The median sale price of a single-family home in June hit a record $372,000, the highest monthly median in Massachusetts’ history, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
June’s figure just squeaks by the previous record high, set in August 2005, of $370,000.
The median condominium sale price also hit a record at $345,000, a 4.5 percent increase from $330,000 in June 2015.
“June was a good month to close deals in real estate,” said Anthony Lamacchia, broker/owner of Lamacchia Realty. “It’s very strong out there. It’s very busy. Inventory is still on the low side, but if it goes up, prices go down. It’s been down 20 percent since about March. Obviously it’s a better time to buy than 90 days ago, but it’s a seller’s market.”
Amy Mizner, principal/broker of Benoit Mizner Simon Real Estate in Weston and Wellesley, covers a broad spectrum of price markets in the western suburbs and broke the numbers down a little more.
“The June numbers are an average across all price categories,” Mizner said. “Prices have really gone up in the lower categories, say, under $1 million. In the higher end, say, over $1.5 million, they’ve gone down. We’re seeing a lot of price adjustments, more than in the last few years. Once it builds up it’s an opportunity for buyers.”
June’s median single-family sale price was 1.9 percent above the median in the same month last year. Year-to-date prices are relatively flat, with a median sale price of $339,000, up 1.2 percent from the same period in 2015.The number of single-family home sales also rose in June, to a total of 7,387, compared with 6,430 in June 2015 for a gain of 14.9 percent. This was the third-highest number of sales in a single month since The Warren Group began its current method of data compilation in 1987. Year-to-date, sales were up 24.2 percent, with 26,941 homes sold in the first half of 2016 compared with 21,688 sold during the same time last year.
Condominium sales for the month rose by 2.3 percent, with 2,828 condos sold compared with 2,764 sold in June of 2015. This marked the 13th consecutive month of increases in condo sales. Year-to-date, condo sales increased by 14.3 percent to 10,673 condos sold compared with 9,337 in the same timeframe last year. Year-to-date, condo prices are up 3.5 percent to a median sale price of $321,000, compared with $310,000 in the same time period last year.
Mizner said condos that are brand-new and priced on the lower end of the spectrum are driving the gains seen in median condo prices.
“Condos selling in the $600,000 range will sell much more quickly than those in the $1.5 million and up,” Mizner said. “The condo market is totally different and is being driven by baby boomers looking for a new lifestyle. They want new and trendy and they often can’t buy a condo in the city for what they’re suburban homes are selling for.
“Pending sales in June forecast the rate of increase in sales in going forward, and they’re down from last year, but I still think 2016 will be the biggest year in [Massachusetts’] real estate sales since 2005,” Lamacchia said. “This is really a breakout year in Worcester County. It’s finally happening out there.”
While the statewide numbers overall are hitting record highs, there are still pockets of the commonwealth where the recovery seems out of reach. The urban Gateway Cities and parts of the rural counties in particular have struggled out of the recession.
