BOSTON – The median price of single-family homes in Massachusetts dipped in April for the 12th consecutive month, according to The Warren Group, while sales fell for the third month after rebounding in January.
Statewide, 4,088 single-family homes were sold in April, 1.9 percent fewer than in the same month a year ago. Their median price declined by 4.7 percent to $319,314 from $335,000 in April 2006.
For the first four months of the year, the Bay State saw sales decline 0.9 percent compared with the same period of 2006 to 14,672 single-family homes. Their median price was $312,500, a decline of 3.8 percent from the $325,000 median in the same period of 2006.
“The housing market has seemed to be in a holding pattern for the past three months, with sales inching downward, but not plummeting at levels we saw in 2006,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Prices have been declining steadily as well, but not at the rate seen during a mid-2006, when they declined 8 or 9 percent from year-before numbers.”
But, he added, “Foreclosures are taking a toll in the housing market at large. Our statistics show more and more homes are coming closer to the auction block, as the distressed homeowners are finding it difficult to sell their homes in this still-slowing market.”
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.
