B+A Greater Boston

MASSACHUSETTS REALTY NEWS T H E M A S S A C H U S E T T S A S S O C I AT I O N O F R E A LT O R S ( M A R) r ep or te d t h at M ay home prices went up as sales went down for the fourth straight month. The condominium market had similar results, with prices up and sales down. Ther e wer e 4 , 3 0 0 det ac he d si ngle - f a m i l y h o m e s s o l d t h i s M a y, d o w n 9.9 percent from the 4,772 homes sold the same time last year. On a month-to-month basis, home sales were up 31.1 percent from 3,279 homes sold this past April. The median selling price for a single- family home in May was $3 47,900, up 7 percent from $325,000 in May 2013. This is the 20th straight monthly year- over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the May median selling price was up 8.8 percent from $319,800 in April. T h e r e w e r e 1 , 9 9 4 c o n d o m i n i u m s s old t h i s p a s t M ay, a de c r e a s e of 1 . 1 percent from the 2,016 condos sold the s a me t i me l a s t y e a r. O n a mont h- to - month basis, condominium sales were up 29.8 percent from 1,536 condominiums sold this past April. The median selling price for condomini- ums in May was $316,000, up 9 percent from the $290,000 median price in May 2013. This is the 12th straight month of year-over- year increases. On a month-to-month basis, the May median selling price was down 0.9 percent from $319,000 in April. " Sh r i n k i ng i nv e ntor y a nd g r o w i ng pr ic e s de s c r ib e s t he m a rket i n M ay," says 2014 MAR President Peter Ruffini, Regional Vice President at Jack Conway & Co., in Nor well. "Qualified buyers are taking advantage of the still-low interest rates to buy the limited supply of homes available and are pushing prices up." Inventory and Days on Market The inventor y of single-family homes as of May 31 , 2014, decreased 7.9 per- c e nt f r om M ay 201 3 (2 1 , 8 1 8 l i s t i ng s in 2014 from 23,67 7 listings in 2013), w h i c h t r a n s l a t e s i n t o 5 . 3 m o n t h s o f supply in May 2014. This is down from 5.8 months of supply last year and up from five months in April. This was the 27th straight month of inventor y decreases. The number of new listings added to the market of single-family homes in May increased 4.1 percent over the same time last year (9,674 new listings in 2014 from 9,294 in 2013). The inventory of condominiums on the market in May was down 21.5 percent com- pared with the year before (5,507 listings in 2014 from 7,017 listings in 2013), which translates into 3.2 months of supply. That is down from 4.3 months in May 2013 and down from 3.3 months in April 2014. The number of new listings added to the condominium market in May decreased 3.7 percent from May 2013 (2,981 new listings in 2014 from 3,095 listings in 2013). Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 99 days in May 2014 compared with an average of 111 days in May 2013. Condos stayed on the market an average of 85 days, down from an average of 99 days in May 2013. On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes was down from 115 days in April, while condos were down from 82 days. "With new listings up significantly in May, overall inventory has the potential to move in a positive direction in the months ahead," Ruffini says. "There is no question the market needs more homes for sale to prevent prices from spiking too high and adversely impacting the real estate recovery." n Massachusetts Home Prices Continued Upward in May as Sales Down Again as Sales Down Again More Homes Needed on Market to Meet Demand 4 8 | Greater Boston Builder+Architect BOSTON.BUILDERARCHITECT.COM

• Cover