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August 10, 2017

Pending home sales drop for the first time since 2015

Median home prices in the MetroWest region were up in May in some towns.

For the first time in two years, pending single-family home sales dropped last month compared to the year prior, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

"More than two years of gains in pending sales despite rising prices and low inventory faltered this month," the association's president, Paul Yorkis, said in a statement. "Some buyers are especially feeling the pressure now with pending median prices over $400,000 for the second month in a row."

There were 4,616 pending single family home sales in July 2017, down 5.8 percent from the year before, according to the association. Over the same period the median price climbed from $380,000 to $405,000, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

Meanwhile, MAR reported that realtor market confidence and price confidence ticked up in July compared to a year earlier.

Realtors have pushed for legislation to make it easier for residential developers to build new homes.

"The lack of inventory is significantly weighing on the minds of both buyers and sellers," said Yorkis, who is president of Patriot Real Estate in Medway. "While it might be easy for a homeowner to sell their home, the prospect of them not being able to find a home is a big hurdle. It's just one more reason why more homes are not on the market. 

The last time pending single-family home sales dropped was January 2015, according to MAR.

The association reported pending condominium sales dropped 10.5 percent in July compared to 2016. The median price of condos rose to $382,000 last month, up from $358,950 a year earlier

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