The median sale price for single–family homes reached $610,000 in June, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. It’s the first time the median sale price has exceeded $600,000 since the company began tracking sales data in 1987.
There were 6,182 single–family home sales in Massachusetts last month, an 11.5 percent decrease from June 2021 when there were 6,987 transactions. Meanwhile, the median single– family sale price spiked 9.9 percent on a year–over–year basis to $610,000, up from $555,000 in June 2021 – a new all–time high for single–family homes since The Warren Group started tracking sales activity in 1987.
“This is the first time that the Massachusetts median single–family home price has ever exceeded the $600,000 mark. Keep in mind that it was only 14 months ago when the median price of $500,000 was exceeded for the first time. I doubt we’ve seen the end of it,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “Experts keep speculating that with the recent hike in interest rates that prices could plateau in the near future, but I’m not sure we’re at the tipping point just yet. Price increases are moderating this year, but they are far from flatlining. There are just so many buyers and not enough homes to go around. I expect prospective buyers to continue paying significant premiums in the coming months, even as it gets more expensive to borrow money.”
Different indicators, like the share of home sales falling through, suggested housing markets in the Northeast have seen limited softening while largely remaining tight even as markets in the Sun Belt saw dramatic fall-offs in demand thanks to rising prices and big jumps in mortgage interest rates.
Year–to–date, there have been 24,553 single–family home sales in Massachusetts, a 10.5 percent decrease from the first six months of 2021. Meanwhile, the year–to–date median single family home price increased 10 percent on the same basis to $550,000.
There were 2,748 condominium sales in June 2022, compared to 3,189 in June 2021 – a 13.8 percent decrease on a year–over–year basis. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 10.2 percent on a year–over–year basis to $539,000 – the third consecutive month that the median condo price has hovered above $500,000.
“Historically, condos have been a more affordable alternative for homeownership in Massachusetts,” Warren added. “Even though the median sale price of $539,000 is significantly lower than the median single–family home price of $610,000, it’s still prohibitively expensive for many buyers, especially as purchasing power declines due to rising mortgage rates.”
Year–to–date, there have been 12,264 condo sales, an 11.6 percent decrease from the first six months of 2021 with a median sale price of $499,000, an 8.5 percent increase on the same basis.
The sales reported by The Warren Group largely represent homes that went under contract in April and May; pending sales numbers for June published by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors show the slide in sales totals continuing. Only 5,602 single-family homes went under contract in June, MAR reported, compared to 6,118 in June 2021. Condominiums saw an even bigger percentage decline: from 2,550 to 2,025 over the same period, or 20.6 percent.
As of publication time, MAR had not released statewide inventory data for June. However, data published by listings aggregator Zillow showed 8,941 homes of all types for sale in the Boston metro area as of June 30, a region running from southern New Hampshire to Plymouth County, representing a 22 percent decline over June 2021.
In metro Worcester, inventory was down 15 percent year-over-year, to 1,740. The Springfield metro – defined as Hampshire and Hampden counties – saw only 1,014 listings of all types, also a 15 percent year-over-year drop. Listings of all types in Barnstable County were down 33 percent year-on-year, Zillow reported, to 912. And in Pittsfield, listings were down 25 percent on the same basis, to 391.
