Bay State Home Sales Fall In Nov.

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By Rick Saia

Home sales in Massachusetts fell in November as two reports released today cited a lack of sufficient inventory on the market.

Both the Warren Group of Boston and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) said sales fell 2 percent last month, although sales for the first 11 months of the year are up.

“After strong buyer activity over the summer and early fall, the market slowed down in November because there were not enough homes for sale to meet demand,” MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia said. “While fewer homes for sale do drive up prices, it also means there are fewer homes sold. We’re at a point where we really need homeowners who have been thinking of selling to make the decision to do it.”

The Warren Group report said November was the first time since April in which home sales posted a decrease and the fewest number of sales were recorded for any month this year. But year-to-date sales are up more than 6 percent, to 45,979, up from 43,222 during the first 11 months of 2012.

But there was good news on home prices. The median selling price for a single-family home in November was $316,500, up 7.3 percent from $295,000 in November 2012, the MAR said. That marked the 14th straight month of year-over-year price increases. But on a month-to-month basis, the November median price was down 1.1 percent from $320,000 in October 2013.

In Central Massachusetts, The Warren Group’s numbers for November were mixed. Year-over-year sales of single-family homes in Worcester County were up nearly 6 percent while the median price rose close to 11 percent, to $221,750. In Middlesex County, sales were down about 5.7 percent but the median rose 5.1 percent, to $410,000.

In the condominium market, the trends were reversed: Sales in Worcester County were down 10.8 percent, although the median sale price increased 11.4 percent, to just under $170,000. In Middlesex County, sales were up close to 10 percent while the median price rose 10.9 percent to $345,000.

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