WALTHAM, Mass. – After Bay State Realtors expressed a steady rise in optimism about the market, their pessimism appears to have returned.
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said this week that its Market Index stood at 28 in May. The index had been rising every month since November and hit 32.09 in March before dropping to 30.28 in April. Measured on a 100-point scale, the Realtors consider a score of 50 the midpoint between a “strong” and a “weak” market.
“We continue to see buyers in the market who are looking, but holding off on making serious offers,” association President Laurie Cadigan said. “For the time being interest rates continue to decline and hopefully qualified buyers will take advantage of that trend to get into a home that is right for them.”
They may also find bargain-basement prices. The association’s Price Index was 38.89, a 1 percent increase from the same time last year but a 20 percent drop from April 2010. A score of 100 assumes prices will rise more than 5 percent, while a score of zero means Realtors expect them to fall more than 5 percent.
Of the Realtors surveyed, 1 percent expected interest rates would increase significantly, 66 percent they would rise slightly, 29 believed they would stay the same and 4 percent though they would drop slightly.
None of the respondents thought interest rates would drop significantly in the next year.
