PROVIDENCE – The median price of a single-family home sold in Bristol County, Mass., in August increased 14.8% year over year to $425,000, lower than the state median rate of $535,000, and a rise of $5,000 from one month prior, according to The Warren Group Tuesday.
The median price of a single-family home in Rhode Island in August was $390,000, a rise of 17.1% year over year.
Bristol County, Mass., sales rose year over year in August, from 496 to 519. Statewide, sales declined 6.2% year over year to 6,318. Similarly, sales in Rhode Island declined 5.3% from August 2020 to 1,095 in August.
“The decline in [Massachusetts] home sales volume for the second straight month is significant,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, in a statement. “The data doesn’t lie. We’ve seen both the number of new listings and months supply dwindle … [and] the galloping real estate market has slowed to a fast trot. No doubt that the low inventory and declining number of new listings is one factor, but it may not be the only one. The median price rose 11.4% last year and gained 19.1% through July of this year. I think prices have gotten higher than a lot of people can afford. Increasingly, the people who can afford to buy have already done so and the rest are ready to give up on home shopping.”
Sales of condominiums in Bristol County, Mass., totaled 101, a rise from 75 one year prior. The median price of a condo in the county in August was $269,200, a 7.7% rise year over year. The median price of a condo in Massachusetts was $470,000 at that time, and in Rhode Island it was $271,000.
“Last year, as COVID-19 created uncertainty in the condo market, the number of sales slipped. This year they rebounded, gaining 40.4% through July. Now, like the single-family market, [we] are seeing the condo inventory across Massachusetts shrink significantly. Sales are once more slowing down as prices continue to rise,” Warren added.