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 New Hampshire for November 2019 compared to November 2018. It also looks at other metrics in Massachusetts like Homes Listed for Sale, Homes Pending, and Price Adjustments made to active listings, as they are often the best indicators for predicting future trends in the market.
Massachusetts Home Sales Down 9.4%
Massachusetts home sales declined this month by 750 transactions – which is a 9.4% decrease. Prices haven’t been down once in 2019 and they’re up again, by almost 8%, $34,547. Sales in single families, multi-families, and condos are down in all three categories and prices are up in all three categories. The number of homes listed was down last month, so it’s not surprising that sales are down this month.
Homes Listed for Sale:
November 2019 saw a 12.8% decrease in the number of homes listed over November 2018. There were 808 fewer homes placed on the market in the past month compared to last November, but it’s understandable given the holidays and the wintery weather we’ve had over the past four weeks.
Pending Home Sales:
There was an 8.8% increase in the number of homes placed under agreement, by 574 more homes which once again supports that the market is still active despite the freezing temperatures and the myth that holidays stop home sales.
Price Changes Down 30.3%:
There were 199 fewer price changes in November 2019 over November 2018, down by over 30%. They have been down over the past couple of months but sales have also been up to so it hasn’t been an issue. Now that sales are down for November, we could see an increase in price adjustments in December.
New Hampshire Home Sales Up 9.2%
New Hampshire performed opposite to Massachusetts in that sales are up and prices are down. Sales were up in all three categories, by 9.2%, 95 sales. Prices are down overall by $40,155- in single families and multi-families but were up only by a tenth of a point in condos.
What’s Ahead?
With the number of homes under agreement up, we can see that buyers are still very active. The decrease in the number of homes listed on the market goes to show that sellers are a little trigger shy, likely due to the myth that the real estate market falls dormant during the holidays. It was the best fall to buy since 2014 because interest rates dropped and inventory peaked giving buyers a great selection and we can tell they took advantage of that by the increase in homes pending. Due to that, we will hopefully close the year with an increase in sales, but it still too early to tell.
Though Christmas may slow December down slightly, January 1st is always a very active day for buyers so if sellers notice any dip in momentum that week, they should rest assured everything will pick up fairly quickly.