July home sales throughout the Greater Boston area largely matched trends seen throughout the state last month — sales were still strong and prices remained high while the number of homes for sale fell.
The Greater Boston Association of Realtors recorded 1,560 single-family home sales in July, 5.8 percent more than a year ago but down 10 percent from the previous month. Condo sales were 7 percent higher on the year at 1,250, but 5.1 percent below June levels. Meanwhile, the number of active listings on the market for either property type posted significant monthly and annual declines.
“The market remains red hot and two of the key factors driving sales are the strong local economy and favorable demographics, including large numbers of millennials looking to enter the housing market for the first time after years of renting or living in the home they grew up in,” GBAR president Marie Presti said in a statement. “We simply don’t have the inventory needed to satisfy demand, so it remains a great time to list your home for sale here in Greater Boston.”
The area surveyed by GBAR notched a median sales price of $647,680, up 7.7 percent from a year ago but down marginally from last month’s all-time high of $650,000. The Boston area’s record-breaking price appreciation streak may well have been broken as the housing market cools off only slightly heading into the end of the summer.
“The Greater Boston housing market is among the most desirable in the country right now for buyers as well as investors, and that’s evident in the strong appreciation in home prices over the past year, and the fact that many are willing to pay top dollar to purchase a home here,” Presti said.
source: bostonagentmagazine