Mass. home sales jumped 17% in October

BOSTON – Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts increased 17.2 percent in October compared with a year earlier, the biggest year-to-year jump so far this year, according to real estate tracking firm The Warren Group.

The group said 4,295 homes sold last month, compared with 3,664 in October 2008. It was the highest total number of sales in October since 2005. Year-to-date sales were 1.4 percent behind last year’s figures through October.

October was the fourth consecutive month that single-family home sales rose in Massachusetts. Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, attributed much of the increase to the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which was recently extended through April 30 and expanded to include current homeowners.

“I think that there’s some evidence here that a housing recovery is on its way,” he said. “But we can’t say that the housing market has completely turned the corner yet because median home prices are still declining year-over-year.”

In Bristol County, Mass., sales of single-family homes jumped 22 percent to 319 in October compared with a year earlier. The median price in October fell 3.2 to $240,000.

Year-to-date sales in Bristol County are up slightly from 2008, with 2,535 this year compared with 2,486 last year. The median sale price is down 7.7 percent this year at $240,000.

The Massachusetts condominium market has lagged 2008 sales this year, with the total number sold from January through October falling 13.3 percent to 15,308. The median price fell 8.5 percent to $255,000.

Condo sales for the month of October rose 12 percent to 1,854 compared with 2008, while the month’s median sale price fell 8.1 percent to $240,000. It was the second consecutive month that condo sales increased compared with a year earlier after two years of decreases.

Separately, the closely-watched S&P/Case-Shiller index reported Tuesday that home prices in 20 U.S. cities also rose for a fourth straight month in September.

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 TheWarrenGroup.com.