Mass. home sales drop in July, median price increases

THE NUMBER of homes sold in Massachusetts dropped for the first time this year in July, by 12.5 percent compared with July 2015, The Warren Group said Tuesday.  / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TY WRIGHT
THE NUMBER of homes sold in Massachusetts dropped for the first time this year in July, by 12.5 percent compared with July 2015, The Warren Group said Tuesday. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TY WRIGHT

BOSTON – The number of homes sold in Massachusetts dropped for the first time this year in July, by 12.5 percent compared with July 2015, The Warren Group said Tuesday.
A total of 6,205 single-family homes were sold in the Bay State last month versus 7,090 in July 2015.
However, year to date, sales have risen 15.2 percent, with 33,146 homes sold through July compared with 28,778 sold during the same period last year.
The median sale price of a single-family home in Massachusetts rose 2.7 percent in July to $369,900, $9,000 more than in July 2015. July’s median was the second-highest median sale price on record for single-family homes, dropping below June’s record-setting $372,000, The Warren Group said.
Bristol County followed statewide trends, as single-family home sales dropped 4.6 percent, to 478 from 501, but the median price improved 5.5 percent, to $290,000 from $275,000.
Continuing the trend, condominium sales statewide fell nearly 16 percent for the month, to 2,357 sold in July compared with 2,795 sold a year ago, while the median price set a new record high of $350,000, beating June’s record of $345,000.
“Sales are definitely going strong, especially in terms of prices,” Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “Last year’s market was an unusual one, and a drop in the number of sales year over year isn’t unusual in this case. Low inventory, especially in the median price range, continues to be an issue in many areas of the state and prices are rising as a result.”
The median condo price increased 3.7 percent compared with $337,500 in the same month last year.
In Bristol County, condo sales fell 1.2 percent to 81 in July from 82 in July 2015, and the median price rose 1.2 percent, to $195,000 from $192,750.

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