Mass. Realtors optimism rises

WALTHAM, Mass. – Optimism among Bay State Realtors soared in August compared with a year earlier.
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said this week that its Market Index stood at 28 in August, up from 20 a year earlier and 27 in July 2011. Measured on a 100-point scale, the Realtors consider a score of 50 the midpoint between a “strong” and a “weak” market.
“Based on the results of the survey and hearing from Realtor members in the field, the further we got away from talk about the debt ceiling the better everyone felt about the market in August,” association President-elect Trisha McCarthy said.
Realtors, however, showed little optimism that prices would rise. The association’s Price Index was 40 in August, down from 42 last year and unchanged from July 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.
The association also reported this month that 30 percent of respondents had completed at least one short sale within the last year. For Realtors who completed a short sale, 22 percent reported it took an average of one to three months to sell the home; 46 percent reported it took four to six months; 25 percent reported six to 12 months and 7 percent reported it took more than a year on average to close a short sale.
“Realtors still believe that short sales are taking too long and the length of time to complete the transaction is hurting the market,” McCarthy said.