In a year when the economy sputtered toward recovery and employment rates fluctuated, home prices experienced strong gains in most parts of the Bay State in 2003.

The median price for a single-family home jumped almost 12 percent to $293,500 in Massachusetts, and nearly all regions in the state saw median prices rise more than 10 percent, with only two counties, Berkshire and Middlesex, registering increases that were lower, according to statistics compiled by The Warren Group, parent company of Banker & Tradesman. The median condo price also was up by about 11 percent, reaching $234,000 statewide last year.

The pace of single-family home and condo sales in Massachusetts also was higher in 2003, with Norfolk County experiencing the biggest increase at 16 percent. There were 61,230 single-family home sales in the Bay State, a 4.6 percent increase from the 58,510 single-family home sales recorded in 2002, according to The Warren Group. Some 25,222 condos were sold last year, up 2.4 percent from the 24,626 condos sales recorded the prior year. The Warren Group’s statistics, based on transactions recorded at registries of deeds throughout the state, include all sales in Massachusetts in 2003 except for sales during the last two weeks of December in the northern part of Bristol County. Statistics for the 11 communities served by the Bristol Registry Northern District for that final two-week period were unavailable at press time.

In areas north and west of Boston, including Essex, Middlesex and Hampden counties, condo sales soared. But regions south of the city saw a significant slide in condo sales. The sharpest drops in condo sales, for example, occurred on the Cape, as well as in Plymouth and Bristol counties.

However, with the exception of Franklin County – where the median price of the 69 condos sold in 2003 dropped about 5 percent from the prior year – no regions saw a decline in condo prices. On the Cape, where condo sales volume fell 15 percent, the median price shot up 22 percent to $224,850 from $184,500 a year earlier.

While there was strong demand for condos and single-family homes in areas south of Boston, the supply of for-sale homes was short, according to Wayne Brazil, southern region vice president for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Condo dwellers who wanted to upgrade into single-family homes often couldn’t because there weren’t enough listings on the market, and that also translated into a dearth of for-sale condos, explained Brazil.

“A lot of it was inventory problems,” said Brazil, explaining why sales numbers were lower.

In Plymouth County, 849 condos were sold last year, a 32 percent drop from 2002 when 1,251 condos were sold. The median price for condos sold last year, however, climbed 5 percent o $182,900 in the county.

Bristol County condo sales activity fell 15 percent to 845 transactions from 996 in 2002, but the median price rose 11 percent to $172,000. The number of sales recorded in Bristol County will edge up slightly in the final tally when data from the final two weeks of the year in the northern portion of the county are added, but will likely still show a significant decrease in sales volume compared to 2002.

George J. Cooper, president of the Plymouth and South Shore Association of Realtors, said there were few lower-priced condominiums available last year.

“We don’t have enough development of either condos or single-family homes. That’s one of the problems we seem to have on the South Shore … there aren’t enough development opportunities,” said Cooper. “There needs to be more development at multiple price points because the market is pushing prices higher and higher.”

Sales of single-family homes, however, were higher in Bristol County last year, increasing about 5 percent from 4,162 in 2002 to 4,365 last year.

Demand for single-family homes was strong enough to drive the median single-family home price in Bristol County up 19.4 percent to $251,000 last year, according to The Warren Group. Bristol County’s single-family home price appreciation last year was among the strongest in the state.

Single-family home price appreciation also was strong in Plymouth County, where the median price increased 16 percent to $289,900.

Brazil said part of the reason for the big price gain is that communities in Bristol and Plymouth counties have become attractive alternatives to pricier Boston area towns where average home prices can be in the $400,000 range. The expansion of public transportation into the southern region has also made towns like Middleboro and Lakeville more desirable, said Brazil.

“The market is pushing itself south,” he said.

In contrast to the southern region of the state, condo sales in areas west of Worcester were up. Although Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties generally have fewer condo sales than the Greater Boston region, condo sales volume in that region was up by more than 20 percent. However, compared to other parts of the state, condo price appreciation was more moderate in those counties.

