Boston Area Housing Market Remains Red Hot in August

BOSTON, Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Housing demand remained at near record levels in the Boston area during August as low mortgage rates, steady job growth locally, and rising home values continued to provide consumers the confidence to enter the housing market. For a third consecutive month, sales of both detached single-family homes and condominiums each rose steadily on an annual basis in August, data from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors® (GBAR) show. 

Sales of detached single-family homes increased 13.5 percent on an annual basis from 1,516 homes closed last August to 1,720 in August 2015. It's the highest sales volume ever recorded during the month of August in metropolitan Boston, surpassing the previous record of 1,694 homes sold in August 2013, and the eighth highest single month sales total on record. Activity in the condo market also improved last month, though more modestly so, climbing 4.6 percent from 1,138 condominiums sold in August 2014 to 1,190 this August. Last month's sales total is the seventh best on record for the month of August in the Boston area condominium market.

"The market has been as hot as the weather over the past month," stated GBAR President David McCarthy, owner of Keller Williams Realty Boston Metro, noting that the traditional summer slowdown never materialized this year. "To some degree we are still playing catch-up from our delayed spring market, but buyers are also finding improved access and availability to mortgage credit, and more choice thanks to a higher volume of new listings coming on the market this summer compared to a year ago, and that's helping to drive demand," he remarked.

The brisk sales pace is helping to boost home values as well. In the single-family home market, the median selling price increased a modest 2 percent over the past 12 months, from a median of $490,000 in August 2014 to a new record high median for the month of $499,900 this August, while the condominium median selling price rose 9.8 percent in the past year, from a median of $419,900 last August to an all-time high monthly median price of $460,000 in August 2015 (which equals the median price in July 2015). It's the eleventh straight month the single-family home median price has risen on an annual basis, and tenth consecutive month the median price for condos has improved.   

"Today's home values reflect a renewed confidence in home ownership, but also the imbalance between supply and demand that is placing upper pressure on prices," McCarthy said. "It largely remains a seller's market."

The good news is conditions are slowly improving. Thus, while inventory for single-family homes and condos continued to decline from year ago levels in August, the decrease in the number of homes and condos for sale was more modest than for any other month this year, with the number of single-family listings sliding 13 percent to 3,500 homes for sale and condo listings down 13.8 percent to 1,516 units for sale. In addition, new listings for both detached single-family homes and condos improved on a year-to-year basis last month, with a 14 percent increase in number of single-family homes listed for sale and a 17 percent gain in the number of condos added to the market this August compared to August 2014.

As the supply levels build, that in turn will create more opportunities in the market for buyers going forward, and that's evident from the latest pending sales data, which shows the number of single-family homes placed under contract increased for a fifth consecutive month, increasing nearly 30 percent over the past 12 months to a new record high for the month of 1,302 this August.  Additionally, in the condo market pending sales improved for a sixth consecutive month on an annual basis, climbing 16.8 percent during the past year to 842 in August 2015.

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SOURCE Greater Boston Association of REALTORS(R)

Related Links

http://www.gbar.org