Boston-area home sales rose for the sixth month in a row in February as the median selling prices for both homes and condominiums hit new highs — a sign an extremely active market is likely for spring.
“Buyer enthusiasm has been through the roof over the first two months of the year, with many eager to get a head start on the traditional spring selling season,” Greater Boston Association of Realtors President Dino Confalone said in a press release. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been house-hunting for months, if not years, and their search has become a year-long effort.”
February saw the fourth-highest sales total for the month, with the sale of 598 single-family homes, an 8.3% increase from 552 homes sold in February 2020, according to GBAR data released this week. While sales were high in February, there was still a 32.3% drop from the record 883 homes sold in January.
Condo sales were robust, too, with the second most-active February on record, with 635 condos sold, a 5.1% increase from the 604 units sold in February 2020. Condo sales did decline 17.1% from a record high of 766 units sold in January, however.
Record-breaking prices accompanied the robust sales activity for condos and single-family homes in February.
The median sales price for single-family homes reached a February high at $648,750, a 5.7% increase from $614,000 a year earlier, while the median sales price for condos rose 3.1% year over year to an all-time high for the month at $597,000.
Inventory continues to be a factor as the number of buyers continued to outpace inventory, giving sellers the upper hand with top-dollar asking prices.
“On top of that, many buyers find themselves having to compete to outbid one another, and that’s helping to drive up prices further,” Confalone said in the release. “Right now, buyer demand is strongest in the suburban single-family home market, especially in communities outside of Rte. 128, and that’s where we’ve seen home values rise most sharply over the past year.”
The report found the inventory shortage was most pronounced with single-family home listings, which fell 42.8% from 1,701 in February 2020 to 974. New listings were down 24.5% from 1,297 in February 2020 to 979.
Active condominium listings rose 17.4% year over year to 1,994 from 1,968, while new condo listings increased 7.4% to 1,188, compared to 1,106 in February 2020.
The GBAR report also found pending sales rose in February for the ninth consecutive month. Single-family homes placed under agreement were up 3.1% from February 2020 and 38.4% from January. Pending condominium sales climbed 24.9% year over year and 29% month over month.