Mass. pending sales fall

WALTHAM, Mass. – The number of people agreeing to purchase homes in April fell 24 percent compared with the same month last year, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said this week.
The association said buyers put 4,230 homes under contract last month, down from a record-high 5,580 in April of last year. That month represented the last month that buyers could place homes under contract and still receive the federal homebuyer tax credit.
Compared with March 2011, however, sales in April rose 5.1 percent. It represented the third-straight month-to-month gain.
“While we would like to see increased buyer interest translate into more accepted offers, we still continue to move in a positive direction from last month,” association President Laurie Cadigan said.
Elsewhere in the market, the number of condominiums under contract in April was up 1.6 percent from March; but April pending sales, 1,676, were down 27 percent compared with April 2010.