BOSTON – The median price of a Bristol County, Mass., single-family home fell 15.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009, a smaller decrease than the statewide 18.2 percent year-over-year drop, according to statistics released today by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracker.
The median price of a single-family home in Bristol County was $228,000 for the first three months of the year. That was down from $268,798 in the same 2008 period.
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Statewide, the single-family median price was $253,500, down from $310,000 in the same 2008 period.
“The single-family median home price has fallen below $300,000 for seven consecutive months,” CEO Timothy Warren Jr. said in a statement today. “Reduced prices could help stimulate home sales going forward.”
He added, “But I don’t think we’ve hit bottom yet because home sales haven’t picked up consistently. We saw some increases in sales volume toward the end of last year, but there needs to be steady sales gains for three to four quarters before prices begin to level off.”
Single-family home sales in the first quarter fell 10.9 percent statewide to 6,160 homes. Bristol County sales decreased 10.1 percent, dropping to 479 homes.
Statewide, condominium sales fell 26.9 percent in the first quarter, dropping to 2,802 units from 3,832 in the same three months last year. Bristol County sales fell by a greater percentage, dropping 50.6 percent, from 158 to 78 sales.
The median price of condos sold in Bristol Country dropped 23.1 percent, falling to $161,500 from $209,950. Statewide, the drop was 16.9 percent, falling from $264,900 to $220,100.
Condo sales statewide have fallen by 20 percent or more for 12 of the last 15 months, The Warren Group reported.
“Several incentives have emerged to boost home sales and condo sales, including a first-time homebuyer tax credit and low interest rates. These could spur sales in the future,” Warren said. “However, despite these incentives, unemployment and salary cuts will continue to weigh heavily on consumers who may have at one point considered buying a new home.”
The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at www.thewarrengroup.com.
