Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

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. 

The median price of a single-family home in Haverhill, Massachusetts increased 1.7 percent in January 2014 and increased 13.8 percent in 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). 

The median price of a single-family home in January 2014 was $246,525 compared to $242,500 in January 2013. The median home price in Haverhill, MA was $261,000 in 2013 an increase from $229,450 in 2012. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Dedham, Massachusetts decreased by 40 percent in January after a 9.5 percent increase in home sales in 2013, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

There were nine single-family homes sold in Dedham, MA in January 2014, a 40 percent decline from the 15 homes sold in January 2013. There were 265 homes sold in 2013 compared to 242 homes sold in 2012, an increase of 9.5 percent. 

The number of single-family homes sold in Newburyport, Massachusetts declined 46.7 percent in January compared to January 2013, according to data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

There were only eight single-family homes sold in January compared to 15 home sales in January 2013.  

The number of completed foreclosures in the United States declined 19 percent in January compared to January 2013, CoreLogic, a residential property data provider, reported February 27, 2014.

There were 48,000 completed foreclosures across the United States, down from 59,000 in January 2013. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.

The price of homes in Boston were 9.6 percent higher in December 2013 compared to December 2012; however, home prices declined 0.1 compared to November 2013, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a survey of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas. The report was released February 25, 2014.

Massachusetts single-family home sales increased 5 percent in January 2014, reaching the highest number of sales recorded for any January since 2007, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported February 25, 2014.

The jump in single-family home sales came after two months of modest decreases in sales that had many in the real estate industry wondering whether the Bay State housing market would slow down in 2014.

After a dip in home prices from 2009 to 2010, the median price of a single-family home in Wakefield, Massachusetts increased every year through 2013, according to data provided by MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN). 

In 2009, the median price of a single family home in Wakefield, MA was $389,900; however, in 2010, the price dropped to $372,000, then increased at an average of 3.8 percent per year. The biggest spike in price occurred in 2013, when the median price of a single-family home increased by 6.3 percent. In 2013, the median price was $416,000, a cumulative 11.8 percent increase since the price drop in 2010. Median prices for each year were as follows:

It has been a bumpy ride, but median price of a single-family home in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts has increased nearly 17 percent from 2009 through 2013, according to data compiled from MLS Property Information Network, Inc.

The median home price dropped from 2009 to 2010, increased in 2011, declined in 2012 and rose again in 2013. 

Since 2009, the median price of a single-family home in Sharon, Massachusetts has steadily increased, according to data provided by MLS Property Information Network, Inc.

In 2009, the median price of a single-family home in Sharon, MA was $377,000. The prices increased at an average of 6.7 percent each year. The biggest annual increase in price was in 2013, when the median price skyrocketed by 17.5 percent. By 2013, the median price was $487,750, a cumulative 29.3 percent increase over the five-year period. Median prices for each year were as follows: