Home prices broke records again in August, but may have leveled off

An increase in the number of active listings and the number of days condos are sitting on the market offer buyers hope.

"It’s a less competitive market and that’s resulted in some softening in prices,” Jared Wilk, president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, said Tuesday. Jon Gorey

By Eileen Woods

September 17, 2024

4 minutes to read

The median sales price for a single-family home in Greater Boston hit an August high of $915,000, still shy of that $1 million mark home buyers have been fearing and nearly $50,000 less than the home prices these properties were commanding at the tail end of the Spring House Hunt.

The August median sales price reflects a 4.3 percent year over year increase, according to a report the Greater Boston Association of Realtors released Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the median sales price for a condo hit a record high for the month of $702,000, for a more modest year-over-year increase of 2.7 percent, according to the report.

These prices are still well below their June highs of $961,250 for a single-family home and $750,000 for a condo. It was the second consecutive month of declines, according to the GBAR.

The news continues to be a mixed bag for home buyers.

The number of homes listed for sale August is down in both markets: a 6.8 percent year-over-year decrease for single-family homes and a 9.5 percent drop for condos. But the number of active listings is up a whopping 14.9 percent year over year in the single-family home market and 11.3 percent in the condo market, the GBAR reported. More active listings means more homes to choose from, bringing down the temperature a few degrees in this hot seller’s market.

Meanwhile, home prices seem to have leveled off (single-family median sales price in dark blue; condo price in light blue):

Source: Greater Boston Association of Realtors

“We saw quite a few buyers opt to take a break from the market near the end of the school year as mortgage rates topped 7 percent and selling prices reached record highs in June, and that’s caused the market to lose some of its momentum,” said Jared Wilk, GBAR president and a broker with Compass in Wellesley. “Buyers are showing a little less sense of urgency and are being more selective in their home search of late, with many taking a wait-and-see attitude in the hopes the Fed lowers interest rates or prices decline due to a weakening economy. That’s resulted in softening demand this summer.”

It is hoped that declining mortgage rates will persuade hesitant sellers to leave the sidelines and list. A healthy supply of inventory is five to six months, experts say, and Greater Boston is moving in the right direction. In August 2023, the region had a 1-month supply. Last month, we were at 1.2 months. In the condo market, we went from a 1.9-month supply in August 2023 to 2 months last month.

Last month, single-family home sales were at the slowest pace since August 2010, according to the GBAR.

“Even though demand has cooled in the last few months, buyers still outnumber property listings in many communities and that imbalance continues to keep upward pressure on prices,” Wilk said. “The lack of inventory is most pronounced in the single-family home market, where listings remain at less than a two-month supply, which is why properties that are well-maintained and in a desirable location have been able to retain their value and even command close to top dollar.”

Condos are spending a little bit longer on the market: about 24 days, three days more than in August 2023, according to the report, and the price they are commanding per square foot is up 2.6 percent year over year to $611. Single-family homes are on the market for a median of 21 days, up from 20 in August 2023, and the median price per square foot they are commanding ($443) reflects an 8.2 percent year-over-year increase.

“With buyers now fewer and farther between than what we saw this spring, it’s a less competitive market and that’s resulted in some softening in prices,” Wilk said. “In today’s market, we’re seeing fewer multiple offer situations, more bids under asking price, and homes taking longer to sell. That’s giving buyers more of an opportunity to negotiate, and sellers have had to become more flexible, with an increasing number having to make price adjustments in order to sell.”

When they sell, the majority are going for the asking price or more: Single-family homes had a sold-to-original-price ratio of 101 percent. For condos, it was 99.4 percent.

Mass. home prices

The median sales price for condos and single-family homes increased statewide to new highs for August, according to a report The Warren Group, a real estate analytics firm, released Tuesday.

Remember how aghast we all were when the median home price surpassed a half-million? The median sales price for a single-family home in the state hit $630,000 in August, a 5 percent jump, while the cost of a condo was $542,635, an increase of 3.4 percent.

Here is The Warren Group’s breakdown by county:

COUNTY	MEDIAN SALES PRICE SINGLE-FAMILY AUGUST 2024	% CHANGE YEAR OVER YEAR	MEDIAN SALES PRICE CONDO AUGUST 2024	% CHANGE YEAR OVER YEAR
Barnstable	$694,950	9.4%	$435,000	-7.0%
Berkshire	$319,000	-8.9%	$312,750	0.9%
Bristol	$500,000	2.0%	$391,000	7.1%
Dukes	$1,370,000	3.4%	$876,000	68.5%
Essex	$750,000	7.1%	$475,000	5.6%
Franklin	$405,000	15.7%	$331,000	32.4%
Hampden	$322,500	2.4%	$250,500	31.5%
Hampshire	$450,000	5.3%	$312,000	-5.0%
Middlesex	$812,111	0.3%	$645,000	5.6%
Nantucket	$2,395,000	9.6%	$916,250	29.0%
Norfolk	$772,500	-1.3%	$525,000	-11.8%
Plymouth	$640,000	10.2%	$452,000	6.4%
Suffolk	$795,000	10.8%	$702,500	4.9%
Worcester	$476,000	5.8%	$360,000	-3.0%

Drilling down into the cities and towns, we see single-family homes selling for a median of $838,750 in the North Shore city of Beverly (an increase of nearly 9 percent over August 2023), for $975,000 in the Middlesex town of Boxborough (a 5 percent jump), and for $785,000 in the Norfolk County town of Canton (a drop of 6.7 percent).

In the condo market, the median sales price for a condo unit in Cambridge was $810,000 (a 5.5 percent drop), Dorchester saw a 2.7 percent gain to $565,000, and Quincy reported a 10.6 percent increase to $721,500.

See the town-by-town breakdown of home prices.