Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The median price for Massachusetts single-family homes sold in March increased 8.6 percent to $315,000 compared to $290,000 in March 2013, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported April 23, 2014. 

March marked the 18th consecutive month that monthly median home prices increased year-over-year. The median price in the first quarter increased 7 percent, from $285,000 in Q1 2013 to $305,000 during the first three months of 2014. The Warren Group collects sales and price information from the state's registries of deeds. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Chelmsford, Massachusetts declined in the first two months of 2014 compared to last year.

Through January and February of 2014, there were 34 single-family home sales, a 6.7 percent decrease from the same period in 2013 when there were 37 home sales, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

The median price for a single-family home also declined through February 2014. Through February the median price for a Chelmsford, MA single-family home stood at $325,750, down 6 percent from $346,950 during the same two months in 2013. For the month of February, the median home price was $317,500, a 9.3 percent decrease in price from $350,000 in February of 2013.

Single-family homes sales in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood have declined 42 percent from seven sales in February 2013 to just three home sales in February 2014, according to data compiled by the Greater Boston Association of Realtors.

Through the first two months of 2014, there were six single-family home sales, down 33 percent from nine sales during the same period last year.

U.S. foreclosure inventory declined 35 percent in February compared to February 2013, Corelogic, a California-based real estate data and analytics provider, reported April 3, 2014.

As of February 2014, approximately 752,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared with 1.2 million in February 2013.

Hingham, Massachusetts single-family home sales declined 25 percent from 12 sales in February 2013 to nine home sales in February 2014, according to the data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

Single-family home sales increased 42.9 percent, from 21 sales in January and February 2013 to 30 home sales through the first two months of this year. There were 262 Hingham, MA single-family home sales in 2013 compared to 256 home sales in 2012. Pending sales – properties with signed purchase and sale agreements but that haven't closed yet – were up 50 percent in February to 21 pending sales from 14 in February 2013.  

The median price of a condominium in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood increased 10.2 percent in February to $360,500 compared to $327,000 in February 2013, according to data compiled by the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. 

Through the first two months of 2014, the median condo price increased to $376,000 from $345,000 in January 2013 and February 2013, a 9 percent increase. The median condo price in Jamaica Plain increased 9.8 percent in 2013 to $375,000 from $341,500 in 2012.

The number of foreclosure deeds – the final step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process – peaked at 1,391 foreclosures in March 2010, but there were only 280 foreclosure deeds recorded in February 2014, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported April 1, 2014. 

The number of foreclosure petitions, which is the first step in the foreclosure process, declined 48.7 percent in February compared to February 2013. February marked the 16th consecutive month that foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts have decreased on a year-over-year basis. There were 439 foreclosure petitions recorded in February compared to 856 petitions in February 2013. There were 364 petitions recorded in January 2014. Not all foreclosure petitions will result in a homeowner losing his or her home to foreclosure.  

Massachusetts single-family home sales declined 5.9 percent in February compared to February 2013, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported March 25, 2014, citing a lack of inventory as the cause of the slowdown in home sales.

On the other hand, the lack of inventory has put pressure on home prices. The median price for single-family homes sold in February was $294,950, an increase of 7.3 percent from $275,000 in February 2013. February marked the 17th straight monthly year-over-year increase in median price in the Bay State. On a month-to-month basis, February's median price declined 7.8 percent from $320,000 in January 2014.

Massachusetts median home prices increased 9.2 percent in 2013, much more in some sought-after city and towns, but it appears price growth may be slowing in 2014, as higher interest rates and home prices have lessened affordability. 

The price of homes in Boston were 9.1 percent higher in January 2014 compared to January 2013; however, Great Boston Area home prices declined 0.5 percent compared to December 2013, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a survey of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas. The January 2014 report was released March 25, 2014.

The number of single-family homes in Massachusetts put under agreement, also know as pending home sales, increased 20.4 percent in February compared to February 2013, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported March 11, 2014. 

The Massachusetts real estate market continued its strong start to 2014. Pending sales in February for both single-family homes and condominiums surpassed the previous year's totals. Pending sales are an indicator of actual home sales for the following 30 to 90 days.   

After increasing 17.1 percent in December 2013 and 8.7 percent for all of 2013, the median price of a single-family home in Lexington, Massachusetts declined 20.3 percent in January 2014, according data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

There were 13 homes sold in Lexington, MA in January 2014, with a median price of $767.000. In January 2013, there were 14 homes sold, with a median price of $962,500.

The median price of a single-family home in Salem, Massachusetts increased 19 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). 

The median price of a single-family house in 2013 was $309,500, an increase from $260,000 in 2012. Home prices continued to rise in January 2014. In January, the median home price was $339,500 compared to $274,000 in January 2013, an increase of 23.9 percent.