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 Southern New Hampshire for March 2019 compared to March 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 January Home Sales Down 2.44%
Home sales decreased in March 2019 over March 2018 by just under two and a half percent with sales at 6,068 total for single families, multi families, and condos. Home sales increased by around 7.5% for both condos and multi-families and increased by just under a single percent for single families.
Prices are up 8.03% year over year now at $451,122, with increases in all three categories. Multi-families increased by 5.49% to $459,201, condos increased by 3.21% to $361,003, and single families increased by 11.93% to $509,435.
Homes Listed for Sale:
The number of homes listed increased by 11.98% over last year, with this March seeing 9,693 homes compared to last year’s 8,656. It speaks to the boom in inventory that we saw in the beginning of the year and though there are still more buyers than sellers, this helps buyers with more selection than year’s past.
Pending Home Sales:
The number of homes that were put under agreement in March 2019 compared to March 2018 is down by 2.17%- last year we saw 8,727 homes that went pending and this year there were only 8,538. Spring generally incites an increase in pending sales, so we are hopeful to see this number grow in the coming weeks particularly with the buyer friendly interest rates we’ve seen over the past month or so.
Price Changes:
There was a 10.8% increase in price adjustments in Massachusetts year over year, meaning that more sellers are having to come down a bit to attract buyers. Buyers are out there, but they’re conscientious of growing sales prices are intent on finding the best value.
Southern New Hampshire January Home Sales Down 7.83%
Like Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire exhibited a decrease in sales and an increase in prices. Sales are down almost 8% for New Hampshire, and prices increased by 11.6%. Condo prices increased by almost 35% this month over last year at the same time which swayed the sales price increase significantly.
What’s Ahead?
The spring market is now in high gear so sellers should be prepping their homes to list as soon as possible if they want to take advantage of the demand! Don’t worry if you’re thinking about selling but don’t see a home you want- there are homes out there you might just be looking in the wrong places. They aren’t always listed traditionally- so make sure you’re connected with an agent that has access to an off-market list or private sellers.
Buyers are out and about and the competition is heating up for homes, so buyers should be making sure their preapprovals are up to date, particularly with the unexpected swing in interest rates we’ve seen over the past month and a half that helps reduce fees to borrow. The more current your approval documentation is the more likely your offer will be accepted over others in a bidding war! The warmer weather brings out both buyers and sellers, so everyone out there who is ready to make a move should be consulting with their expert agents to learn more about the market and to prep for a summer closing.