MA homeowners see property sales dip

05.27.09
By Nicholas Storie

Mixed news on the Massachusetts housing market gives both homebuyers and homeowners some food for thought.

According to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR), median prices for single-family homes around the state were down 12.5 percent since last year, but up nearly 8 percent from last month's figures.

However, the still low prices of homes are not necessarily spurring individuals or couples to hurry out and find a home loan - single-family home sales were down 13 percent in April compared to 2008 and condo sales were off by almost 30 percent.

"On a year-over-year basis, median prices are still feeling the weight of the market correction that has been taking place over the past 20 months," said MAR president Gary Rogers, a broker at RE/MAX First Realty in Waltham.

Rogers also noted that month-to-month prices were creeping higher due to the increased activity from buyers interested in re-entering the market.

This data from Massachusetts comes on the heels of a national home price indicator that was recently released.

Yesterday, Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index revealed that through the first quarter home price declines remained on a record-setting track.

The indexes are one way to track the price path of typical single-family homes in a variety of metropolitan areas, according to S&P.

Boston, says the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices data, along with Denver and Dallas continue to stand out as some of cities that have fared relatively well with home prices only declining 8 percent, 5.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, on an annual basis.

This is in comparison to cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas which posted annual home price declines of 36 percent and 31.2 percent, respectively.

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Homebuyers may be enticed by low prices.