Small green houses stand on stacks of coins.

The median single-family sale price saw the smallest year-over-year percentage gain of the last six months, according to new data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, as Massachusetts sellers continue to stay away from the market in numbers and price increases and interest-rate hikes pushed more buyers out of the market.

At the same time, the statewide median condominium sale price dipped below $500,000 for the first time in five months.

The median single-family sale price increased 5.6 percent on a year-over-year basis to $565,000, up from $535,000 in August 2021 – still a new all-time high for the month of August. The monthly statewide median sale price hasn’t risen by this little since February, when it slid up 5.38 percent.

There were 5,732 single-family home sales in Massachusetts last month, a 9.9 percent decrease from August 2021 when there were 6,363 transactions. Year-to-date, there have been 35,636 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, an 11.3 percent decrease from the first eight months of 2021. Meanwhile, the year-to-date median single family home price increased 7.8 percent on the same basis to $555,000.

“This is the fewest single-family home sales we’ve seen in the month of August since 2014,” Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “Interest rates are rising, and the number of homes for sale is falling, which are two of the biggest factors that contributed to the decline. Add concerns about inflation, declines in the stock market, and a weak economy and consumer confidence is taking a hit. This puts many potential homebuyers on the sideline. I fully expect to see year-over-year declines in the single-family sales volume throughout the remainder of 2022.”

There were 2,298 condominium sales in August 2022, compared to 2,803 in August 2021 – an 18.0 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 2.1 percent on a year-over-year basis to $480,000. That marks a new all-time high for the month of August but the first time the median condo price dipped below $500,000 in five months as the pace of increases slowed dramatically.

Year-to-date, there have been 16,782 condo sales, a 14.4 percent decrease from the first eight months of 2021 with a median sale price of $500,000, an 8.2 percent increase on the same basis.

While closed sales – in The Warren Group’s most recent report, largely made up of homes that went under agreement in June or July – continued to soften, the August inventory picture reported by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors also deteriorated.

The total number of single-family homes for sale statewide last month was down 25.7 percent year-over-year to 6,041. The decline among condos was even worse: 32.7 percent to 2,647.

New listings slid backwards, too: only 4,908 single family homes and 1,767 condos came on the market, 18.2 percent and 23.8 percent drops, respectively.

The situation left Massachusetts with only 1.4 months of single-family inventory, down from 1.7 in August 2021. Condo inventory hit the same mark, down from 1.8 months’ supply the year before.

Single-family sellers recieved the lowest share of their list price since January – 101.4 percent – while condo sellers took home the lowest share since March, at 101.1 percent. Year-over-year, single-family sellers’ share of their original list price was down from 103.8 percent in August 2021, while condo sellers saw a slight uptick from 101 percent a year ago.

“While inflation continues to be a major concern for those looking to enter the market, I am hopeful that it will begin to decline,” Dawn Ruffini, 2022 president of MAR and Realtor at RE/MAX Connections in Wilbraham, said in a statement. “As inflation rates decline, we will begin to see more entrants into the market and a shift in a buyer-friendly direction.”

Mass. Housing Price Growth Kept Slowing in August

by James Sanna time to read: 2 min
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