BOSTON (AP) — Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts remained essentially flat last month when compared to the year-ago March, despite a winter of record-setting snowfall that had the potential to disrupt the process, two organizations that track the market announced Tuesday.
Sales of single-family homes were up almost 1 percent, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based publisher of real estate data.
The Waltham-based Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported a dip of less than one-quarter of 1 percent compared to March 2014.
“The small increase in single-family homes in March is a significant and hopeful sign of life in the recovering real estate market. These homes were shopped and deals signed during January and some in February, just as the snowstorms were beginning to roll in,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “This indicates that there are motivated buyers and sellers out there, and they are both eager to make deals happen.”
Both organizations also reported slight increases in median prices.
The median price of a single-family home in Massachusetts rose about 2 percent to $320,000, according to the Realtors.
The median price rose less than 1 percent to $317,400, according to The Warren Group.
The organizations use slightly different numbers in their calculations.
The median price of condominiums jumped about 3 percent in March, both groups reported, but while The Warren Group reported a 6 percent drop in sales, the Realtors reported a 14 percent drop.
Better spring weather is encouraging for the market.
“While the many storms kept sellers from putting their homes on the market in March, pent-up seller demand should translate into a very active spring,” said Realtors President Corinne Fitzgerald. “This activity will be good for the economy and the real estate community as a whole.”
