Report ranks Boston one of the most competitive home markets in US
Properties were listed a median of nine days before they went under contract, according to a report by Redfin.
The Boston area had not only one of the most competitive US markets in July, with 50.8 percent of homes selling above list price, but also one of the fastest. Properties were listed a median of nine days before they went under contract, according to a report the Redfin brokerage website released Friday.
Nationally, homes spent a median of 35 days on the market.
“While homes are still selling near a record-fast pace, there are some signs competition is waning” nationally, the report said. The share of homes in the country that went above asking price declined slightly, from 26.5 percent in July 2017 to 26.2 percent last month, and 28 percent of the homes on the market last month had a price drop, a 3.2 percentage point increase over July 2017. (The housing markets Redfin examined have populations of 750,000-plus. The report considers most of Eastern Massachusetts and parts of southern New Hampshire as the Boston metro area.)
“It’s worth noting that the share of homes with price drops typically peaks each year in July or August,” the report said.
The most competitive market was San Francisco, where 76.3 percent of homes sold above list price, the report said. Boston had the fifth most competitive — behind San Jose, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and Tacoma.
Additionally, home-sale prices nationwide increased 5.3 percent in July to a median of $307,400 compared with a year ago — the lowest price-growth rate since September 2016, according to the report. Boston experienced an 8.4 percent increase, with a median sales price of $515,000, the report said. Of the 73 metros listed, the city had the 10th-highest sale price.
Following national trends, home sales in the region increased over the past year, while available inventory declined. Boston’s inventory was down 4 percent, but the number of homes sold grew by 1.9 percent. Nationally, the median home price was $307,400, sales increased by 4.1 percent, and the number of properties available was down 5.4 percent.
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