After five straight months where home sales plunged in Massachusetts compared to 2010, there are signs of a possible recovery in July 2011.
Single-family home sales increased in July 7% year-over-year, according to the latest report by The Warren Group.
“While it's encouraging to see sales rise in July, we're comparing statistics to a very rough month of July last year,” said Cory Hopkins, managing editor of Banker & Tradesman. “The expiration of the homebuyer tax credits hurt sales volume a year ago, which is skewing the actual picture of the market now.”
A total of 3,847 single-family home were sold statewide last month, nearly 300 more properties than the previous year. However, there have been 20,893 homes sold in the Bay State over the first seven months of 2011, 16% lower than the same time period last year.
The Boston-based firm said home prices remained stable in July with the median price of a single-family property listed for $317,500. This is the third consecutive month that homes averaged above $300,000.
Condominium sales were down last month by 2% (27 properties) from the prior year, with only 1,454 condos sold, the firm reported. For the year, there has been a 26% drop in the number of condominiums bought by buyers. The average price for a state condominium was $298,000, a 4% increase from the prior year.
