The Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) reported today that the October Realtor Market Confidence Index (RMCI) and the October Realtor Price Confidence Index (RPCI) were both up again compared with the same month in 2012.

"Overall, realtors continued to feel confident about the market and home prices because buyer demand remained strong in October," MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia, broker-owner of Century21 Professionals in Braintree, said in a statement. "However, when it came to describing the impact of the government shutdown on their own businesses, a big percentage of realtors who responded did see a drop while the government was closed."

In October, the RMCI was 62.02, which was up six percent from the October 2012 score of 58.38. This marks 27 consecutive months of year-over-year increases and the 10 consecutive months over the 60-point mark. On a month-to-month basis, this October’s RMCI was down one percent from the 62.61 score in September.

The RPCI was 71.51 in October, up 4 percent from the October 2012 RPCI of 68.68, marking 21 consecutive months of year-over-year increases and eight consecutive months over the 70-point mark. On a month-to-month basis, the RPCI was up 2 percent from the September 2013 RPCI of 70.27.

Fifty-six percent of the respondents indicated that the government shutdown had a neutral impact on their real estate businesses, according to the results of MAR’s monthly "Hot Topic" question. Forty-four percent reported there was either a significant negative impact (6.2 percent) or a negative impact (38 percent) on their real estate business. No respondents believed shutdown had either a positive impact or a significant positive impact.