Bay State sales decline 18% for fifth straight monthly loss
As Bay State temperatures have risen, year-over-year home sales have dropped, marking a fifth straight month of declines with 18 percent fewer deals in June, according to figures compiled for the Herald.
“In Massachusetts, we’re doing better, but we’re not immune,” said Barry Bluestone, director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. “People are being skittish about the market. When people are nervous, the last thing you buy is a house.”
June sales of single-family homes dropped to 4,094 from 4,995 in June 2010, according to the MLS Property Information Network. Sales of condominium units dropped 19 percent to 1,717 compared to 2,131 in the same period a year ago.
In May, home sales had fallen 19 percent from a year earlier to 3,050 and condo deals had dropped 22 percent to 1,265.
The months of disappointing numbers may be exacerbated by the absence of last year’s first-time homebuyer credit, said Laurie Cadigan, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. In 2010, thousands of homebuyers rushed to close by June 30 to take advantage of the credit.
“The next several months will be telling, because we’ll be able to compare non-tax-credit months,” Cadigan said.
The only bright spot in the Massachusetts numbers came in median condo prices, which rose 4.9 percent to $300,000.
Meanwhile, the median single-family price dropped to $328,250 from $331,000 in June 2010.
Nationally, home construction hit a five-month peak of 629,000 in June, up 16.7 percent from June 2010. But even that news didn’t encourage economists, who look for about 1 million home starts as a healthy monthly number.
“Production always picks up in the summer,” Bluestone said. “Still, everything looks up when you’re so far down.”
Cadigan said if you have a steady job and a good savings history, now is a great time to buy, given the relatively low home prices and interest rates.
“No one blows a whistle and says ‘OK, we’ve hit bottom,’ ” she said. “People who wait are going to say ‘I wish I bought last year.’ ”
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