The Lamacchia Housing Report presents overall home sale statistics and highlights the average sale prices for single families, condominiums, and multi-family homes in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire for February 2018 compared to February 2017. It also looks at other metrics in Massachusetts like Homes Listed and Pending, as they are often the best indicators for predicting future trends in the market.
Massachusetts February Home Sales Up .17%
Massachusetts home sales increased 0.17%, from 4,194 in February 2017 to 4,201 in February 2018. Given the fact that pending sales were down by over 5% in January it is surprising to see sales up at all so this is a win!
Single families were the only category showing a decrease in sales, down 2.31% from the year before. 2,639 were sold in February 2017, compared to 2,578 this year. Condos and single families increased by 3.10% and 7.73% respectively, with condos at 1,128 in February 2017 to 1,163 in 2018. Multi-families jumped from 427 in February 2017 to 460 in 2018.
Overall, prices increased by 5.47% in February 2018, from $398,271 in February 2017 to $420,045 last month. Prices increased in multi-families by a little over 1.49%, from $432,283 to $438,742. Single-family prices increased 2.29%, going from $439,804 to $449,855 and condos saw the greatest increase of 14.66% with prices moving from $312,467 to $358,287.
Homes Listed for Sale:
In February 2017, 6,258 homes were listed for sale in Massachusetts compared to 7,001 in 2018, showing an 11.87% increase. This makes up for the over 13% decrease in January. Anthony wrote an article for the Globe recently explaining the truth about our housing inventory which explains how the common misconception is that our low inventory is a result of no homes being listed for sale, and that the truth is that the supply isn’t keeping up with demand. These numbers prove that point- we are up over 11% this month.
Pending Home Sales:
There were 6,266 homes that went pending in February 2017 and 6,478 in February 2018 showing a 3.38% increase. With both listed and pending numbers showing increases, we are likely beginning to see the signs of a more active spring market.
Southern New Hampshire Home Sales Down 16.59%
The number of properties sold in Southern New Hampshire fell 16.59% from 627 to 523. Single families saw the largest decrease of 17.75% going from 417 sales in February 2017 to 343 last month. Condos decreased 16.38%, now at 148 from 177, and multi-families decreased by 3.03%, with 32 from 33 last year.
The average price for homes in New Hampshire increased by just under a percent, at .90%. While single-family prices increased only by 0.66% (from $307,101 to $309,139), and condos decreased in average prices by .68% (from $214,195 to $212,730), multi-family prices saw an increase of 15.34% (from $233,701 to $269,541).
What’s Ahead?
January was off to a slow start this year, not only for the Massachusetts market but nationally as well. In the middle of February, we began to see increases in market activity. With Massachusetts numbers up for sales, prices, listed home and pending homes, we are hopefully going to see even stronger progress next month as many more sellers decide to list their homes. Sellers should list as soon as possible even after the recent snow storms as Anthony mentioned in a recent market update video to take advantage of winter’s competitive market. As well, buyers should prepare for an active market as they prepare to outbid other buyers for homes, click here to be ready to strike and win a bidding war. Buyers and sellers should take the first steps to prepare themselves by meeting with an experienced agent with the knowledge of spring markets and how to make your real estate transaction as stress-free as possible.
Data provided by Warren Group & MLS PIN and compared to prior year.