There were 776 condo sales in Hampden County, up 25 percent from 2002. The median price for a condo in Hampden, $94,900, was 5 percent higher than 2002. In Hampshire County, where 273 condos were sold – up 14 percent from the prior year – the median price for a condo rose by only about 1 percent to $111,000.

In central Massachusetts, condo sales were flat but single-family home sales were up 9.5 percent. In addition, the median price for a single-family home climbed 17 percent to $230,000 last year, while the median price for a condo rose 14 percent to $163,000.

Much of the price increase for single-family homes can be attributed to new construction, according to Cheryl A.W. Eidinger, regional vice president for ERA Key Realty Services. Eidinger, who works in Milford and other central Massachusetts communities, said that throughout most of 2003 there was shortage of re-sale homes, but the inventory for newly constructed homes was solid.

The average price for a newly built home in Worcester County is about $300,000, she said, but in communities closer to Interstate 495 and the Massachusetts Turnpike the average price of newly constructed home can reach $400,000.

In Norfolk County, single-family home sales rose by 16 percent to 6,872 units sold from 5,931 in 2002. Norfolk County’s single-family median home price also increased about 11 percent to $360,000 last year compared with 2002.

The median price for single-family homes also shot up on the Cape and in the Boston area in 2003. Last year was the first time ever that the median price for a single-family home on the Cape and in Boston exceeded $300,000.

In Suffolk County, which includes all Boston neighborhoods, Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere, the single-family median home price reached $321,938, a 15 percent increase from 2002 when the median was $280,000.

‘Buying Power’

Joe Bellanti, one of the owners of Bostonia Properties in West Roxbury, said low mortgage interest rates increased consumers’ “buying power” so they could afford to spend more on a home. But Bellanti said that last year he saw many more price reductions because sellers were being overly aggressive when it came to pricing their homes.

The number of sales of single-family homes in Suffolk County slipped 3.7 percent, but condo sales volume was up 3 percent. There were 1,718 single-family homes sold in 2003 in Suffolk County.

Meanwhile, there were 5,669 condominium sales last year, up from the 5,507 condos sold in Suffolk County during the prior year.

“Condos are always sought after,” especially by first-time buyers in West Roxbury, Roslindale and Hyde Park, said Bellanti.

In Barnstable County, where the Cape Cod real estate market is largely driven by increasing demand from retirees and investors seeking second homes, the median price for a single-family home in escalated 17 percent to $310,000 last year.

Meanwhile, regions north and west of Boston, particularly Essex and Middlesex counties, saw steady increases in home sales volume and prices. In Essex County, 3,261 condos were sold last year, a 22 percent increase from the prior year, and 6,744 single-family homes traded hands, about 6 percent more than 2002.

Pam Cote, president of the North Shore Association of Realtors, said the rise in condo sales volume in Essex County was partly due to new construction. There have been several new condo developments built in towns like Peabody and Danvers, she said.

First-time buyers looking for more affordable housing options and aging baby boomers who are seeking to downsize and don’t want the hassles of landscaping and other yard work are driving the active condo market, said Cote.

Cote said several condo developments geared toward people 55 and over have been built recently in places like Georgetown, Haverhill, Groveland and Middleton.

“Condo living has become more acceptable in this area than in the past,” said Cote, a Realtor with Century 21 North Shore. “This lifestyle has become more acceptable out in the suburbs.”

In addition, Cote said buyers are seeing that condo values are steadily rising and concluding that purchasing a condo is a good investments.

Essex County’s median condo price shot up 14 percent to $216,000 in 2003 from $190,000 in the prior year, while the median single-family price rose to $330,000, or 10 percent more than the median price a year earlier.

Middlesex County, with 12,848 single-family home sales, registered more home sales than any other county in Massachusetts. Single-family home sales in the county were 8 percent higher than during the prior year. Condo sales volume rose 13 percent in that time, with 6,967 condo transactions recorded in Middlesex County last year. The median price for a condo in Middlesex County climbed 9 percent, reaching $252,500 last year.