For our April recap, I will not only graph and analyze condominium sales and listings but will also provide a year-to-date (YTD) market review as compared to the same period in 2019 (Year-Over-Year) and a 5-year YTD report. I will continue to focus on the condominiums, not by choice, as 134 of the 146 sales YTD (92%) have been condominiums. I have included market data charts and graphs for Single-family and Multi-family homes. Still, as you'll see below, the sample sizes are too small to gather any trends except that the number of sales for singles and multis are down 57% and 65%, respectively, as compared to 2019. In 2019, YTD, April 30th, there were 14 single-family sales and 17 multi-family sales as opposed to 6 sales for each, in 2020.
This substantial decrease is not solely attributed to the pandemic as the shutdown did not take place until March 17th. Accepted offers for this type of housing tend to take longer than the 45-60 days it takes for condominium closings, so missed sales after the shutdown would have closed in May and June, anyway. What's more puzzling is that the interest rate was lower in 2020 than it was for the same period in 2019. The number of condominium sales, YTD, only decreased by 12% from 2019. We expect to see the number of sales for all housing categories to fall even more over the next two months.
I've had a lot of inquiries from both sellers and buyers regarding the state of the real estate market in Boston. I think the best way to answer these inquiries is to highlight some statistics from the data and graphs for both the month of April and YTD:
-
The 45 condominium sales are just one lower than there was in March and a 10% decrease from April 2019.
-
The YTD condo sales are running 11% lower than 2019 YTD but are very similar to the number of sales in 2017 and 2018.
-
The median sale price for condominiums, 2020 YTD, is up to $820,000. That's 7% higher than it was in 2019.
-
The 2020 YTD median price per square foot is $762.60, a 3.3% jump from 2019.
-
The median list price for the current condominium inventory (95 units) is $929,000.
-
The Days On Market YTD 2020 is 56, an increase of 180% from last year.
-
The number of units that went pending YTD is 163, a decrease of 13.5% from the 200 in 2019.
My overall take on the Boston real estate market is that the sky is not falling by any means. Yes, some on the front-end indicators (DOM, Sale Pendings, and Days to offer) are trending in the wrong direction, but interest rates are at an all-time low, and median sales prices are up. It may take longer to sell condominiums priced higher than a million. Still, everything else, including single-family and multi-family homes, will move more quickly, especially with the COVID-19 shutdown ending soon.
If you have any questions about the market or your property value, you call me at (617) 645-5370 or email me at [email protected].
