High mortgage rates and low inventory helped simultaneously support a rise in the state’s median home prices in February while giving a further kick to the total numbers of homes sold, experts say.

Last month, there were 2,040 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. That’s a 21.5 percent decrease from February 2022 when there were 2,600 sales. Meanwhile, the median single-family sale price floated up 6 percent on a year-over-year basis to $498,369, another all-time high for February.

The Warren Group reported 25.5 percent fewer condominium sales, as well, for a total of 1,018 in February at a median sale price of $460,000, 4.5 percent up from last February.

“Despite another record-setting month for the median single-family home price, the 6 percent gain we saw was a much more moderate gain compared to what we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “A lack of inventory, higher interest rates, and economic uncertainties continue to be the biggest barriers to entry for prospective homebuyers. Speaking of the economy, the most recent bank failures may shake consumer confidence in the coming months, which could yield even further declines in transactions not associated with a lack of inventory.”

Similar trends dominated the statewide condo market, Norton said.

Most of February’s closed home sales likely went under agreement in December or January, when the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan rose to 6.48 percent before falling to 6.09 percent at the start of February.

Year-to-date, there have been 4,425 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 27.8 percent decrease from the first two months of 2022. Meanwhile, the year-to-date median single family home price increased 2.9 percent on the same basis to $499,000. Year-to-date, there have been 2,196 condo sales, a 26.8 percent decrease from the first two months of 2022 with a median sale price of $469,950, a 6.8 percent increase on the same basis.

Statewide, there were 17 percent fewer single-family homes for sale in February compared to the same month last year according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors: a total of 3,401. And sellers brought 21.8 percent fewer single-families to market, for only 2,520 new listings. The average number of days a single-family home spent on the market rose 32.5 percent, to 53. The condo market saw similar inventory trends. Only 1,472 units hit the market last month, a 23 percent reduction, for a mere 1,962 condos for sale statewide – 19.6 percent fewer than in February 2022. The average condo spent 52 days on market, 6.1 percent more than last February.

“Though we at MAR have been concerned about the state’s lack of inventory for the better part of the last two years, we are optimistic about recent improvements in that area,” David McCarthy, 2023 president of MAR and the operating partner at three Greater Boston Keller Williams brokerages, said in a statement. “As inventory continues to return to pre-pandemic levels, the number of closed sales should adjust accordingly and will hopefully generate an uptick in buyer and seller activity, resulting in a more balanced market in the second quarter of the year.”

In the 139 communities within Interstate 495, The Warren Group said only 912 single-family home sold last month, 17.9 percent fewer than in February 2022. Slackening buyer demand meant the median single-family sale price increased a mere 1.6 percent year-over-year, to $625,000. There were 713 condo sales in the same region last month, down 23.7 percent from 935 sales in February 2022. The median condo sale price fell 1.8 percent to $539,900.

“Even though it’s a less competitive market than it was at this time a year ago, it’s no less challenging for buyers,” Greater Boston Real Estate Board 2023 President Alison Socha said in a statement. “Today’s higher mortgage rates have led to reduced purchasing power, especially for first-time buyers. We’ve also seen fewer listings on the market ahead of the spring selling season this year as many prospective sellers have opted to stay put, rather than put their home up for sale and enter a market where they’d have to take on a higher rate mortgage or be unable to find a new home in a timely manner. The market did come to a bit of standstill last month, as buyers had limited options given there’s so little to sell.”

A recent Zillow report estimated that the monthly mortgage payment for a Greater Boston homebuyer who was trying to buy the region’s median-priced home with a 20 percent down payment hit $3,109 in February, a 42.3 percent jump year-over-year.

While inventory levels saw some modest improvement last month, GBAR reported, the number of residential listings for sale remains inadequate to meet current buyer demand with just a two- to three-month supply available entering March. The number of single-family listings rose 29.5 percent year-over-year, from 654 homes for sale in February 2022 to 847 last month. And the number of condo listings increased 6.1 percent on the same basis, to 1,345 in February. But those increases appeared to be due to homes sitting on the market for longer: numbers of new listings declined 24 percent to 25 percent for both single-family homes and condos year-over-year. Another sign of less-fervent demand: Most properties sold in February went for less than their asking price, with the typical single-family home selling for 96.8 percent of its original list price, and the typical condominium garnering 97.3 percent of its original list price.

“Buyers have been turning out in large numbers at open houses and property showings, but the influx of new listings we typical see at this time of year has yet to materialize,” Socha, an agent with Leading Edge Real Estate in Melrose, said. “Consequently, we’re expecting it to be a competitive spring market, albeit at a slower sales pace, as neither buyers or sellers appear to be acting with a lot of urgency.”