Pending home sales in Massachusetts climbed 35 percent in May, compared with the same month last year, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, marking the 26th time in 27 months that pending sales have increased in the Bay State.
There were 7,372 homes in Massachusetts put under agreement in May of this year, compared with 5,462 during May 2014. Bay State condo sales also experience big gains, with 2,743 put under agreement in May 2015 compared with 2,144 during the same month last year, a 27.9 percent increase.
“The competitive spring market has encouraged buyers to make their best offers possible to secure a home because of the low inventory,” 2015 MAR President Corinne Fitzgerald, broker/owner of Fitzgerald Real Estate in Greenfield said in a statement. “We hope more home sellers join the market to help meet the buyer demand.”
The median price of single-family homes put under agreement dropped 1.2 percent to $342,000 compared with $346,325 last year, while the median price of a condo rose 4.8 percent to $330,000, from $315,000 in May 2014.
The realtor market and price confidence indexes rose in May to 79.48 and 80.06, respectively, increasing for the second consecutive month and marking only the second time the index has gone up since March 2014 and the sixth time the indexes have been at 70 or above since August 2014.
“Despite median sales prices dipping slightly in May for the first time this year, the Realtor Price Confidence Index remained strong. This might have to do with the overall energy of this year’s spring market, indicated by the significant increase in the realtor market confidence index over last year,” Fitzgerald said.
When asked how they would describe their clients’ ability to secure financing in the current lending environment compared to the same time last year, 58 percent of those who responded said their clients’ ability to secure financing has remained the same since last year. Twenty-nine percent responded that their clients were having either a somewhat more difficult (24 percent) or a significantly more difficult time (5 percent) securing financing, and 14 percent indicated that their clients are having a somewhat easier time securing financing. None of the respondents said it was significantly easier for their clients this year.
“Despite some difficulties in securing financing this year, many buyers were taking advantage of the 30 year fixed-rate mortgage while it’s still under four percent in May. If interest rates go up, this could take a toll on buyers’ purchasing power.” said Fitzgerald.
