Despite growing sales, rising prices and inventory issues continue to hamper Boston’s real estate market, cooling hopes for a hot summer, according to a Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) report. 

MAR’s June housing data report found despite closed sales improving for the fourth month in a row, sales prices and rising interest rates continued to weigh on the Massachusetts housing market and keep it from returning to pre-pandemic levels. Home prices rose both month over month and year over year, something that has buyers considering waiting it out, while potential sellers are holding on to their homes for now. 

“Inventory continues to hamper any year-over-year growth, despite the monthly growth we have seen in sales,” said David McCarthy, 2023 MAR president and a Realtor at Keller Williams. “With many existing homeowners having favorable interest rates, there isn’t as much incentive to sell as there has been in prior years. New build projects in the state will hopefully provide some much-needed inventory.”  

Last month, the median sale price for a single-family home in Massachusetts increased 4% from June 2022 to $650,000, while new, single-family home listings decreased by 33.2%. 

Condominium prices, however, remained flat from last year, while condo listings fell 28.7%. 

The report also found that year over year, single-family closed sales fell 23.2% from 2022, while closed condo sales dropped 21.2%.