Local Realtors’ confidence in the strength of the market dipped down for the fourth straight month in February according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtor (MAR) Realtor Market Confidence Index (RMCI).

The Realtor Price Confidence Index (RPCI) stayed strong, rising over the 80-point mark for only its third time in the history of the Index.

"With strong buyer demand and low inventory, Realtors continued to feel confident about home prices in February," Peter Ruffini, 2014 MAR President and regional vice president at Jack Conway & Co., said in a statement. "While confidence in the market was down compared to last year, it is moving in a positive direction on a month-to-month basis."

In February 2014, the RMCI was 62.79, down 13 percent from the February 2013 score of 71.82. This is the fourth straight month that the RMCI has gone down. On a month-to-month basis, the February RMCI was up five percent from the 59.8 score in January 2014. This is the first time the RMCI has gone up over the 60-point mark since October 2013. Measured on a 100-point scale, a score of 50 is the midpoint between a "strong" (100 points) and a "weak" (0 points) market condition.   

The RPCI was 80.81 in February, up 16 percent from the February 2013 RPCI of 69.55. This is the 25th straight month of year-over-year increases and the 12th straight month over the 70-point mark and third time over the 80-point mark. On a month-to-month basis, the RPCI was up five percent from the January 2014 RPCI of 76.96.

MAR also surveyed Realtors on the number of deals they have been involved with in the past year where "green" features (i.e. homes with environmentally friendly and energy-efficient building materials and systems) were one of the key factors in the buy-sell decision. Of those members who responded to the survey, 76 percent were not involved in any transactions where "green" played a significant role. Nineteen percent were involved in 1-2 transactions, four percent were involved in 3-5 transactions and two percent were involved in 6-10 transactions or more that "green" features were a significant factor.

"Although we are seeing growth in both construction of homes with ‘green’ features and existing homes with ‘green’ features being added, the survey results show that there are other factors in the buying/selling process that are more important when it comes to closing the deal," said Ruffini in a statement.