In the 12 years since the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) began tracking in-state home sales, the number of people looking to pick up and move is at an all-time low. The amount of home listings from November 2015 to November 2016 plummeted nearly 35%. Condo sales fell 30% during the same time frame. From Boston and beyond, the conditions in the current Massachusetts real estate market make this is the perfect time to sell a home or condo.
Housing Inventory is a Key Factor
Every city and town must work to balance its months of supply. That is, the amount of remaining months before all available housing in a given area is exhausted.
The Massachusetts real estate market favors sellers when the months of supply rate falls below five to seven months. According to MAR, in November 2016 the months of supply rate in Massachusetts was 2.9, down 40% from a year before.
Considering the high demand and currently limited supply of housing throughout the Bay State, sellers can be confident about receiving strong offers.
Listings Don’t Last Long in the Massachusetts Real Estate Market While Housing Appreciates
Competitive markets like Massachusetts motivate buyers to act quickly. As a result, the average lifetime of a house or condo available in the Massachusetts real estate market significantly dipped in 2016.
Single family homes averaged 75 days on the market in November 2016, a 21% drop from November 2015. Similarly, condos remained listed for an average of just 59 days in 2016, down 19% from the previous year.
From November 2015 to November 2016, the median price of a single family home increased 6% to $365,000. The median condo price ticked up by 1.5% to $339,900.
Massachusetts Widely Recognized as a Great Place to Live
There are several measures to consider when choosing where to live and Massachusetts sets the bar very high. The International Business Times recently ranked Massachusetts as the best state to reside in due to a trio of socioeconomic factors.
For starters, more than two out of every five adults in the state has earned a bachelor’s degree. The poverty rate is also extremely low at 11.5%. The average life expectancy in Massachusetts is over 80, which ranks fifth in the nation.
The abundance of reputable in-state colleges such as Harvard, MIT, Tufts and BC also serves as a real draw for anyone involved with academia.
Considering the world champion New England Patriots and everything else the state of Massachusetts has going in its favor, homeowners looking to sell now are poised for success.
Demetrios Salpoglou
Published February 17, 2017
Demetrios has pulled together the largest apartment leasing team in the Greater Boston Area and is responsible for procuring more apartment rentals than anyone in New England – with over 130k people finding their housing through his services. Demetrios is an avid real estate developer, peak performance trainer, educator, guest lecturer and motivational speaker.
