Mass. June home sales hit 20-year low

BOSTON – Sales of Massachusetts single-family homes in June fell to their lowest level of any June since 1991, The Warren Group said Tuesday.
The real estate tracking firm said 4,313 homes sold in June, down 23.5 percent from the same month last year. Sales were the lowest of any June since June 1991 when 4,243 homes sold.
Separately, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday June sales of 4,267, marking a 17.7 percent drop from the same period a year ago. (The association and The Warren Group track home sales differently.)
Both organizations attributed the falloff to the end of the federal homebuyer tax credit. Buyers initially had until June 30, 2010 to close deals and gain the credit. Congress later pushed the closing deadline to Sept. 30, 2010 but, by then, many had already rushed to seal the deal.
“This year’s sales slump is carrying on as we compare the level of home sales in 2011 to the inflated number of sales driven by last year’s homebuyer tax credits,” The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said. “However, June is typically one of the busiest months of the year for real estate closings. It is disappointing to see such a steep decline.”
Year-to-date home sales are down 20 percent, The Warren Group said. From January to June, 17,057 single-family homes sold, compared with 21,322 during the same period a year ago.
In Bristol County, Mass., 1,024 homes sold during the first half of the year, compared with 1,613 a year ago, according to The Warren Group. In June, 218 homes sold, down from 390 a year ago.
Meanwhile the median sales price in the county rose to $251,250 from $242,250 a year ago. Statewide, The Warren Group said the median sales price rose to $325,850 from $325,000 a year ago.
The Realtors, however, reported that the median sales prices declined in June to $325,850 from $331,150 a year ago.