The long-struggling national housing market is still losing steam, with inventory up and sellers nationwide dropping prices almost across the board last month – especially in Boston, according to a new report from Zip Realty.
The Boston market was in the top 10 nationwide for repeated price slashings and in the amount cut in January compared to January 2010, with the city seeing an average of 2.24 price reductions per listing and median reduction amount of $21,000. However, since median home prices are higher in Boston than elsewhere in the country, that cut represented an average of only 6 percent off the median home price here, slightly less than the national average of 7.8 percent.
Zip’s review of MLS-listed properties in 26 markets shows inventory up a modest 2.81 percent from January 2010, but the total number of homes where sellers have cut the asking price at least once was up 17.6 percent. The double-digit growth in discounted homes may be another indicator of a sluggish market, the firm said.
Local experts attributed much of the activity to motivated sellers and a dearth of new business during the recent spell of rough winter weather.
"I can only answer a qualitative way, but I certainly feel sellers are more realistic and more motivated this year," as compared to last year, said Laurie Cadigan, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. With near-constant snow and ice of the past month or so, showings and open houses have been tougher to schedule, she said, also helping to slow the market.
"I certainly think you’re going to see a lot of well-priced houses in the spring," she added.
Overall, 46.8 percent of Boston listings had their prices cut last month, in line with the average of 46.2 percent for the 26 major metropolitan areas.
"In more than half of the surveyed markets, sellers are averaging at least two reductions in price," said John Oldham, director of marketing for ZipRealty. "Inventory has grown throughout much of the year; as sellers face the pressure of more buying options, they seem to be discounting to attract buyers resulting in list prices being cut for over 46 percent of the homes."
January saw fewer discounted homes for sale than December, with the number of price-reduced homes on the market dropping 4.1 percent and total inventory down 2.1 percent. Although price-reduced inventory outstripped last year’s levels, the percentage slipped from 47.2 percent to 46.2 percent, making it the second straight monthly decline.
The report also found almost no change in the nationwide median list price month-over-month, dropping less than $500 (.2 percent) from December to January, compared to a roughly $9,000 decline (3.9 percent) from November to December.
