Housing supply down
The MAR report indicated additional positive prospects for potential home sellers. The inventory of residential properties on the market in April—including single-family homes and condominiums—slipped 22% from April 2006. This represents a housing supply of approximately ten months, down from 12.7 months in April 2006.
Also, detached single-family homes remained on the real estate market for an average of 150 days in April. The April 2006 average was 127 days.
“With inventory levels decreasing and interest rates still low, demand should continue to keep prices stable through the end of the spring homebuying season,” Azarian was quoted as saying.
While encouraging to potential home buyers and sellers, the MAR’s April report was not as glowing as its March review had been. In March, the MAR reported that the price of a single-family home in Massachusetts had increased by 0.1% that month after a year-to-year price decrease of 4.1% in February.
While the total number of homes sold in the Bay State declined in March, prices remained virtually unchanged for both single-family units and condominiums and realtors reported a slight boost in median prices of single-family homes.
Gaining momentum
For the first quarter of 2007 (January through March), the MAR reported that 8,603 single-family homes were sold in Massachusetts, an increase of 2.8% from its first-quarter sales figures in 2006. The Greater Boston region—which includes North Shore communities—recorded the highest increase in sales volumes for both single-family homes and condominiums of any region in the state at 13.8% and 15.4%, respectively.
“The housing market in Massachusetts is gaining momentum,” Azarian was quoted as saying in April.
Sales and price data included in the MAR monthly reports were tabulated from transactions through realtor-affiliated multiple listing services in Massachusetts, which account for an estimated 80% of all real estate sales in the state.
According to Realty Times (a publication of the National Association of Realtors), existing home sales in the U.S. are projected to increase gradually in 2007 and into 2008, while new-home sales are expected to show improvement by this summer. Annual totals for existing-home sales are likely to remain constant this year.
“The good news is that the steady improvement in sales will support price appreciation moving forward,” David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, was quoted as saying.
This analysis will pique the interest of people interested in moving to Brooksby, with its beautiful campus and just minutes from major shopping centers and other points of interest in the Greater Boston area. The many amenities offered at Brooksby also make it an attractive location for prospective buyers.
“My wife and I moved here two and one-half years ago because it got difficult for us to do the jobs at home we used to do,” says Robert Means, formerly of Georgetown, Mass. “At Brooksby, we’re close to our medical care, they let us bring our dog, and we have a dandy apartment. There are always many things going on and living here couldn’t be better.”
Growing long-term confidence
According to Lereah, critical variables of the national real estate market—including housing starts, inventory, mortgage rates, median prices, unemployment rates, inflation, gross domestic product, and disposable personal income—all reflect growing long-term confidence in the market.
“It appears that much of the housing sector is experiencing a soft landing,” Lereah was quoted as saying. “Despite the doomsayers, household wealth will not evaporate and the economy will not go into recession. If you’re in it for the long haul, housing is a sound investment.”