June Acton Home Sales Drop From Previous Year

Massachusetts single-family home sales increased again in June, climbing to the highest level for any month in three years, according to the latest report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

But the Town of Acton did not follow the state's trend.

Single-family home sales in June declined by more than 26 percent compared to last year, and are down more than 4 percent for the year.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose 1 percent in June, the second straight month of increases. A total of 5,591 single-family homes sold in June, up from 5,535 a year earlier. This marks the best month for sales since June 2010, when there were 5,662 sales.

Second quarter home sales totaled 13,915, a 2.2 percent increase from 13,616 in the second quarter of 2012. 

"The housing market continues to boom locally, and nationally," said The Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. "As long as mortgage rates and home prices don't spike too high, we'll see a very strong recovery year for the market in 2013."

Year-to-date home sales statewide are up 0.12 percent. From January to June, a total of 21,659 single-family homes have sold, compared to 21,633 during the same period a year ago. 

For the ninth consecutive month, year-over-year home prices increased. The median sale price of single-family homes statewide increased almost 9 percent to $350,000 in June, up from $321,800 in June 2012. The year-to-date median sale price rose more than 12 percent to $315,000, up from $281,000 during the same period last year. Quarterly prices increased more than 10 percent to $330,000, up from $299,700 during the second quarter 2012.

"No monthly median price had been this high for any month since August 2007. Buyers have come out to the market in droves and aggressive bidding is driving up prices. While not a problem at this juncture, I hope for more modest increases in the future," Warren added. "We don't want to see prices rise to the point where homeownership becomes unaffordable."

Bay State condominium sales dropped in June, decreasing more than 3 percent from a year earlier. A total of 2,189 condos sold in June, down from 2,261 a year earlier. Year-to-date condo sales are up almost 2 percent to 8,750 from 8,609 a year earlier.

However, condo sales for the second quarter climbed from a year earlier. In the second quarter, 5,679 condos sold, up almost 3 percent from 5,552 during the same period a year ago. 

In Acton, condo sales in June are down more than 31 percent, but is still up by more than 28 percent for the entire year.

The median sales price of condos increased again in June. The median selling price was $320,000, up 3.2 percent from $310,000 a year earlier. The second quarter median condo price rose 2.4 percent to $302,000 from $295,000 in the second quarter 2012. The year-to-date median price of condos in the Bay State is $284,000, up more than 3 percent from $275,000 a year ago.