MARY E. DAWSON
‘Pleased’ with 2002
On Christmas Eve, when many people were concentrating on their last-minute shopping, Realtor Ann Harrington was busy setting up appointments to show a condominium she was marketing.
Harrington, owner of Lighthouse Realty Group in Weymouth, received two telephone calls from brokers after 5 p.m. on Dec. 24 requesting appointments to see a condo that Harrington had listed.
“I was taken aback,” said Harrington, who wasn’t expecting any calls so late during the holiday.
Harrington’s experience provides some indication about how the real estate market fared in South Shore communities this year. As they reminisce about the year 2002, Realtors in several South Shore communities can celebrate about the strong sales activity and price appreciation this past year despite the slumping economy. And some are looking forward to a healthy real estate market in 2003, as well.
“I was very pleased with the year as a whole,” said Mary E. Dawson, one of the broker-owners of Century 21 Annex Realty Inc. in Quincy. Dawson’s office handled about the same number of transactions as last year, but saw a rise in the “dollar volume” because of the increase in home sales prices, she said.
Even as some segments of the housing market softened and for-sale home inventory began to build up, Harrington noticed an increase in home prices in communities like Weymouth, Braintree, Randolph and Quincy.
Last year, a buyer could find a “decent” starter home in basically move-in condition for about $220,000, according to Harrington. This year, any home priced under $300,000, required a lot of work, she said.
Some Realtors attribute the strong price appreciation in those South Shore communities to the amenities they offer. The communities have public transportation, are close to major shopping and located very conveniently to Boston. They also attribute the strong buyer demand to low mortgage interest rates.
Harrington said people living and searching for housing in those cities aren’t affected by the current economic problems to the same extent as some in other Bay State communities. Many of the working-class residents are not employed in industries that have had to endure major cutbacks and layoffs, she explained.
“We’re lucky because it’s always going to remain steady,” said Harrington. “I have a list of people that are trying to get into those towns [Weymouth, Quincy, Braintree and Randolph].”
Buyers ‘Believe’
In Quincy, unit sales of single-family homes were up 9 percent for the first 10 months of the year compared to the same months last year, and condominium sales were about 13 percent higher during that timeframe, according to The Warren Group. The Warren Group, parent company of Banker & Tradesman, collects sales statistics from the state’s registries of deeds. Sales information for Quincy and other South Shore communities was available through October as of last week.
Some 502 single-family homes and 490 condos were sold in Quincy from January through October. The median price for single-family homes sold was $290,000, a 15 percent increase from the $252,000 median price reported a year ago. The median selling price for condos was $220,000, 22 percent more than the $180,000 median of last year.
In a similar fashion, median prices rose in Weymouth, Randolph and Braintree. In Weymouth, the median single-family selling price through October of this year was $265,000, a 16 percent increase from the $228,500 median price for the same period in 2001. The median selling price for condominiums was $155,000 – 19.2 percent higher than the prior year.
Randolph’s single-family median price through October of this year was $245,000, which is a 16 percent increase from the $211,000 median posted during the same months last year. And the median price of the condos sold during that period was $189,700, a 24 percent rise from the $153,000 median of 2001.
In Braintree, total unit sales of single-family homes jumped 13 percent to 310 sales through of October of this year, up from 274 unit sales for the first 10 months of 2001. The median price of the single-family homes that were sold was $285,000, 9.6 percent than the $260,000 median last year. Meanwhile, condo unit sales rose 7.5 percent to 86 condos sold this year. The median condo price was $245,000, 11.6 percent more than the $219,500 median of a year ago.
“Even here at the end of the year, the number of closing was considerable,” said Dawson. Buyers have been undeterred by negative news stories about the economy and softening real estate market, according to Dawson. “The end of the year has shown that there are buyers out there that believe the economy is good,” she said.
Just days before the holiday, Dawson’s office was receiving telephone calls from first-time buyers who were searching for homes. According to Dawson, that’s a positive sign for the year to come.
“I think we’re all looking for another active and productive real estate market for 2003,” she said.
