Mass. housing sales slow in February

BOSTON – The Massachusetts housing market slowed last month after rising in January for the first time in two years, The Warren Group reported today.

Sales of single-family homes dipped to 2,983, 1.4 percent fewer than in February 2006, as their median price fell to $300,000, 4.6 percent less than a year earlier.

In January, 3,305 single-family homes were sold across the Bay State, 5.1 percent more than in January 2006, though their median price was 3.4 percent less than a year earlier.

Sales of condominiums dipped to 1,717, 3.2 percent fewer than a year earlier, as their median price fell to $275,000, 4.8 percent below the price in February 2006.

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The report shows “a leveling-out in the Massachusetts home market,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Sales decreased by double-digit percentages during much of 2006, so a decrease of only 1.4 percent could be an indication of some stabilization in the market. But recent difficulties in the subprime mortgage market could spell trouble down the road.” The market, he concluded, “is probably not out of the woods yet.”

Bristol County fared less well, with 262 single-family homes sold last month, 10.9 percent fewer than in February 2006, at a median price of $285,500, or 3.5 percent below the year-ago level. Eighty-one condos were sold in the county, 17.4 percent fewer than in February 2006; their median price of $208,500 was 5.7 percent below the year-ago level.

Additional information is available at www.thewarrengroup.com.

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