Massachusetts’ median condo price hits all-time high, report says

The median price of a Massachusetts condo hit an all-time high of $413,000 in May, according to a June 26 report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

The median represented a 7 percent increase over May 2018, and came despite the supply of available condos increasing year over year for five consecutive months. It was up 2.8 percent annually in May.

“The demand for condominiums is pushing prices to all-time highs even with five straight months of year-over-year increases of condominiums on the market,” Anne Meczywor, a broker at Roberts & Associates Realty in Lenox and president of the Waltham-based Realtors Association, said in a statement. “This underscores the need for more homes to be built to make sure that everyone who is qualified gets that opportunity to be a homeowner.”

The Boston region in particular has been dealing with the fallout from a serious housing shortage, one that does indeed help drive and keep prices higher. There are myriad reasons for the shortage. A recent report, for instance, blamed sometimes byzantine zoning regulations for stifling multifamily development, including condos.

As severe as the housing crunch might be and as high as the prices are, neither has put a damper on condo sales. Buyers statewide are still jumping into the market, and developers should continue to expect to capitalize on this demand, the realtors’ report showed. Condo sales were up 2.4 percent annually in May, to 2,167.

Meanwhile, sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts were up 6.2 percent annually in May, to 5,247, and the median single-family home price was up 3.7 precent, to $420,000. Single-family sales were up or flat seven out of the previous 12 months, the realtors association said, and median prices were up or flat 35 out of the previous 36 months.

Single-family inventory, however, unlike that for condos, was down 8.6 percent annually in May.