk County, Walpole, Massachusetts is an intimate town with a mix of suburban and rural areas. It is conveniently situated approximately 18 miles southwest of Boston and 25 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island.

First settled in 1659, Walpole was originally a part of Dedham, Massachusetts until it was officially incorporated in 1724. It was named after Sir Robert Walpole, who was generally regarded as the first prime minister of Great Britain. Its growth began after the Revolutionary War and skyrocketed after the Industrial Revolution. Today, Walpole is home to approximately 24,000 residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

The median price of a single-family home in Hingham, Massachusetts was $652,000 in May, an increase from $595,250 in May 2013, according to data compiled from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

We announced in this blog in July 2013 (Massachusetts Foreclosure Crisis Over, Foreclosure Petitions Down 86%) and again in April 2014 (Safe to Say the Massachusetts Foreclosure Crisis is Over?) that the foreclosure crisis in Massachusets was over, dead, done with, kaput, and the crisis is definitely history; however, something surprising, if not completely unexpected, has happened in recent months.

Foreclosure petitions – the first step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process – have risen on a month-over-month basis for a couple months. By no means are we back in foreclosure crisis mode, not even close, but as lenders get the last of the foreclosures off their books there may be an opportunities for some home buyers and investors. 

Tight inventory and higher prices certainly factored into the second quarter having the fewest number of condominium sales in a couple of years in Downtown Boston, the Boston Business Journal reported July 17, 2014.  The BBJ obtained the data from the Listing Information Network, or Link, which is a Boston-based company that tracks real estate sales. 

The median price for single-family homes in Dunstable, Massachusetts increased 3.7 percent from April 2013 to to April 2014, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 

The median single-family home price in April was $425,000, compared to $410,000 in April 2013. Single-family property prices in Dunstable, MA went up 19.1 percent over the first four months of the year relative to that same period in 2013. The median price through April was $480,000, up from $402,950 through the first four months of 2013. 

Real estate inventory of single-family homes in Andover, Massachusetts declined 18.9 percent in April 2014 compared to April 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 

In April 2014, there were 86 homes on the market, compared to 106 in April 2013. Months supply of inventory in April also declined. There was 2.8 months supply in April relative to 4.2 in April 2013, a 33 percent decline.

The median price of a single-family home in April was $492,000, up from $471,000 in April 2013. Andover, MA single-family property prices increased 27.7 percent over the first four months of the year compared to that same period in 2013. The median price through April was $574,500, up from $450,000 through the first four months of 2013.