As the state’s spring housing market got underway in March, numbers of new single-family home listings jumped by nearly 71 percent, giving some a sense of hope that 2020’s dire inventory shortage could ease even as buyer demand looks to remain strong.
Across Massachusetts, 5,804 single-family homes came on the market in March compared to the 3,401 that became available in February, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
March’s figure is still 3.8 percent lower than the number of new listings that came online in March 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit, but the numbers are “moving in the right direction,” MAR 2021 President Steve Medieros said.
“A lot of what we saw a few months ago – people want to sell their home, they want to buy a home, but they won’t put their home on the market until they think they have something to buy – but having more inventory coming on helps people gain confidence,” he said in an interview with Banker & Tradesman. “That’s the most promising thing. Even if the inventory doesn’t increase overall, if we have the inventory coming on quickly it will keep up with buyer demand.“
The Greater Boston Association of Realtors reported seeing 1,697 single-family homes come on the market in March, up 7.7 percent from March 2020 and a 73.7 percent jump from February 2021. Even inventory-starved Cape Cod saw a bump in new single-family listings, with 391 landing in February compared to 241 in March, the Cape Cod & the Islands Association of Realtors reported.
Still, heads of two of the state’s biggest regional Realtor associations said in statements that they weren’t comforted by the boosts – for good reason.
“There is a perilously low number of homes for sale in the market. We were worried last year when homes for sale dipped below 2,000, and to be at 346 single family homes for sale is simply astonishing,” CCIAOR CEO Ryan Castle said.
“It’s a good time to be a seller, but the challenge for many is where will they move,” said GBAR 2021 President Dino Confalone. “In today’s market, downsizing isn’t so much an issue, but trading up the options can be limited, and that’s what is causing many homeowners to hold off listing their home sale. It’s a big reason why our inventory is in short supply.”
The pace of single-family home sales – reflecting intense demand – caused the monthly number of sales to hit a four-year high in March according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Another indicator, the median sale price, jumped even further, rising by 14.4 percent year-over-year to $460,000, even if the gain was not quite as dramatic as seen in previous months when it ran at an average of 21.5 percent. The median year-to-date single family home price now sits at $450,000, 14.3 percent over the same figure in March 2020.
The state’s condominium market appears somewhat better stocked, with 2,539 units on the market in March, although that number dropped from February when 3,167 units were available. Still, that only represents 1.3 months of supply at current sales rates, MAR said.
In GBAR’s territory, inventory rose on both a month-over-month (2.3 percent) and year-over-year (30.2 percent) basis in March, with new listings jumping 50.4 percent over February’s tally to 1,796. Still, such figures mean the market only has 1.9 months’ of supply on-hand, and condo prices continue to strengthen.
The statewide median sale price for condominiums hit $425,000 in March according to The Warren Group, a 3.2 percent bump over March 2020.
“Agents should be telling their buyers they need to have a plan, they need to have their ducks in a row so they can make their best offer,” Medieros said. “It doesn’t mean they have to make the highest offer on a property but they have to make the best offer for them. “
