Posted on June 10th, 2014
Since we’re quickly approaching the summer selling season, there’s no better time to take a look at the current Boston real estate market (using information gathered from the local Multiple Listing Service).
History of the Boston Condo Sales Market
Condos in Boston Proper have consistently sold for close to the original list price, even during 2009, a time when financial markets were shaky leading to spending apprehension across the board. Things looked particularly grim in May 2009 when only 128 condos were sold even though at the time there was ample amounts of inventory. This goes back to the state of the economy at the time, meaning that there weren’t as many buyers because they more focused on keeping their jobs and the value of their current assets. Nevertheless, properties that sold (typically with about 4 months) went for prices that were close to what the sellers were originally asking for; approximately 95% of the original asking price. Today, condos are selling at 100% of their original asking price with no wavering.
Between 2012 and 2013, the market was flat, with the month of May only seeing 210 sales, however days on the market began to drop, and median sales prices that were being paid started a rapid climb. Now, on 2014, inventory is around 54% of what it had been in 2012.
The Current Boston Condo Sales Market
In May 2014 Boston saw 145 condo sales, taking around 2 months for mid range condos to get to signing and really amazing, condos priced between $400,000 and $600,000 took less than a month to go under agreement. Even more surprising, the average price paid was over 100% of the original asking price; a mind-blowing statistic.
The other notable change to take place over the past 5 years is that there are some price ranges that are seeing very little activity, specifically condos for less than $500,000. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s shopped around for a condo in that price range lately because there’s rarely anything out there. Check out these numbers for the Month of May in Boston Proper:
1. There were only 57 condos for sale for under $500,000 in 2009.
2. In 2013, there were 62 condos on the market, about the same.
3. This May, there were only 30 condos that sold for under $500,000; that’s less than half!
This is the case in other price ranges as well. There were only 26 condo closings last year that range between $800,000 and a million. This year so far, only 13 condos have closed in this range, a result of low inventory.
This is a trying time for home buyers who are frustrated by the lack of inventory, but it’s not a picnic for home sellers either; sure they’ll make a tidy profit, but they’ll also be facing a lack of inventory and paying top dollar for their next home. The good news is that, you’re almost guaranteed to see shifts in the real estate market again; we just need to wait and see what happens.