Boston, Cambridge Home Prices Remain High, State Median Declines
Boston-area real estate continues to climb, as the rest of the state takes a breather.
Home and condo prices in Boston, Cambridge, and the hottest inner suburbs keep going up, even as the rest of the state takes a breather.
Statewide, single-family home prices fell 1.5 percent in September, to a median of $320,000, the first decline in two years of relentless increases, reports The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
It’s a different story in Boston and Cambridge, both of which saw prices rise this September. Hub condo prices rose 8.6 percent, to $475,000, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports. City home prices are up more than seven percent through the first nine months of 2014, though they only posted a negligible .01 increase for September.
Cambridge condo prices rose 16 percent, to $615,000, while home prices nearly doubled in September to $1.5 million.
A scarcity of listings and pent-up demand is keeping the upward pressure on prices, real estate experts say.
Inner burb prices, with an exception or two, are also up substantially:
• Arlington condo prices jumped nearly 18 percent to $492,500, while the median price for a home rose more than 12 percent to $620,000.
• Newton home prices rose 19 percent to $980,000 and condo prices soared 31 percent, to $576,000.
• Somerville condo prices hit $455,000 after a 7.7 percent increase. Home prices fell 19 percent, to $435,250 in September, though they remain up 1.3 percent so far in 2014.
• Brookline home prices rose 19 percent to $1.4 million, while condo prices edged up 2.2 percent to $664,500.
• Watertown saw condo prices rise 6.2 percent to $645,000, even as home prices fell 11 percent to $335,000.
Farther out in the suburbs along 128 and 495, towns are starting to level-off. Westborough, Dedham, Sharon, Medford and Methuen all saw a flatten out of prices in September.
Others ‘burbs saw significant declines, including Winchester (-10.5 percent), Bedford (-7.1 percent), Wellesley (-18 percent), and Milford (-5.6 percent).
“Massachusetts is a high cost housing market and the trend throughout the year has been increasing prices, so seeing prices stabilize is good for the market and good for buyers,’’ said MAR President Peter Ruffini, regional vice president at Jack Conway & Co., in Norwell, in a statement.
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