This chart proves Boston-area homes are selling wicked fast
A Redfin study shows homes in Greater Boston sold within two weeks of going on the market in May.
If you see a home for sale around Boston that you want to buy, you’d better act fast.
We mean really, really fast.
Homes listed for sale in the Boston market in May sold at a record-breaking average pace of 14 days, according to new report from Redfin that was published today. That’s much faster than the average rate of 30 days reported in April.
In an interview with Boston.com, Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said part of the reason for the rapid rate of Boston-area home sales is the arrival of new buyers. Specifically buyers relocating from Silicon Valley who have a lot of wealth are grabbing up homes quickly, she said.
“Boston is an interesting story because it’s attracting outsiders from tech and pharma,’’ said Richardson. “There’s a lot of wealthy workers coming to town. Match that demand with a shortage of supply – that’s a recipe for speed.’’
In other words, Boston-area buyers are more likely to find themselves in a bidding war. Richardson said 65 percent of offers written by Redfin agents on properties were subject to a bidding war in May. But that’s actually lower than the 72 percent of offers that faced competition in May 2014.
Part of the reason for the slight drop in bidding wars is more homes are being listed for sale. Boston-area sellers put almost 12,900 homes on the market in May, a 25 percent increase over May 2014.
But even with more homes available, median home prices in Boston increased to $359,900, a 6.1 percent increase from April and the biggest month-over-month spike since April 2012, according to Redfin.
Boston-area Redfin agent Peter Finney believes the buyers from the tech sector have more advantages when it comes to snagging a home fast.
“Tech workers are both more analytical and more realistic than the typical buyer,’’ said Finley. “They’re used to making the hard choices, then doing whatever it takes to close the deal because that’s what they do at work.’’
Finney said in Cambridge, which is a mecca for the region’s technology sector, sellers can receive about a dozen offers on a property before accepting an offer.
Boston’s previous record for quick sales was in July 2013 when a typical home took 25 days to sell.
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