While housing inventory increased at the end of last year, inventory issues and affordability continued to impact the market, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) January housing data report. 

But it’s not all bad news. 

While year-over-year closed sales fell in the Bay State, pending sales last month increased both nationally and locally, indicating increased market activity could not be too far behind, MAR says. And when you add that to December’s report, which found buyer demand continued to outpace supply, things are looking up in the market. 

Pending sales of single-family homes in January were up 18%, and condominiums were up 10.6%, an indication that buyers are looking to purchase even with no significant price declines.

“We understand that some buyers and sellers might be remaining cautious while they wait to see where the market is headed in 2023, but pending sales indicate that buyers are out and making purchase decisions,” said David McCarthy, 2023 president of MAR and Realtor at Keller Williams. “Over the years, one trend we’ve observed is that if we have a warmer start to the year, market activity tends to pick back up before the cyclically busy spring market. With a bump in inventory and a mild winter thus far, we’re optimistic market activity will increase even before we officially enter spring.”

Last month, the median price for a single-family home showed no change from last year at $520,000, while new, single-family home listings decreased by 5.8%. 

Condominium prices, however, rose in January, jumping 10.4% to $497,000, while condo listings fell 7.4%.

The report also found that year over year, single-family closed sales fell 32.6% to 2,238 from 2022’s 3,320, while closed condo sales dropped 25.3% to 1,056 from 1,413.