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In what’s become a familiar refrain for Massachusetts housing market-watchers, a trio of data reports issued Monday showed for-sale inventory significantly down in July, and prices rising.

New single-family listings decreased by 26.7 percent and new condominium listings fell 17.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Total single-family inventory was down 44.1 percent to 4,585 homes, while total condo inventory slumped 37.8 percent to 2,324 homes.

“While we generally see a hot real estate market in the summer, inventory continues to hold it back from achieving any year-over-year growth,” Theresa Hatton, MAR CEO, said in a statement. “With the competitive buying market, we are seeing, many potential sellers are refraining from listing their homes due to the attractive existing mortgage rates they have combined with the stress of entering the buyers’ market after their current home sells.”

Meanwhile, single-family sales that closed in July, typically reflecting sales that went under agreement in May or June, fell 23.1 percent while condo sales fell 14.3 percent year-over-year, to 4,085 and 1,886 respectively, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The median price for those single-family sales was $610,000, up 4.3 percent; the median condo sales price was $555,000, up 6.5 percent.

“Demand is obviously still strong among prospective buyers, but inventory can’t keep up,” Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “Historically, condos have been a more affordable alternative to single-family homes, but with the median price hovering above $500,000 for the last three months, prospective buyers will be hard-pressed to find an easy route to homeownership.”

Within Interstate 495, July’s tally of single-family home sales was off 23.2 percent in July, and the median sale price up 4.7 percent to $775,000, according to The Warren Group. Numbers of condo sales in the same area were off 15 percent and the median sale price was up 6.6 percent to $650,000.

In the Greater Boston Association of Realtors’ territory, which covers much of the tony MetroWest region along with the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton and most of their nearby suburbs, new single-family listings were down 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.

“We haven’t experienced a buying season this sluggish, with sales so hard to come by, since we were emerging from the Great Recession,” GBAR President Alison Socha, an agent with Leading Edge Real Estate in Melrose, said in a statement. “This year  has been especially frustrating for prospective buyers because inventory levels have been so limited. And to make matters worse, purchasing power has declined since the spring due to higher mortgage rates which has further reduced the opportunities to buy and diminished the overall buyer pool, creating weaker demand in recent months.”

Total active inventory in GBAR’s territory constituted an even 1,700 single-family units and 2,065 condos, 29.8 percent and 20 percent drops year-over-year and 5.7 percent and 6.7 percent downward slips month-over-month, respectively.

Still, what homes there were for sale continued to move quickly, reflecting buyer demand that was still substantially stronger than sellers’ willingness to list, observers said, despite a significant fall-off in mortgage rate-locks in Greater Boston in July, per data firm Black Knight. Single-family homes spent a median 20 days on the market in GBAR’s territory, the association said, and condos only 21 days.

“With fewer properties available for sale, sellers are taking advantage by commanding top dollar. We’re also seeing more multiple offer situations and sales over asking price which is putting additional upward pressure on prices,” Socha said. “There’s been a steady rebound in selling prices this spring and summer, which has allowed most sellers to regain any equity they may have lost as the market cooled late last year. For those looking to move up or trade down, the current period of low inventory and high prices offers a real opportunity to capitalize on the market’s strength.”

No Sign of Sellers’ Return to Mass. Housing Market

by James Sanna time to read: 3 min
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