iStock illustration

Numbers of new single-family and condominium listings continued to climb modestly in June as more sellers came off the sidelines for the third month in a row, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

But the overall inventory of homes for sale statewide barely budged on a year-over-year basis as homes continue to fly off the shelves.

“We’re continuing to see high levels of buyer interest, and market competition remains strong for the inventory available,” Amy Wallick, 2024 president of MAR and a Realtor at Lamacchia Realty’s Beverly office, said in a statement. “In order to help Massachusetts residents achieve the American dream of home ownership, we need to see an increase in housing production and sellers entering the market to help alleviate the burden on prospective buyers looking for a home.”

MAR reported 5,203 single-family houses and 2,103 condos hit the market in June, making for 10.1 percent and 7.5 percent bumps over June 2023, respectively. Total single-family inventory was only 3.9 percent higher and total condo inventory was only 1.7 percent higher year-on-year, however, as the time it took for a house to sell actually dropped slightly year-on-year, to 26 days between listing and going under agreement. Among condo listings, that figure was 33 days, up from 31 last June.

That tightness is continuing to push home prices up, said Cassidy Norton, media relations director at The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

“It wasn’t that long ago that the prospect of the median single-family home price exceeding $600,000 seemed like a long shot, but here we are with a median price approaching $700,000,” she said in a statement. “A lack of inventory is clearly driving this record-setting appreciation. Despite these record prices, higher mortgage interest rates have actually slowed price growth – the median may have been even higher without those changes – but it has also contributed to low inventory.”

Last month, there were 4,441 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, The Warren Group reported, an 8.9 percent decrease from June 2023. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price increased 8.1 percent on a year-over-year basis to $665,000, up from $615,000 in June 2023 – a new all-time high. There were 1,938 condo sales in June 2024, compared to 2,324 in June 2023 – a 16.6 percent decrease. Meanwhile, the median sale price rose 5.2 percent on a year-over-year basis to $570,000 – a new all-time high for condos.

In Greater Boston, the state’s biggest housing market, there were 2,341 single-family home sales within Interstate 495 in June, The Warren Group reported. That marked a 6.2 percent decrease from June 2023 when there were 2,496 transactions. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price increased 8.4 percent on a year-over-year basis to $835,000.

In June, there were 1,439 condo sales in the region, up from 1,705 sales in June 2023, marking a 15.6 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, the median condo price rose 4.8 percent on the same basis to $660,000, up from $630,000 a year earlier.

The Greater Boston Association of Realtors, whose territory includes MetroWest and the region’s urban core, but excludes the North and South shores, reported that single-family inventory rose 27.9 percent year-over-year to 1,605 homes while new listings were up 11.8 percent to 1,417 homes. Condo inventory was up to 2,071 units, a 17.2 percent increase, and new listings hit 1,210, a 5.3 percent rise. Despite the large percentage gains, though, this year’s rise in inventory has only put the market in GBAR’s territory on par with where it was this time in 2022 and, with regard to single-family homes, below where it was in 2021.

“Buyers have become more cautious and have shown less urgency to make offers in the last couple of months, with many having to modify or pause their home search due to affordability concerns, and that’s resulted in less foot traffic and fewer showings and sales since the Memorial Day Weekend,” GBAR 2024 President Jared Wilk, a broker with Compass in Wellesley said in a statement.