“Each interaction indicates buyer interest in that home, and listings with higher engagement levels tend to sell faster and at or above the list price,” Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng explained.

Condos make up a majority of the top 10 most expensive homes for sale in Boston as of April 1.

Meanwhile, purchase applications showed their strongest increase in almost two months, rising 7% year over year.

The National Association of REALTORS’® Pending Home Sales Index rose 2% month over month in February, topping an expected 0.9% gain. 

Nationally, home sales were down 2.6% year over year and up 8.4% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

The median existing-home price was also on the upswing last month, providing homeowners a bit of refuge as the stock market undergoes a correction, Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the monthly report. 

The pace of new-home construction was higher than economists expected, even as homebuilders expressed concern about the impact of tariffs and supply-side challenges. 

While January saw a surge in new listings, February’s listing activity was hampered by snow storms and freezing temperatures. 

Falling consumer sentiment suggests potential homebuyers are wary of the short-term economic outlook and future inflation, CoreLogic Chief Economist Selma Hepp said. 

Meanwhile, days on market fell last month as did housing starts.

At the same time, the median sales price for a new home hit its highest level since 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.   

In Boston, home prices rose 6.35% year over year and 0.42% month over month in December. Beantown’s annual increase was the third highest in the U.S. after New York and Chicago.

At the same time, builder sales expectations for the next six months posted their second-largest drop since the sentiment index started in 1985. 

January’s median single-family home price reached a new all-time high for the month, according to the Warren Group’s January market report.

Meanwhile, pending home sales and builder confidence were up nationally in January.

On a city basis, Chicago posted the highest annual increase among the country’s 20 largest metros, followed by Miami, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.