Home Buying

Here’s what happens when there aren’t enough houses for sale in New England

It’s a problem that has dogged the region for several years, and the latest sales numbers show it hasn’t gone away.

Massachusetts is still the most expensive New England state to buy in, by far. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe

December 18, 2015

2 minutes to read

The time it takes to sell a home is dropping across New England as the real estate market continues to be stumped by a shortage of listings, forcing buyers to act fast, new stats show.

Rhode Island buyers are the quickest on the draw when it comes to buying a house, with the average Ocean State house sitting on the market for 68 days before it sells. That’s down 11.5 percent from last year when it as 77, according to the November housing report by Re/Max Integra.

Massachusetts came in second, with average days on market falling to 75 this November, compared to 81 last year, for a drop of 8 percent.

Other states saw similar declines, though from a higher starting point.

New Hampshire saw its average sales time fall to 91 from 96 last year, Maine weighed in at 136 days, down from 140 last year, while Vermont saw came in at 141, down from 155 days in 2014.

Still, one reason homes are selling faster is that the number of new listings being put on the market simply isn’t enough to keep up with demand, forcing buyers to move fast when something available opens up.

Story continues after gallery.

Massachusetts towns and cities where homes sell really fast:

Towns where homes spent the fewest days on market

Overall, the number of listings on the market – or inventory – as it is known, continues to fall, extending a pattern that has dogged the real estate market in Massachusetts and across New England for the past few years.

Massachusetts saw one of the biggest drops in the number of homes on the market, with inventory plunging 22 percent to 21,616, according to Re/Max Integra.

The number of homes for sale in Rhode Island also declined, falling by nearly 700, to 5,045, while in Maine homes on the market fell to 14,563.

“It is still difficult,’’ said Ellen Friedman of Keller Williams Realty in Cambridge. “There is very little inventory in Cambridge and Somerville and even Medford has become a little tough.’’

Sales and prices were up in all six New England states with the exception of Connecticut ($238,275) and Vermont ($193,700), which fell by 5.6 and 5.5 percent respectively, the Re/Max Integra report found.

Massachusetts remains by far the most expensive state in the region to a buy a home in, with the median price hitting $335,000 in November, or 5.5 percent. That’s more the twice the median price in Maine.

Connecticut is second, at $238,275, followed by Rhode Island and New Hampshire (both $220,000), Vermont ($193,700) and Maine ($174,600).

“Interest rates are still at historic lows and the recent hike by the Fed should not have a significant effect on the housing market,’’ said Dan Breault, Re/Max Integra, New England executive vice president/director, in a press statement.