Single-family home sales fall in February in Bay State, but exceed 2,500 for second consecutive year

A TOTAL of 2,639 single-family homes were purchased last month in the Bay State, marking the second year in a row that the number of homes sold exceeded 2,500 in February, The Warren Group said Tuesday. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/DERICK E. HINGLE
A TOTAL of 2,639 single-family homes were purchased last month in the Bay State, marking the second year in a row that the number of homes sold exceeded 2,500 in February, The Warren Group said Tuesday. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/DERICK E. HINGLE

BOSTON – A total of 2,639 single-family homes were purchased last month in the Bay State, marking the second year in a row that the number of homes sold exceeded 2,500 in February, The Warren Group said Tuesday.

Despite breaking the 2,500 mark, the number of homes sold decreased 8.5 percent over the year, as a total of 2,884 homes were sold in February 2016.

Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement that he was not surprised by the decline in the number of single-family homes sold.

“The number sold in February 2016 was extraordinarily high and raised the bar to a ‘can’t be beat’ level,” he said.

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Single-family home sales in Bristol County bucked the statewide decline, instead rising 8.9 percent over the year to 258 from 237.

The median sale price of a single-family home statewide in February climbed 6.7 percent to $319,000 from $299,000 in February 2016. This is only the second February median sale price to break $300,000 since 2008. The other was 2015 with $312,500, according to The Warren Group.

In Bristol County, the median sale price of a single-family home rose 8.6 percent to $266,000.

The median sale price of condominiums in Massachusetts also hit a record high for the month, rising to $297,700, an 8.1 percent increase from $275,500 in February 2016. The median sale price in Bristol County rose 7 percent to $197,900.

Like single-family homes, the number of condominiums sold statewide in February declined 2.2 percent, with 1,128 sold compared with 1,153 sold in February 2016. There had been a sharp increase in the prior year. February 2016 had a 23.2 percent increase over its predecessor year. However, it is only the second year, along with last year, that condo sales have broken 1,000 in February since 2008.

In Bristol County, condo sales mirrored statewide trends, falling 8.9 percent over the year, to 51 from 56 in February 2016.

“The lack of inventory is actually contributing to these record-breaking median prices in February,” Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group, said in prepared remarks. “The pent-up demand in the market is driving buyers to snap up whatever they can find – at whatever price they can afford.”

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