Massachusetts Home Market Sluggish in November

The Massachusetts housing market continued to slump in November, with single-family home and condominium sales plunging by double-digit percentages and the single-family home median sale price falling 6.5%, according to a report released today by The Warren Group.

Single-family home sales dropped by 13.5% from November 2005 levels – their eighth double-digit percentage drop this year. Sales have now dropped from year-before levels in 25 of the last 28 months. The 4,130 homes sold in November 2006 marked the lowest sales figure for a November time period since 1992.

The state's single-family home median sale price also decreased in November to $315,000 from $337,000 in November 2005. The median home sale price has now dropped in eight of the last nine months and is down more than 13% from the $364,000 peak registered in June 2005.

While condominium sales fell by 10.1% from November 2005, the drop-off wasn't as steep as it was the past four months when sales fell between 19 and 28%. The 2,222 condos sold in November 2006 was less than comparable months in 2004 and 2005, but it exceeded all other November sales dating back at least to 1987.

Statewide, the condominium median sale price dipped 1.8% to $269,900.

"We're still in a decline, but the slope is not as steep as it was in the summer and early fall," said Timothy Warren, Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "We're starting to see some signs of stabilization."

The data was assembled by The Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and the premier provider of real estate and financial data throughout New England. The Warren Group's data includes all sales logged at registries of deeds throughout Massachusetts.

For the first 11 months of the year, Massachusetts single-family home sales were down 15% from the comparable period in 2005, and median prices are down 5.1%, to $327,500. Condo sales have fallen by 13.3% from the prior year while the median sale price is down 1.3% to $275,000.

Through November this year, all 14 Massachusetts counties have seen single-family home sales decline. The declines were most pronounced in Nantucket County (29.6%) and Barnstable County (22%), while Hampshire (6.4%) and Hampden (7.8%) experienced the smallest drops. Nantucket (9.6%), Hampden, Berkshire and Hampshire all have posted median price increases while Suffolk's and Worcester's price drops were the largest, both exceeding 6%.

Nantucket County, one of the state's smallest condominium markets, posted the biggest year-to-date sales and median sales price gains. Hampshire County's condo market has been particularly strong in 2006, with year-to-date sales up 17.4% and the median sales price up 13.3%. Essex's 22.9% sales drop was the second largest behind Dukes County's, while Franklin's 10.8% drop was the steepest.

For more information, visit www.thewarrengroup.com or call 617-428-5100.

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