iStock illustration
The statewide housing market ended 2023 with record-low numbers of home sales, but a narrowing year-over-year gap in numbers of newly-listed single-family homes.
Only 3,150 single-family houses traded hands in last month, according to new data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. That represented an 18.4 percent decrease from December 2022 and the smallest number of single-family sales in any December since 2008, in the middle of the Great Financial Crisis. It also meant the state closed out 2023 with the smallest number of single-family sales in any year since 2011: 40,828.
The median sale price for December’s single-family sales was $540,000, an all-time high for the month of December. The median sale price for all of 2023’s single-family sales was $570,000, The Warren Group reported, a 3.6 percent increase over 2022.
“With 40,828 single-family home sales in 2023, we’ve witnessed a staggering 22.4 percent decline from the previous year, marking the lowest number of sales since 2011,” said Cassidy Norton, Associate Publisher and Media Relations Director of The Warren Group. “Amid this decline in sales, the year-end median single-family home price has climbed 2.6 percent to a record high of $570,000. Limited inventory and high interest rates are the driving force behind this trend, with prospective buyers facing a challenging landscape. As demand outpaces supply, home prices continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for many to enter the housing market.”
Despite this, market data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors shows that December was the third straight month where numbers of new listings hitting the market were down less than 5 percent on a year-over-year basis. From February to July, numbers of new listings were down an average of 26.32 percent year-over-year, MAR data shows, followed by 13 percent and 14.6 percent year-over-year declines in August and September, respectively.
Total single-family inventory last month hit 3,500 homes exactly, a 31.6 percent fall from December 2022.
Condominium sales followed a similar trend to single-family properties, according to The Warren Group’s data. There were 1,350 condominium sales in December 2023, compared to 1,567 in December 2022 – a 13.8 percent decrease and the fewest condo sales for the month of December since 2011. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 11.6 percent on a year-over-year basis to $496,744, up from $445,000 in December 2022, marking a new all-time high for December condo prices.
During the course of 2023, there were 19,199 condo sales, an 18.7 percent decrease from 2022, which marked the fewest condo sales for a year since 2012. Meanwhile, the year-end median sale price increased 4.4 percent from 2022 to $510,000 – a new all-time high.
“The Massachusetts condo market followed similar trends to single-family homes in 2023,” Norton added. “With 19,199 condo sales, we’ve experienced an 18.7 percent decline from the previous year, marking the lowest number of condo sales since 2012. Meanwhile, the year-end median sale price has surged to an unprecedented all-time high of $510,000, reflecting a 4.4 percent increase from 2022. This scenario underscores the evolving dynamics of the condo market, where buyers are willing to pay a premium for the convenience and lifestyle they offer. It also prompts us to consider the changing preferences and priorities of homeowners in Massachusetts, as they seek both quality and value in their housing choices.”
The trend in new condominium listings appears significantly more volatile in MAR’s data, although the 20 percent-or-more declines of the first half of 2023 had faded by year’s end, when 658 condos hit the market in December. That figure represented a 7.8 percent drop over December 2022.
Total condo inventory last month hit 1,748 units, MAR said, a 28.7 percent fall from December 2022.
Within Interstate 495, the state’s biggest housing market, The Warren Group reported 1,459 single-family homes sold in December, a 21.8 percent decrease from December 2022. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price increased 10.2 percent on a year-over- year basis to $699,900.
Year-to-date, there were 19,560 single-family home sales in the Greater Boston housing market in 2023 – down 23.8 percent from 2022 – with a median sale price of $715,000 – up 2.9 percent from 2022.
In the same condo market, 965 units sold, down from 1,120 sales in December 2022. That marked a 13.8 percent decrease on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, the median condo price increased 8.7 percent on the same basis to $580,000, up from $533,500 a year earlier.
Year-to-date, there were 13,874 condo sales in the Greater Boston housing market in 2023 – down 18.2 percent from 2022 – with a median sale price of $599,000 – up 3.3 percent from 2022.
