BOSTON – Sales and prices of Massachusetts single-family homes both declined in the third quarter, although the decline slowed from its second-quarter pace, according to a report today by The Warren Group.
For the period ended Sept. 30, the number of home sales in the Bay State fell to 14,510, a decline of 5.5 percent compared with the same quarter of 2006, while year-to-date sales fell 6.1 percent to 42,398. The median price of homes sold in the third quarter fell 4.6 percent to $315,000, while the year-to-date median also fell 4.6 percent to $315,000, based on The Warren Group’s traditional calculation, which includes foreclosure deeds.
Because of the rapid rise in foreclosures in recent months, the group also has begun calculating data excluding foreclosure deeds; by that method, the year-to-date median price fell 0.9 percent to $337,000 from $339,900 for the first nine months of 2006.
“The median price data with foreclosure deeds filtered out is encouraging, as prices are staying relatively flat,” CEO Timothy Warren Jr. said in a statement today. “But foreclosure issues in Massachusetts can’t be ignored, and [the problem] will likely get worse before it gets better.”
September single-family home sales fell 18.7 percent from a year ago to 3,735, in what The Warren Group called the steepest decline of the past year. Compared with the same months of 2006, sales had fallen 1.5 percent in August and risen 1.5 percent in July.
The group cited a tighter mortgage market, especially for “jumbo” loans exceeding the limits set by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Last month, 398 such loans were signed statewide, 30 percent fewer than in the same month a year ago. Conventional mortgages fell 20 percent compared with September 2006, to 5,210 loans signed last month.
Meanwhile, the median price of all single-family homes sold or foreclosed in September fell 4.4 percent to $304,000.
“It appears we’re seeing in September the ramifications of July’s credit crisis,” Warren said, citing “consumer skittishness” over mortgages that aren’t backed by Fannie Mac or Freddie Mac, as well as increased difficulty in qualifying for such loans.
Condominium sales and prices also fell in the third quarter, the group said. Third-quarter condo sales fell 6.0 percent to 7.602 units statewide, while year-to-date sales fell 6.2 percent to 21,954 units. The median price fell 3.0 percent to $272,500 for condos sold or foreclosed in the third quarter, and 2.9 percent to $270,000 for condos sold or foreclosed in the first nine months of the year. Excluding foreclosure deeds, the year-to-date median price was flat at $280,000 in the first nine months of both 2006 and 2007.
Last month, condo sales fell 19.5 percent compared with September 2006, to 1,893 units sold. Their median price, calculated by the traditional method, fell 3.0 percent to $260,000.
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.
