Fierce demand among buyers in May continued to push median single-family home and condo prices to new highs, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Single-family home and condo sales declined significantly during the second quarter of 2020 as a result of economic uncertainties surrounding COVID-19. In order to give a more accurate representation of activity in the Massachusetts real estate market, The Warren Group provided two years of data as a comparison in this month’s sales report.
Last month, there were 5,139 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, 28.1 percent increase from May 2020 when there were just 4,012 transactions. Compared to May 2019 (5,688 transactions), single-family home sales declined 9.7 percent. In May 2021, the median single-family sale price spiked 23.5 percent on a year-over-year basis to $525,000, up from $425,000 in May 2020 and up 28 percent from May 2019 when the median sale price was $410,000. This marked the second consecutive month that the median single-family home price has surpassed $500,000.
“Once again – because of significant disruption to the housing market caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown – it would be disingenuous to analyze our sales data on a year-over-year basis,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “So, let’s look at where Massachusetts housing was at two years ago for a more accurate comparison. You might think that the most interesting data point is that statewide, the median price is up more than $115,000 on a two-year basis, but what I’m more interested in is that sales dipped almost 10 percent from May two years ago. I’ve been saying for quite a while that it’s only a matter of time before demand wouldn’t be able to keep up with supply, and this could be the first time we have a concrete data point indicating its coming to fruition. As inventory continues to dwindle, we’ll continue to see declining sales and inflated prices in the coming months.”
Year-to-date, there have been 20,403 single-family home sales in Massachusetts, a 15.3 percent increase from the first five months of 2020. Meanwhile, the year-to-date median single family home price increased 17.9 percent on the same basis to $480,000.
There were 2,723 condominium sales in May, a 94.6 percent increase from May 2020 when there were 1,399 condo sales. Compared to May 2019 (2,556 transactions), condo sales were up a more modest 6.5 percent. Meanwhile, the median sale price increased 20.8 percent on a year-over-year basis to $490,000 – a new all-time high. This also marked the tenth consecutive month that the median condo price has been more than $400,000. Compared to May 2019 ($401,500), the median condo price was up 22 percent.
“Condos continued to rebound in May as life in urban centers continued to get back to normal,” Warren said. “If activity in the condo market continues at this clip, I fully expect the median sale price of both single-family homes and condos to surpass $500,000 in the coming months, which would be a first.”
Year-to-date, there have been 10,682 condo sales, a 39.7 percent increase from the first five months of 2020 with a median sale price of $450,000, an 8.4 percent increase on the same basis.
