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With most homeowners who might have sold in other years sitting tight, the share of newly-built homes in the Greater Boston housing market has nearly doubled in a single year.
New research from economists at Redfin estimates 17.2 percent of single-family homes for sale in the second quarter were new construction, compared to just 10 percent a year earlier.
But that’s still lower than the nation-wide figure. Researchers at the combined listing portal and brokerage calculated 31.4 percent homes for sale in the second quarter of this year were new-builds, down slightly from 34.5 percent in the second quarter of 2022 but a massive escalation from the 16.7 percent observed in the same period in 2019, thanks in large part to the boom in single-family construction in the Sun Belt and boom towns like Boise, Idaho during the pandemic.
However in the Worcester metro area, which covers all of Worcester County, only 14.1 percent of single-family houses for sale were new, compared to 10.2 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
Overall, the inventory of homes for sale in Greater Boston and Greater Worcester – not to mention the entire state – has shrunk dramatically over the pandemic, with the last year seeing further dramatic declines.
The Greater Boston Association of Realtors reported total active inventory in its territory, which includes MetroWest plus the city of Boston and many of its closest suburbs, constituted an even 1,700 single-family units and 2,065 condominiums in July, 29.8 percent and 20 percent drops year-over-year and 5.7 percent and 6.7 percent downward slips month-over-month, respectively. The number of new listings fell 28.5 percent year-over-year and 25 percent down month-over-month, to 1,328 properties, GBAR said. New condo listings were likewise down substantially, with 18.3 percent fewer on the market year-over-year and 18.3 percent fewer month-over-month, to 1,149 units.
In the Realtor Association of Central Massachusetts’ service area, which covers Greater Worcester, single-family inventory was off 56.6 percent in July, to 409 houses, while only 130 condos were on the market, a fall of 43.5 percent according to data provided by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. New single-family listings were down 30.8 percent to 465 homes while the number of new condo listings was off only 4 percent, with 144 units on the market in July.
