Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The Wakefield, Massachusetts real estate market saw significant increases in median home prices in 2020 and over the past 10 years, according to data compiled by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 
 
If you want to purchase a single-family home or condominium in Wakefield, the following are nine things you should know about the Wakefield real estate market. 

1. A single-family home's median price was $625,000 in 2020, up 9.6 percent compared to $570,00 in 2019. The median price in 2018 was $555,000 and $520,000 in 2017. 

2. The median single-family home price in 2020 ($625,000) was 65.3 percent more than the $377,988 median price in 2011. 

3. At the end of December 2020, there was only 0.5 months of single-family inventory available in Wakefield, just nine properties. That was a 37.5 percent decline from 0.8 months of inventory in December 2019. About six months of inventory is considered a balanced market between home buyers and home sellers. 

4. Despite the demand, low inventory kept a cap on single-family home sales. There were 217 houses sold in 2020, a 0.9 percent decrease from the 219 houses sold in 2019. There were also 219 sales in 2018, in 2017, 221 closed properties, and 2011 – a very different real estate market from today – had 158 houses sold. 

5. Many homes in Wakefield sold for more than the list price in 2020. On average, single-family homes sold for 103.7 percent of the original list price. For condos, it was 100.8 percent of the original list price.

6. The median condo price was $467,500 in 2020, up 2.7 percent compared to $455,00 in 2019. The median price in 2018 was $469,900 and $372,259 in 2017. 

7. The median condominium price in 2020 ($467,500) was 38.9 percent more than the $336,500 median price 10 years earlier in 2011. Between 2017 and 2018, condo prices jumped 26.2 percent. 

8. Condominium sales fell 10.2 percent in 2020 to 96 units closed compared to 107 sales in 2019. There were 148 sales in 2018, 90 deals closed in 2017, and 63 units sold in 2011. 

9. The number of condos available in December 2020 declined more than 35 percent compared to December 2019.