The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that a survey of its members shows a lack of confidence in the housing market that belies the state’s high home values.
The MAR market index, at 52.11, is down nearly 31 percent compared to January 2018, and the price index, at 60.84, is down 17.5 percent. Measured on a 100-point scale, a score of 50 is the midpoint between a “strong” (100 points) and a “weak” (0 points) market condition. The survey was performed on a random sample of the association’s over 24,000 members.
The state’s median single-family home sale price in January was $367,000, down compared to the 2018 median price of $385,000, but substantially up from the January 2018 median price of $350,000, according to data from real estate data firm The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The median condominium price in January was $354,613, compared to the 2018 median price of $365,000 and the January 2018 median price of $345,000.
Warren Group data show that January home sales were down 10.9 percent compared to January 2018, while condominium sales were down 13.25 percent.
“While Realtor confidence is still on the positive side of the scale, we’ve seen a downward shift as factors such as fluctuating interest rates, the government shutdown and lack of homes for sale have entered the minds of buyers and sellers,” MAR President Anne Meczywor, broker/associate of Roberts & Assoc. Realty in Lenox, said in a statement.