The number of single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement rose for the 12th month in a row in April compared to the year prior, indicating more closings to come in the next few months, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).
The number of single-family homes put under agreement in April was up 35.6 percent compared to the same time last year, to 4,784 from 3,529. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement rose 5.9 percent from 4,519 homes in March.
The number of condos put under agreement in April was up 30.9 percent compared to April, 2011 – to 1,878 from 1,435. Compared to March, pending condo sales rose 1.3 percent.
The number of pending sales has now eclipsed similar figures recorded during the tax credit-fueled boomlet of 2010, MAR said.
There were a total of 13,773 single-family homes put under agreement from January-April, 2010, the last four months to take advantage of homebuyer tax credits. Over the same four months in 2012 – without the availability of the home buyer tax credit – there were a total of 15,517 single-family homes put under agreement, representing a 12.6 percent increase.
"Twelve straight months of pending sales increases is very good news," said 2012 MAR President Trisha McCarthy, broker at Keller Williams Realty in Newburyport. "More significantly, the last time we were at these levels were when there was a tax credit incentive in 2010. Today buyers are entering the market because they are feeling more confident about the economy and because home ownership continues to remain important."
