3rd Quarter Sales report for Mass

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS / Bay State REALTOR News

3rd Quarter sales down for single-family, condos; multi-family sales increase 40%

11/10/2008

In addition to monthly numbers, MAR also released Q3 sales numbers this past Monday. The report shows the number of single-family homes sold in the third quarter of 2008 was down 7.9 percent compared to the same time last year (12,195 homes sold in 2007 to 11,235 homes sold in 2008). Median selling prices were down 10.4 percent from $355,000 in 2007 to $318,000 in 2008.

The condominium market experienced a drop of 11.5 percent in the number of units sold in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year with 5,555 units sold in 2007 to 4,914 units sold in 2008. Median selling prices were down 2.8 percent from $288,000 in 2007 to $280,000 in 2008.
The multi-family market saw a 40.3 percent increase in the number of third-quarter sales compared to the same time last year with 1,304 homes sold in 2007 and 1,830 homes sold in 2008. Median selling prices were down 34.7 percent compared to the third quarter last year from $325,500 in 2007 to $212,500 in 2008.
Due to changes in reporting at local boards, second quarter multi-family data was not available previously. During the second quarter, multi-family home sales increased 22.9 percent from last year with 1,311 homes sold in Q2 2007 and 1,611 homes sold in Q2 2008. Multi-family median selling prices decreased 32.8 percent from the second quarter last year from $340,000 in Q2 2007 to $228,500 in Q2 2008.

Quarterly Regional Sales Data:
Regionally, every part of the state saw a decrease in sales of single-family homes compared to the same quarter last year, except Cape Cod, which saw an increase of 6.2 percent (801 homes sold in 2007 compared to 851 homes sold in 2008). Of the seven regions, the Western region experienced the largest drop in sales at 12.9 percent with 1,703 homes sold in Q3 2007 compared to 1,484 homes sold in Q3 2008.

While the Western region experienced the largest drop in home sales, it also experienced the lowest drop in median prices at four percent from $215,900 in 2007 to $207,250 in 2008. Conversely, while Cape Cod had the only increase in sales, that region of the state that had the largest drop in median prices at 16.3 percent from $409,000 in 2007 to $342,500 in 2008.

In the condo market, the Western region had the smallest drop in sales, with a 6.9 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year with 275 units sold in 2007 to 256 units sold in 2008. The Southeast region had the biggest decrease in condo sales at 26.2 percent, going from 61 units sold in 2007 to 45 units sold in 2008.

The Western region had a 6.6 percent increase in median prices (from $160,000 in 2007 to $170,500 in 2008). The Southeast region experienced the biggest drop in median prices, with a significant 25.2 percent drop compared to the same quarter last year (from $189,900 in 2007 to $142,000 in 2008).

In the multi-family market, there were extreme increases in sales activity during the third quarter, with only the Southeast seeing a decline of 6.4 percent compared to last year (110 homes sold in 2007 to 103 homes sold in 2008). The Northeast region had an 85.8 percent increase in the Q3 compared to the same time last year with 226 homes sold in 2007 compared to 420 sold in 2008. Second quarter multi-family sales activity showed large increases for all regions except the Western region with a 0.5 percent decline from Q2 2007, and Cape Cod with a 15 percent decline from Q2 2007.

Despite the sales increases in Q3 and declines in Q2, only Cape Cod saw median price increases for multi-family homes. The median price on Cape Cod went up 7.2 percent in Q3 from $368,500 in 2007 to $395,000 in 2008, and 9.6 percent in Q2 from $375,000 in 2007 to $411,000 in 2008. The Northeast region saw the largest median prices decreases for both quarters, with a 42.8 percent drop in Q3 from $314,750 in 2007 to $180,000 in 2008, and a 33.5 percent drop in Q2 from $310,000 in 2007 to $206,000 in 2008. In Q2 the Central region also saw a 33.5 percent drop in median prices from $248,000 in 2007 to $165,000 in 2008.

“I feel it is a positive sign to see that investors are coming back into the multi-family market,” said MAR President Susan M. Renfrew, broker/co-owner of Renfrew Real Estate in Greenfield. “Two- and three-family homes are an important part of many communities in Massachusetts, and qualified ownership of these properties is an important step in stabilizing these neighborhoods.”