The median sale price of a single-family home in March climbed to $485,000, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, whose latest monthly report shows a slight uptick in inventory to start the spring and a competitive market.
The association this week reported that 3,385 single-family home sales closed in March and 5,804 new properties were listed, up from 2,779 closed sales in February and 3,393 new listings. The market for condominiums is also heating up with 1,922 sales closed in March, up from 1,298 in February and 26 percent higher than the 1,523 condos sold in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. We re seeing a very busy, competitive spring market this year as more buyers line up and sellers are feeling more comfortable putting their homes on the market compared to this time last year, Steve Medeiros, 2021 President of MAR and a realtor at Keller Williams Realty, said in a statement. While prices are increasing along with mortgage rates, we re encouraged
Wicked Local
While a dearth of housing stock across the state has heightened competition among buyers, this reality is nothing new in Newton, according to local realtors.
Steve Medeiros, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said the statewide shortage has been long in the making.
The decreasing inventory creates a ripple effect across the state’s housing market: As more buyers compete for fewer properties, the closing prices increase and the length of the sales period shortens.
In Newton and the surrounding area, “There’s always been a very high demand” for houses and condos to buy, said Michael Spurr from Newton Centre Associates at Keller Williams. He has also seen prices going up, as well as bidding wars in the city.
Red-hot Western Massachusetts housing market has the pros asking, ‘Are these prices even realistic?’
Updated 5:28 AM;
Today 5:28 AM
Elias Acuna of Maria Acuna Real Estate, is at his listing on Wayne Street in Springfield, April 16, 2021. (Don Treeger / The Republican)
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SPRINGFIELD Pat Wheway, a broker associate for Coldwell Banker, listed a home a 1,500-square-foot split level in Springfield at 9 p.m. on a Thursday and got her first phone calls before 10:30.
“They wanted to be the first ones in that house in the morning,” she said. “It’s very busy.”
Interest is especially high for homes priced for first-time buyers, Wheway said. The Springfield house garnered 21 offers in three days.
Wicked Local
Looking to buy a single-family home in Brookline? You’ll likely need a few things: A good realtor, quick instincts and at least $1 million lined up in financing.
In 2020, 136 single-family property sales closed in town, according to data provided by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Only 11 of those homes sold for under $1 million, per the MLS Property Information Network for Massachusetts. The average sale price for homes listed under $1 million was $942,518 – about $50,000 above average listing price.
Recently, greater Boston has seen a cutthroat seller’s market emerge as the result of low housing inventory and high buyer demand. But for already competitive markets like Brookline, those trends have only underscored existing market conditions.
The Wellesley Townsman
Wellesley is a popular place to live: Top-rated schools, big houses, close enough to the city to allow easy access to entertainment and restaurants and open space for walking and running.
The problem: It may be hard to find that house of your dreams. We began 2020 with a small and shrinking inventory, but after the pandemic struck, the number of urban dwellers who wanted to head for the suburbs increased considerably, according to Elaine Bannigan, co-founder and owner of Pinnacle Residential Properties and author of the Pinnacle Report. Things that quickly became important were having a backyard with a nice area to garden, relax and play or even have a dog (there has been a big increase in puppy acquisitions, too!), as well as a strong desire for more interior space for home office, exercise, and room for a family to have some separation. Urban condos were out. Suburban living was in.