Condo and single-family sales as well as prices in Massachusetts increased in February, creeping toward pre-Great Recession numbers and seeming to verify the much-ballyhooed Globe front-pager over the weekend that said their were more people hitting open houses and bidding on properties.
Condo sales statewide were up almost 18 percent annually in February to 892, according to research concern the Warren Group, which published the numbers through its Banker & Tradesman. Year-to-date condo sales were also up over last year by 5.3 percent. The median sales price for condos was up 4.7 percent to $235,535.
For single-families, the sales jumps were more dramatic: up 33 percent over February 2011, and the highest volume for the month since 2007, when 2,628 single-families traded; and the biggest annual increase since May 2010, when sales increased 35 percent. Year-over-year, they were up 15.8 percent annually. Prices dropped, however. The median sales price for a single-family was down almost 3 percent to $245,000. The year-to-date median home price was down about 4 percent to $250,000. There you go—that might explain the activity. Some other possibilities for why things are they way they are can be found here.
· Mass. Home Sales Rise Again In February [Banker & Tradesman]
· It's a Seller's Market in the Hub Again! Anecdotally! [Curbed Boston]
· Is Boston's Housing Market Just... Normal? [Curbed Boston]