WALTHAM, Mass. – Bay State Realtors started feeling a tad better about the real estate market in December, according to the latest survey by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
The association said this week that its Market Index rose to 19.54 last month, up from 18.56 in November but still below its April peak of 51.8. Measured on a 100-point scale, the Realtors consider a score of 50 the midpoint between a “strong” and a “weak” market.
Separately, Realtors continued to feel better about the future of home prices. The association’s Price Index rose for the fourth consecutive month to settle at 47.7. 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.
“Seeing these month-to-month gains is encouraging,” association President Laurie Cadigan said. “It gives an indication that Realtor members who are in the field helping clients buy and sell properties every day are feeling more positive about the market. Last year at this time the tax credit had just been extended and that positive feeling definitely carried over into the market. We don’t have that factor this year.”
The Realtors association said 41 percent of its members reported that the federal homebuyer tax credit had the greatest impact on the residential real estate market in 2010. The unemployment rate was ranked second, historically low interest rates ranked third, foreclosures were ranked fourth, and short sale delays ranked fifth.
